Report of the World Association of Medical Editors: Agenda for the future

During a 3-day meeting at Bellagio in January 2001, a group of 20 editors f rom 12 countries in 5 continents met to map out a strategy for the World As sociation of Medical Editors (WAME)'s continued development in the service of medical editors over the next several years. The group: 1) Developed a s tatement of principles on the standards of professionalism and responsibili ties of editors (this statement will be posted on the Web site after electr onic consultation with and comment by WAME editors); 2) Agreed to assess th e extent to which these principles are reflected in practice and to explore barriers to their adoption, using data from a survey and focus groups; 3) Developed and outlined an on-line program for distance learning, targeted a t new editors; 4) Planned for formal evaluation of the educational outreach program; and 5) Agreed to support regional initiatives to strengthen local editorial capacity. Underpinning all past and proposed future activities i s the WAME Web site. The ambitious plans outlined above will require extens ive development of the site, plans for which were made at the Bellagio meet ing.