Abstract

Bruce P. Squires

The World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) was conceived in the early 1990s to provide a worldwide forum for education and discussion among all biomedical journal editors. Accordingly, a group of 22 editors and advisors met at the Rockefeller Conference and Study Center in Bellagio, Italy and launched WAME on March 16, 1995. From the onset it was agreed that WAME’s primary communication be via the internet, and that membership be free of charge. Since that time WAME has grown to comprise over 1400 members from 91 countries around the world, representing 896 biomedical journals.

The Board and executive committee of WAME meets by teleconference about every two months, but, most of the discussion among members is disseminated through the WAME-L listserv, supported by the National Library of Medicine. WAME members meet infrequently, primarily at the Congress on Peer Review.

In keeping with WAME’s goal to improve the standard of peer-reviewed medical publication, the website provides many resources for editors: educational materials, references materials, policy statements, summaries of WAME Internet discussion, links to other valuable resources on the Internet, and a membership directory.

As WAME grew, it became very evident that editors in geographic or socioeconomic regions had special needs and concerns. Consequently WAME has encouraged the formation of regional or language groups of biomedical journal editors. On February 22, 1996, the Korean Association of Medical Editors was founded. Other associations include the Chinese Association of Medical Editors, Asian Pacific Association of Medical Editors, the Indian Association of Medical Editors, and la Asociación Mexicana de Editores de Revistas Biomédicas, A.C. (AMERBAC).

With the help of the WHO at its headquarters in Geneva, October, 2002, the Forum of African Medical Editors was created and now is flourishing. A major achievement has been the revival of the African Index Medicus, and the development the HINARI project, under the aegis of the WHO, to provide academics in Phase I countries (GNP less than $1000) with open access to journals that are subscription based.

The Eastern Mediterranean Association of Medical Editors (EMAME) was founded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October 2004 to meet the needs of editors in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). It is facilitated by the EMR office of the WHO in Cairo. EMAME members participate in very lively listserve discussions extending from Morocco to Pakistan. In July 2005, EMR-WHO and EMAME supported a workshop for Iraq medical editors in Amman, Jordan.

WAME strongly supports the concept of forming regional groups of biomedical journal editors to promote WAME’s goals and to facilitate discussion of local issues among journal editors.