International Expansion: ACC Consortium Chapter of Serbia and Republic of Srpska
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Earlier this year, Serbia and the Republic of Srpska became ACC's 34th full-fledged International Chapter. Before meeting all necessary requirements to officially become a Chapter, it was ACC's first International Chapter in formation, working towards increasing its membership to meet the 20 FACC threshold required to become a complete Chapter. Milan A. Nedeljkovic, MD, FACC, past president of the Cardiology Society of Serbia, is the first governor of the ACC Consortium Chapter of the Serbia and Republic of Srpska. "We are excited to be one of the ACC's International Chapters and are looking forward to accomplishing great things together," says Nedeljkovic.
The new Chapter is located in Southeast Europe and has two member countries: Serbia and Republic of Srpska (part of Bosnia and Herzegovina). The population of Serbia is estimated at 7.2 million while Republic of Srpska has only 1.3 million inhabitants. Its largest organization is the Cardiology Society of Serbia (CSS), founded in 1955. A formal successor of the Cardiology Society of Yugoslavia, the CSS currently has over 900 members, 19 FACCs, 17 working groups and 10 subsidiaries. The Cardiologic Section of the Republic of Srpska was founded in 2000, within the framework of the Republic of Srpska Association of Doctors of Medicine. Later, in 2002, it became the Republic of Srpska Society of Cardiology. It currently has more than 100 members, 3 FACCs and 8 working groups.
The Chapter of Serbia and Republic of Srpska has great plans for the future. "Now that we are a Chapter, we are currently organizing the 20th National Cardiology Congress of the Cardiology Society of Serbia which will be held later this year, between Oct. 29 and Nov. 1. Following that, we will be preparing the 4th Congress of the Republic of Srpska Society of Cardiology in May 2016. Furthermore, we are planning the first joint symposium between the ACC and our new Consortium Chapter in February 2016," says Nedeljkovic. "Thanks to all of these international initiatives, we are hoping to further strengthen regional and international cooperation. Our long-term goal is to further spread the ideas and scientific expertise of the ACC in our region," Nedeljkovic adds.