You are cordially invited to attend the 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON TRADITIONAL ASIAN MEDICINE (ICTAM) in Halle (Saale), Germany from August 18 to 24, 2002. The basic theme of the congress will be "Tradition and Innovation", its official languages German and English.

The INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF TRADITIONAL ASIAN MEDICINE (IASTAM) furthers not only the study of the various Asian medical systems, but also the dialogue between them and their interaction, in the fields of both scholarly research and practice. In this, the ICTAM plays a major role. As an international forum for the exchange of ideas not only between scholars from various disciplines, but also between researchers, practitioners and entrepreneurs, as well as administrators and politicians in the realm of traditional Asian medical systems, it has nothing comparable.

This ICTAM is part of the celebrations marking the five hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The cities of Halle and Wittenberg, harbouring the twin campuses, are not only situated in a part of Germany steeped in history and famous as the point of origination of the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther, but also look back upon long and illustrious histories of their own, not the least as centres of learning and of the German Enlightenment. Halle, on the river Saale, offers lodging at reasonable rates and is easily accessible by road, rail and air; its airport is shared with the nearby city of Leipzig and connected with several national and international hubs. The nearest other major German cities, Berlin, Dresden and Hanover, are only about two hours removed by road or rail.