ICM Council meets in Glasgow: a truly global representation of the midwifery profession: more member associations than ever before were able to send delegates to the ICM Council, held 28-21 May, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland.

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The ICM Council, made up of two delegates from each member association, is the governing body of the Confederation. Although it now holds a formal meeting each year, principally in order to approve finances, the opportunity for real discussion at a face-to-face meeting only arrives once every three years, when the Council meeting is held immediately before the Triennial Congress.

In Glasgow, 138 midwife delegates from 75 associations in 65 countries gathered to address an extensive agenda, which will inform the work of the ICM as an international body over the next three years.

In the photograph above, Council members are seen from Afghanistan on the right, then Argentina, Australia, Austria and so on, to the back row with the UK, the USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Each time the Council meets, there are more rows, more countries are represented, the ICM is more truly the global voice of midwifery.

Significant decisions were taken during the four days of the meeting, which included the election of officers and Board members for the next triennium and agreement on an updated governance structure (see p19), a consensus on new vision and mission statements for the Confederation (see p32), the choosing of the venue for the 2014 Congress and a new logo, based upon that designed for the 2008 Congress.

First, it was the great pleasure of all present to welcome delegates from associations accepted into membership in the triennium 2005-08:

* Afghan Midwives Association

* Public Association of Azerbaijani Midwives

* Association des Infirmieres Sages-Femmes d'Haiti

* Macedonian Association of Nurses and Midwives

* Association of Midwives of Mozambique

* Professional Association of Midwives of Nigeria

* Midwifery Association of Pakistan

* Papua New Guinea Midwifery Association

* Association Nationale des Sages-Femmes d'ETAT du Senegal

* Suriname Organisation of Midwives

Among the bids from member associations who wish to host the Congress six years ahead, Council was delighted to see representatives from the Czech Republic dressed in costumes from the 19th century, while the bid from Canada was introduced with...