REPORT ORGANIZING
COMMITTEE - 14TH ICDMFR
FLORIANÓPOLIS

Dear Colleagues,

We are getting excited with the idea of welcoming you to the 14th International Congress of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology, to be held in a year's time. Nature lovers will be delighted with the beauty of the host city - Florianópolis. Also known as the "Island of Magic", Florianópolis is the capital of Santa Catarina, the second southernmost Brazilian state. The city is located part in an island and part in the mainland, both separated by a 500m channel and three bridges.

The island itself has an elongated shape and is 50km long and 10km wide, on average. Its nearly 500,000 inhabitants (about a million during summer) constantly enjoy its 42 beaches, one prettier than the other.

The venue for the congress has been carefully selected to provide you with a comfortable environment for the scientific activities. The modern convention center (called CentroSul or CenterSouth), with the capacity of 2500 people in its main room, is located in the downtown area of the city, close to the center of the island. This will facilitate visiting the attractions in the different parts of the island and other destinations out of it.

Spacious lecture rooms will be set up to host the Pre-congress courses, oral presentations, symposiums, and special lectures. Plenty of space will be available for poster presentations.

The Exhibition area will be located in the center of the scientific area, an obligatory passage to the lecture rooms. The 1080m2 area will be occupied by approximately 60 stands.

Twenty-one companies have already confirmed their participation in the 14th Congress: J. Morita, CD ROM, Imaging Sciences International, CDT, Instrumentarium, Olsen, Sirona, Gnatus, Planmeca, Radiomemory, Kodak, Herald Kulzer, Dabi Atlante, Fabinject, Loska, Tol Total, Orthogesso, Nordic Biotech, Asahi, Del Grandi, and Odontomed.
Lodging, food, and transportation are inexpensive in Brasil, so please invite all of your friends who have an interest in Radiology to come and attend the meeting. Registration fees will be also very affordable - less than U$300.00 for the Congress plus Pre-congress courses (altogether). More detailed information will be mailed to you (soon available in our website as well: www.iadmfr-brasil.ufsc.br).

Florianópolis, because of its latitude, has a mild climate and four well-defined seasons. May, the month of the Congress, is Fall in Brasil. In Florianópolis, temperatures usually get a little higher again after summer has ended (May's "little summer"). It is typically sunny during this time of the year; highs are usually near 25-27 deg. C, and the lows, during the evenings, are around 15 deg. C. You can also plan to extend your trip a few days and visit other beautiful places in Brasil such as Rio de Janeiro (1h 40min flight) or the Iguaçú Falls (1h 20min flight).

Invited speakers are being contacted at this moment, and the whole scientific and social programs are being carefully planned. We count on your support to promote the meeting where you are and where you go to for lectures or sightseeing around the world. We are doing our best to give you a pleasant meeting. I am sure of one thing: we'll have an excellent time together!

We'll be in touch!

Murillo Abreu Jr.

Chairman Organizing Committee - 14th ICDMFR (murillo@ccs.ufsc.br)