In 2010, the 1st international conference on BPD was organized in Berlin. This congress was very successful with more than 1,600 participants. As a result of this, the ESSPD decided in Berlin to continue the congress concept and the Dutch group volunteered to organize the next BPD conference.

The ESSPD board also decided to continue the collaboration with CPO HANSER, the company which organized the BPD congress. CPO HANSER is a very experienced international congress organizing company. This collaboration gives the advantage of continuity and efficiency; the format and scripts of the conferences that have already been developed, along with the website, can be used with some modifications for future conferences in different countries.

CPO HANSER will support the local organizing committees and will provide a conference organization outline for our future conferences, saving the local organizing committees a lot of work and time. It will also make the congresses cheaper! To decrease the financial risks of the conferences, we are currently exploring the possibility of establishing a foundation in the Netherlands which will handle the conference finances in order to protect the organizing committees and the ESSPD itself from financial liability.

The ESSPD will also collaborate with the ISSPD in the organization of the international BPD conference. This conference will be organized once every two years, alternating with the ISSPD congress. Every two years, the ESSPD will plan a workshop conference where clinicians can meet the experts. The main focus of these conferences will be skills training.

Thomas Rinne, Founding President of the ESSPD