Congress Information
CONGRESS MANAGEMENT
The Panama City, Panama World Family Therapy Congress is the 22nd Annual Congress of the International Family Therapy Association managed by World Family Therapy Congresses.
CONGRESS TEAM
Congress Event Management (Proposals, exhibits and Registration):
Doug Tschopp Email: info@ifta-congress.org
Program Chair: John Lawless
Chief Financial Officer: Fred Jefferson
IFTA General Secretary: William Hiebert wjhiebert@aol.com +309-786-4491
LANGUAGE
The official language of the meeting is English. The Plenary addresses will be translated into Spanish. Some workshop presentations may also be in Spanish or Portuguese.
ABSTRACTS
All proposals for presentations are to be in English. All the requests will be considered. Proposals will be approved on a "rolling" basis; that is, they will be evaluated as they are submitted. The proposals will either be accepted, placed on a waiting list or denied during the entire proposal process between March 1 and October 30, 2013. Do not wait until the deadline to submit!
CLOTHING
Informal for all occasions.
LETTER OF INVITATION
The organizers will be pleased to provide a letter of invitation to any pre-registered and paid participant requesting one. It is to be understood that such an invitation is intended to help potential participants raise travel funds or obtain a visa. It is not a commitment on the part of the Congress to provide any financial support.
INSURANCE
The congress organizers cannot accept liability for personal injuries sustained, or for loss or damage of property belonging to congress participants (or their accompanying persons), either during, or as a result of the congress.
VISAS
All visitors are required to have a valid passport, and for some countries, a visa is required. It is the responsibility of the participant to obtain a visa if required. Please click here for more Visa information.
AIRLINES
The major airline to Panama is COPA, www.copaair.com, with direct non-stop flights from: Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Orlando, Toronto, and Washington Dulles. COPA also serves Nassau, The Bahamas. Brasilia, Brazil; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Recife, Brazil; Cúcuta, Colombia; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Monterrey, Mexico; Asunción, Paraguay; Willemstad,Curacao; Liveria, Costa Rica; Iquitos, Peru.
CURRENCY AND MONEY EXCHANGE
The currency in Panama is either the United States Dollar or the Panamanian balboa.
AUTOMATIC CASH DISPENSERS
Automatic cash dispensers accepting Visa, Eurocard/Mastercard, American Express credit cards and Maestro Cirrus or Visa Electron debit cards are situated at all main banks, town centres, hotels, bigger stores, airports and the railway station.
CREDIT CARDS
All major credit cards, such as Mastercard/Eurocard, Visa, American Express, Diners etc., are accepted in most hotels, restaurants and shops.
ELECTRICITY
The electrical supply is:
- Voltage: 110-120 Volts (Same as U.S./Canada, most other areas are 220-240 Volts)
- Primary Socket Types: North American Non-Grounded , North American Grounded. Please note that these may not be identical to U.S./Canadian sockets, and may require an adapter.
- Multi-voltage appliances (laptops, etc.): Plug adapter.
- 220-240V appliances: Plug adapter + step-up transformer
- 100V Japanese appliances: Japan to U.S. reducer transformer
LOCAL TIME
Panama is in the GMT/UTC - 05:00 hour; or, in the USA Central Daylight Time zone during Daylight Saving Time. There is no daylight saving time in Panama.
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
The month of March is characterized by essentially constant daily high temperatures, with daily highs around 91°F throughout the month, exceeding 93°F or dropping below 88°F only one day in ten. The avereage nighttime temperature is 72°F. Panama is both an earthquake and hurricane free zone.
SANITARY CONDITIONS
Panama City is a major metropolitan area and as such has a history of providing travelers with a safe environment. Many drink the city with no problem although the hotel furnishes free bottled water, too. If you are also traveling to remote or rural areas of Panama or Central America, please check with your country’s health ministry as to what preparation you might wish to undertake. The US’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention maintains a site for travelers to Panama.
