A warm welcome to the World Congress on Pain in Toronto! To see and meet the pain community again, after such a long time of only virtual communication, is a great pleasure to me. We are looking forward to five days of intense education, science, controversy, and networking in the modern Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

My sincere thanks go to Prof. Ian Gilron and the Scientific Program Committee that he chaired, for putting together such an excellent program. Whether you are a basic scientist, a clinician, or any other health professional working in the field of pain, or interested in working in this area, there will be plenty of content for you to in this World Congress on Pain. I also thank Colleen Eubanks and her team at the IASP office for all their work in setting up this congress, and in particular for her optimism and confidence that we would be able to have an in-person congress after all, in 2022. The IASP team has been particularly creative in making this congress a memorable experience, I will just mention our congress mascot Bucky and the World Congress T-shirt competition, among other special perks that you should not miss out on.

This World Congress on Pain will also mark the end of my two-year presidency of IASP. I am thoroughly grateful that I had the opportunity to serve IASP in this position, and I thank all my colleague-volunteers at IASP, in the Executive Committee, on Council, and in our many task forces and committees, for the productive time we had. Coming out of the pandemic, or at least out of the pandemic-related restrictions, I could only very recently appreciate the value of meeting like-minded professionals in other parts of the world. Nothing like the personal contact and friendship brings us forward in our aim to collaborate, to work toward our mission to improve pain relief worldwide. I urge you, whether you are a senior pain specialist or a young aspiring professional, to make use of the networking possibilities at this World Congress. Our Canadian hosts, including the Local Arrangements Committee, whom I sincerely thank for all their work, have made every effort to provide an environment where networking and communicating will be enjoyable and fruitful.

At IASP, we aim to bring together scientists, clinicians, health-care providers, policymakers, and the people living with pain, of all ages, from all regions of the world, and from all disciplines. Many young professionals will join us at this World Congress, which makes me very optimistic about the future of pain research and treatment. Join us at this congress, join us at IASP and be part of the large community that strives to reduce the burden of pain!

I wish you an enjoyable and productive World Congress of Pain.
Claudia Sommer, MD, Prof. Dr. med.
IASP President