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World Congress 2022 in Scotland

The 5th World Congress on Adult Guardianship was held in Seoul, Korea, on 23rd – 26th October 2018. At a meeting of the International Advisory Board on 23rd October, the 7th World Congress on Adult Guardianship, in 2022, was awarded to Scotland. With the next Congress, in 2020, due to take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the time that Scotland hosts the Congress it will have been held in every inhabited continent except Africa. The 2022 Congress will only be the second one in Europe, a significant accolade for Scotland, recognising that at its time Scotland’s legislation of 2000 was world-leading, and also that there are reasonable prospects that by 2022 the current Scottish Government processes of review will have been completed, amending legislation enacted and brought into force, and experience of our updated regime already gained in practice.

Previous World Congresses were in Japan (2010), Australia (2012), United States of America (2014) and Germany (2016). The event has been described as “the Olympics of the subject”. The 5th World Congress in Seoul was typical: approximately 500 from some 30 countries in attendance, 140 presentations in parallel sessions, and important plenary sessions. Scotland’s involvement was significant, with Jan Killeen moderating and addressing a session on good practice for supported decision-making, her own contribution being on “Creating a national supported decision-making strategic framework”, and Jill Carson speaking on “Making powers of attorney accessible to all: the Scotland story”. My addresses to plenary sessions are available here (on the CRPD) and here (enabling citizens to plan for incapacity). I moderated two other sessions, and Scotland was the only country with two participants in the panel discussion at the end of the final general session (Jan and me). I was also involved all day in a workshop session for China, Japan, Korea and other Asian countries after conclusion of the full international part of the Congress.

Alan Eccles, Public Guardian for England & Wales, was the most prominent other UK contributor, addressing a plenary session on the changing mental capacity environment in England & Wales, and how his office has evolved since implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and also participating in the workshop day for Asian countries.

Overall, the Congress reflected major and diverse efforts across the world to develop better provision and support for people with cognitive impairments, and deliver the promise of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the everyday lives of people with mental and intellectual disabilities, and their families, supporters and others involved in their lives. Particularly on the final day, there appeared to be a growing recognition of the need to draw together contradictory and disputed viewpoints towards serving a common purpose.

“Guardianship” in the title of these events, though not outdated, masks a much broader range of coverage, leading to the adoption of the sub-title “Supporting the exercise of legal capacity” for the 6th and 7th Congresses.

While not featuring in the official programme, Korea’s own Ms Mi Yeon Kim, elected to serve on the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities from 1st January 2019, attended several sessions and engaged extensively with some of us between and after sessions of the Congress – when, of course, so much of value in such events takes place.

The 7th World Congress will be held in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 7th – 9th June 2022.

Adrian D Ward