Morocco had the honor and privilege to organize the first edition of the African Congress of Dentistry and Implantology (ACDI) and the African Dental Expo (ADE) from the 26th to the 30th of January 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco. This international event was an opportunity for all African professionals of dentistry of the four other continents and also for the organizations that represent them, whether they are ordinal, unions, social or scientific to meet and work together and share their expertise. For this, the African Society of Dentistry and Implantology provided them with all technical and logistical resources in order for them to succeed in their work(s).
The decision to hold this African congress in Morocco is part of the resolutions of the first edition of the Conference of Deans of Dental Schools of Africa (CDDSA) organized in January 2014 in Marrakech. During this first African congress, Morocco once again was honored to host and welcome the deans of African dental schools for the 2nd edition of the CDDSA which now includes 42 dental schools from 20 African countries.
The objectives of the scientific committee of the ACDI 2016 and the organization committee of the ADE have been achieved since they were able to program 150 conferences of a high scientific level, 80 displayed posters, 40 workshops and a 100 exhibitors; more than 1,500 badges were issued and 47 countries have participated in this unique event in our continent.
On the sidelines of the ACDI 2016, an Institute of Leadership run by specialized coaches from the movement of the Lions Club International, which puts leadership skills in the service of social actions, was held. The Institute of Leadership proposed by the organizational committee of the ACDI 2016 had twofold goals: to share the experience of this international association and give participants in this continental event an opportunity to develop leadership skills that have proven successful in the field.
The African Society of Dentistry and Implantology in partnership with the Moroccan Syndicate of Dental Technicians organized Saturday January 30th 2016 on the sidelines of the ACDI 2016 the "Dental Technician Day".
A round table on the legal framework of social dentistry in Morocco in the presence of General Secretariat of the government and the Ministry of Health was also held in parallel to this event.
Finally, the Smile Network foundation was created. Its mission is to raise funds to develop the social project " Smile Network" which already has twenty offices of dentistry with a social vocation in Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine soon.
