04/18/2026
I was looking for the date when I became truly invested in acupuncture advocacy … if I don’t count the student council service during my Pacific College of Health and Science years. It was in March 2015 when I published a press release to make Acupuncture visible in Prague, Czech Republic.
Official Press Release — English Translation
Prague becomes the center of acupuncture in Europe for the weekend
In Prague, on March 6 at 20:00 at Michna Palace in Malá Strana, Albert de Vos, President of ETCMA (European Traditional Chinese Medicine Association), will celebrate the full integration of the Czech Chamber of Traditional Chinese Medicine (KTČM) into the European structure.
MUDr. Jiří Bílek, President of KTČM, stated that for the Czech Republic this is a great honor and an important step of integration for the present and future of medicine. It is the first time that KTČM is hosting a General Assembly and symposium of ETCMA representing the majority of member states of the European Union. The theme of this symposium, the sixth in order, is “Successes and challenges of TCM practice in Europe.” ETCMA is a pan-European umbrella organization whose mission is the development of acupuncture and other methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine and their acceptance by the governments of European states and the public.
The Prague symposium is taking place at a time when the European Week of Acupuncture is being held in Great Britain and Ireland. Among the guests of ETCMA are the ambassadors of both of these countries, where acupuncture is already an integral part of their healthcare systems. The Irish Minister of Health, Kathleen Lynch, has even ceremonially opened the Acupuncture Week in her country. This week is further supported by the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), whose chairman Charles Buck is also participating in the Prague General Assembly. Among other participants are, for example, Yves Giarmon, President of CFMTC (French Confederation of TCM) representing France, Andrea Hellwig, President of the German association AGTCM, Carla Fuhlrott, President of SBO-TCM from Switzerland, and Georg Ohmsede, President of the International TCM Congress in Rothenburg, Germany, among others.
The efforts of ETCMA and its member associations, including KTČM, are fully in line with the strategy of the World Health Organization (WHO), which in its document for the years 2014–2023 calls on the governments of member states to ensure free access for their populations to traditional methods of treatment and their high-quality, safe practice, as available data demonstrate their benefit in cases of chronic diseases and lifestyle-related conditions. Governments are particularly encouraged to ensure adequate education of professionals in these fields and, through rational regulation of practice, to guarantee safety and benefit for patients.
We promote a wider recognition and acceptance of TCM therapies by European government and the public by lobbying EU bodies and institution.
