Greetings from the President (Dr. René Halm)
Dear friends,
First of all, thank you for being faithful to our research group.
All the more so, since fundamental and clinical research on high dilutions needs more than ever to be supported and encouraged. In Europe, in spite of the dynamism of some people, the number of works implemented or published is decreasing. The reasons for this are many: grouping together of homeopathic laboratories and limitations on credits for research, disappointment of not seeing quality works meeting the strictest criteria having an impact outside our community, lack of interest from academics, etc. However, it is important to have increased credibility, both from scientists and from the medical profession. This will not be easy, for everyone must admit the limit of their knowledge and the need to accept other scientific paradigms.
So there is a lot of work for GIRI to be done.
Modern scientists increasingly agree to admit the limitations of scientific knowledge, that should not be mixed up with technological advances. But to offer alternatives, one must provide more and more works, find new rigorous and innovating experimental models and protect oneself from any pseudo-scientific hypothesis on action mechanisms. This is the only way for us to increase our credibility and be able to open a dialogue.
This is what large European laboratories like Boiron or Weleda understood; they accepted to send their research workers to our next October meeting in Paris.
It is the first time since Professor Madeleine Bastide and I created GIRI over 25 years ago that such a convergence is taking place.
GIRI is today the only independent and scientific international structure concerning the study of high dilutions.
Our South-American friends have fewer problems than we have in Europe to work on the subject. Many motivated students are doing their research work in their universities with no problem. They are very dynamic!
We do not enjoy such a high tolerance in the European Union.
This is the reason why I asked them to let us organise the next two GIRI meetings in Europe (Paris this year, then Monaco in April 2010) to help us find more attention and recognition. I wish to thank them for their understanding.
Thank you also to Carlos Renato Zacharias who is taking care of renovating our website.
I hope to see many of you in Paris this autumn.
King regards.
Doctor R.P. Halm President of the GIRI