It is truly exciting to be hosting the 1^st Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS) Conference between 12-14 December 2023, at the Vineyard Hotel and Conference Centre in the vibrant, cosmopolitan, and beautiful African city of Cape Town.

On behalf of the organising committee, I warmly invite you to join us at a landmark meeting where science will be coupled with very enjoyable social activity.

This conference will bring together leading researchers and clinicians from around the world to strengthen existing collaborations and forge new ones on topics of global importance related to traumatic stress. In addition to providing state-of-the-art presentations on traumatic stress across the life course, the hybrid format conference provides an excellent opportunity for South African and other African researchers and clinicians working in traumatic stress or related fields to establish long-term partnerships with experts and institutions across the globe. From a capacity-building standpoint, the conference will support young researchers, including master’s and doctoral students, to learn from and network with international experts, share their own expertise, and identify opportunities for professional development with collaborating groups. In addition, the GC-TS Steering Committee and the wider community of conference attendees will have the opportunity to develop and shape the strategic plan to guide the next 5 years of activity in this Global Collaboration.

I look forward to hosting you at a historic venue that was, in the year 1800, originally home to the diarist and artist Lady Anne Barnard and her husband Andrew, colonial secretary to the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, Earl Macartney, and is in very close proximity to famous sites such as Table Mountain and Kirstenbosch Gardens.

See you in December!

Soraya Seedat
on behalf of the Organising Committee (Miranda Olff, Ueli Schnyder, Stefanie Freel, Georgina Spies, and Jacqueline Womersley).