Dear Friends;  

On behalf of the Latin American Association of Analysis, Modification and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a pleasure for me to invite you to the 7th World Congress of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, to be held from July 22th to July 25th, 2013 in Lima, capital of Peru, the Inca’s empire land.   

Our Congress is a milestone in the history of BCT in the world, highlighting the fact that it will be the first World Congress BCT that will be held on this side of the world, South America, and for the first time the Portuguese will be included as an official language along with English and Spanish. 

Therefore, the slogan "Bringing cultures together for a better quality life" will be our main theme, in which our Scientific Committee, composed of world recognized experts in BCT, is proposing a program that is up-to-date while innovating by raising a unified theme globally and specifically to Latin America, which will assess the applicability and the evidences of BCT in such areas, resulting from the contribution of the blend of our cultures for the benefit and psychological well-being of our people. On the other hand, we are preparing a special social program, opening with a show that will present our deep and rich folk from the different regions of our country as well as a Congress Party that will include live music (music of the Andes, rock and Latin music)and take place by our seashore.  

As you know, Peru is one of the few countries in the word that has a steadily economy growth, yet it is the most affordable country in Latin America (two or three times less expensive than the U.S. or Europe), being both a very important tourist destination, where flourished Inca Empire culture, which means that it can be found traces of such a rich culture all over the country, many of them still unknown to the world.  

Lima, known as the Pearl of the Pacific, is a beautiful and modern city with a legacy of colonial architecture, and the district of Miraflores (area by the seashore) where the Congress will take place, pleasant and highly secure, has all the facilities with many hotels and where you can see a lot of cultural and artistic life. Lima also lives with many Inca’s archeological rests named “huacas” and pre-Inca ceremonial citadels as Pachacamac and Caral (5,000 BC.). In fact, I recommend visiting  Cusco (center of Quechua world), the capital of the Inca Empire, a living museum, surrounded by many intact archeological sites such as Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, PukaPucara, Ollantaytambo, and  Machu Picchu, the new Wonder of the World. 

As well, you can discover many other tourist sites of Peru, such as the mysterious Nazca Lines, the mud city of Chan Chan, the Pyramids of Tucume, the Lord of Sipan, the Lord of Sican, the Lady of Cao, the most preserved mummies in the world, and so on. Peru has a huge ancestral legacy.  

Peru is more than that, it has a number of natural wonders such as Lake Titicaca (the highest in the world), the Colca Canyon (the deepest in the world), the Amazon River (the largest and longest river in the world), the most diverse nature reserves in the world, such as Manu. Finally, Peru is distinguished by a very diverse folk art, as the "Dance of the Scissors" dance declared a World Heritage Site. But you can also consider the textil art (alpaca), ceramics, fine jewelry in silver and gold, etc. And last but not least, our country has the most varied and delicious cuisine of the world, and the incomparable warmth that Peruvian offer their visitors.  

I invite you to the most important BCT event in the world, here in Peru, where, as enjoying a high scientific level program with the participation of many world leaders, you will enjoy living history of the Incas’ land and our cuisine. We will be waiting for you with the warmth that characterizes us, together as in global brotherhood.   

Luís O. Pérez Flores  

President 7th WCBCT 2013