WFC History

WFC history

In September 1987, at a World Chiropractic Summit convened by the European Chiropractors' Union in London, England there was agreement that a Presidents’ Committee be formed to enquire into and report upon the formation of a world federation representing national chiropractic associations. The Presidents’ Committee reported and the World Federation of Chiropractic was established in Sydney, Australia on October 2, 1988 at a World Chiropractic Congress organized by the Chiropractors' Association of Australia.

The first Council meeting was held in Toronto, Canada August 31-September 2, 1989 attended by delegates from 7 world regions elected for a three-year term. Dr. Gary Auerbach (North America), Dr. Christoph Diem (Europe) and Dr. John Sweaney (Pacific), were elected as President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer. A Research Council was established, chaired by Dr. Scott Haldeman, USA. A Secretariat was established in Toronto with Mr. David Chapman-Smith as Secretary-General. Subsequently, Council meetings were scheduled annually in Geneva, Switzerland (1991), Hong Kong (1992), Cancun, Mexico (1994), Nicosia, Cyprus (1996), Cape Town, South Africa (1998), Canela, Brazil (2000), Toronto, Canada (2002), Singapore (2004), Johannesburg, South Africa (2006).

The WFC was admitted into official relations with the World Health Organization as a non-governmental organization or NGO in January 1997 and has represented the chiropractic profession at WHO since that time. One product of that relationship is WHO’s first policy document on chiropractic, Guidelines on Basic Training and Safety in Chiropractic, published in 2005 and now available in many languages. The WFC’s Chiropractors Against Tobacco (CAT) campaign arose as part of the WFC’s support for WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative. 

The WFC’s voting members are national associations of chiropractors – currently in over 90 countries in 7 world regions.

The WFC’s strength comes from its partnerships with and support from the national and international organizations representing all aspects of the profession – education, accreditation, research, examining and licensing boards, and specialty areas of practice such as orthopedics, radiology and sports chiropractic. This has enabled the WFC to provide an effective forum for discussion of major issues facing the profession internationally. Good examples are the 1995 to 1997 consultation on educational standards which led to the Tokyo Charter (1997) and the 2003 to 2005 consultation on market identity which led to unanimous acceptance by members of a Task Force Report on identity (2005).

In addition, the Biennial Congress was created with the inaugural held in Toronto, Canada April 29-May 5, 1991 including the First Assembly of Members and a Symposium program, co-sponsored by the American Back Society. Subsequently, Congresses were held in conjunction with the Council meeting and the Assembly of Members in the following cities:

• 1993 London, United Kingdom, co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation 
• 1995 Washington, DC as part of the Chiropractic Centennial Celebrations 
• 1997 Tokyo, Japan co-sponsored by the World Health Organization 
• 1999 Auckland, New Zealand 
• 2001 Paris, France 
• 2003 Orlando, Florida, USA 
• 2005 Sydney, Australia 
• 2007 Vilamoura, Portugal 
• 2009 Montreal, Canada 
• 2011 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 
• 2013 Durban, South Africa 
• 2015 Athens, Greece 
• 2017 Washington, D.C., USA 
• 2019 Berlin, Germany 
• 2021 Virtual Event 
• 2023 Gold Coast, Australia

In 1998, the WFC introduced its Education Conference with the focus being on the Internationalisation of Chiropractic Education. This was held in Manila, The Philippines. Further Education Conferences took place as follows: 

• 2000 Fort Lauderdale, USA - Conference on Philosophy in Chiropractic Education, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges 
• 2002 São Paulo, Brazil - Conference on Clinical Education, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges and US National Board of Chiropractic Examiners 
• 2004 Toronto, Canada - Conference on Patient Examination, Assessment and Diagnosis in Clinical Education, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges and US National Board of Chiropractic Examiners 
• 2006 Cancun, Mexico – Conference on Professional Identity and Curriculum in Chiropractic Education 
• 2008 Beijing, China – Conference on Chiropractic Education in an Era of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants: How to Make the Successful Transition to 21st Century Technology, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges and US National Board of Chiropractic Examiners 
• 2010 Madrid, Spain – Conference on Clinical Training in Chiropractic Education: Meeting the Demands of a New Era, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the Consortium of European Chiropractic Educators and the International Board of Chiropractic Examiners 
• 2012 Perth, Australia - Conference on Translating Evidence Into Practice, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges, the Consortium of Chiropractic Institutions Asia Pacific, the International Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and Murdoch University 
• 2014 Miami, Florida, USA - Conference on Chiropractic Education for a Changing Healthcare Environment, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges 
• 2016 Montréal, Canada - Conference on Chiropractors: Training Tomorrow's Spine Care Experts, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges 
• 2018 London, United Kingdom - Empowered to Teach, Inspired to Learn: Creating Excellence in Chiropractic Education, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges
• 2022 St Louis, USA - Leveling Up: Creating Consistency in Chiropractic Education, co-sponsored by the Association of Chiropractic Colleges