Experts in negotiation techniques are familiar with the two main models for tackling an agreement process: the competitive model and the collaborative or cooperative model. The latter aims to satisfy the expectations of all the parties involved by seeking solutions through consensus, a task in which constant flexibility and communication are key elements. This collaborative philosophy has guided the new Executive Committee in these first nine months of activity at the helm of the Asociación Española de Pediatría (Spanish Paediatric Association), during which we have observed the richness and diversity of our professional community, that blend of disparate interests which ultimately converge in a common mission: defending the Spanish model of paediatrics.

We are still in the early stages of our term of office, but so far we believe we have already laid the foundations of our collaborative approach as an executive team. Firstly, we have maintained those areas that have proved their ability to function effectively and contribute value to the organisation over recent years, such as general management, the secretary’s office, the committees and working groups and the external communication and legal advisory teams. Of course, we are grateful for the work of previous executive committees and boards of directors who have made it possible for the AEP to achieve its current position as the benchmark paediatric society in the national context of children’s and adolescents’ health.

Secondly, we have made ourselves receptive, through active listening, to the needs and expectations of the regional and speciality societies, those vehicles for transmitting the interests and requirements of our indispensable partners and collaborators in that shared objective of establishing, confirming and empowering paediatricians as the professionals best trained and qualified to care for children’s health.

We are adopting a cautious, participatory approach, with no intention of causing saturation or overload. We are especially interested in being in very close touch with the community’s concerns in order to provide our institutional backing where relevant. An example is our support for the administrative appeal lodged by the Paediatric Association of Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha against the December 2021 public competitive examination to fill 207 posts for specialists in paediatrics in the Madrid Health Service, for which the profile was not appropriately defined.1

Further illustrative examples are the position papers and public statements issued on various matters over the course of these months on a cooperative and participatory basis between the AEP and speciality societies.2 The key lies not only in the internal search for confluence of interests, complementarity of positions and reinforcement of the cohesiveness of our community, but also in fostering recognition of the various disciplines of paediatrics by raising the profile of the organisations that represent them.

Recognition of paediatric specialities3 is an indispensable commitment for this Executive Committee, as it was for our predecessors. In June 2022 we hope to publish the book presenting an updated account of the situation of the specific specialities and training areas in paediatrics, a work that will enable us to publicise our requirements more widely and above all to demand answers to the relevant requests, supporting our arguments with recent data.4

One of the priorities on which we have been working during this time is maintaining the quality of professionals’ skills and competences. Accordingly, protocols for several specialities have been updated,5 and others will be in the near future, thanks to the work of our speciality societies, with the commitment to update them periodically, ideally every five years and in no case more than ten, and the recertification working group has been reactivated. Following the suggestions of its coordinators, we have also undertaken an improvement plan for our successful ongoing training platform Continuum,6 with the aim of offering a more complete and satisfactory training experience.

The National Congress7 and the Vaccine Conference8 are the flagships of our academic activity. After a two-year “blackout” of face-to-face meetings, we have decided in 2022 to resume physical contact in our main professional gatherings, without giving up the advantages of accessibility and reach that we have learned from the crash course in digitalisation we were obliged to undergo owing to the pandemic situation. For the first time, the AEP is introducing the hybrid format in its activities, a decision requiring greater organisational and financial effort, but which we are confident will live up to our members’ expectations and fulfil our emotional need for closeness after so many months of physical distance.

Another challenge for us is undoubtedly to promote internal communication so as to ensure that all members receive information on the enormous wealth of activity that takes place within the AEP. To this end we have taken two important steps. The first is to reinforce our social media team, recruiting five paediatricians to select and publish relevant content both for professionals and for our various outside audiences, from public and private institutions to patients and the general public. And the second is to enhance our routine communications by introducing a newsletter, sent by email and entitled Espacio AEP [AEP Space], which reports on the activity we have implemented, month by month and with complete transparency.9

We cannot end this account of our first months in office without mentioning the Fundación Española de Pediatría (Spanish Paediatric Foundation), our platform for promoting and supporting research and knowledge exchange projects. In this area too we have followed a collaborative philosophy, broadening the focus to include the ecosystem of alliances between the AEP and organisations outside the healthcare sector, with a firm commitment to corporate social responsibility, good governance and social recognition of the role of paediatrics and its specialities. In the coming months we will report on the projects arising from the new agreements.

We conclude this roundup by expressing our sincerest gratitude and appreciation to all members of the AEP, who contribute day by day, from their respective societies, committees and working groups, platforms, projects, channels and publications, to maintaining the Association’s vast range of activities. Without your effort and collaboration, nothing would be possible.