SZKMA Symposium 2027 · 14 March · Ljubljana

Boštjan Koritnik is the opening host of the symposium and moderator of the afternoon panel on practitioner regulation across Europe. A graduate of the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, he has worked at the intersection of legal scholarship, publishing and public administration: as editor-in-chief of Pravna praksa, and since 2015 as a member of the teaching staff at the Faculty of Law. From 2020 to 2022 he served as Slovenia's Minister of Public Administration. He has also written on complementary and alternative medicine in Slovenia, bringing both regulatory experience and a longstanding interest in the field to the role of host.

Ricardo Teixeira is a licensed acupuncturist, TCM specialist, and clinical physiologist based in Portugal, and the current President of the ETCMA — the umbrella body representing over 30 associations and 11,000 practitioners across Europe. He holds dual licences in cardiopneumology and neurophysiology, and serves as an ACSS Specialist in Non-Conventional Therapeutics under the Portuguese Ministry of Health. He is a professor at the Northern Health School of the Portuguese Red Cross and has taught at the Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde and institutions across Europe. A co-author of peer-reviewed research on acupuncture regulation in Portugal published in Healthcare (2023), he is also a founding member of WADO and part of the organising committee for the World Acupuncture Day at UNESCO in Paris. He has represented EFHPA at the World Health Congress and is a regular keynote speaker at international TCM conferences.

Marjan Zaletel is a Senior Counselor and neurologist specializing in vascular neurology and migraine at the University Medical Centre Ljubljana. A member of the Professional Board of the Slovenian Association for Acupuncture, he is a strong advocate for acupuncture as a safe, effective complementary treatment for migraine — comparable in efficacy to medication and particularly valuable when drugs are unsuitable. His research includes comparative studies of Traditional Chinese and Western acupuncture for migraine (ICMART 2025) and the broader impact of acupuncture on migraine-related quality of life. He uniquely integrates advanced neurological research (CGRP, cerebral hemodynamics) with evidence-based acupuncture practice.

Ana Maria Varela, PhD, is coordinator of Portugal's first undergraduate degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Escola Superior de Saúde Jean Piaget in Almada, and a practising acupuncturist and TCM herbal specialist with more than 25 years of clinical experience. She has taught at the Lisbon School of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ESMTC) since 1998. She holds a PhD in Human Motricity from the University of Lisbon and a Master's in Clinical TCM (Herbal Medicine) and Bachelor's in TCM from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. A pioneer of TCM education and clinical training in Portugal, she has supervised clinical internships for over 15 years and taught Basic Theory, Herbal Prescription, Research Methodology and Clinical Management. Her work addresses WHO ICD-11 and TCM diagnosis, constitutional prevention, and the evidence base of Chinese herbal medicine in contemporary health systems.

Sofie Mollekens is a registered acupuncturist and member of the Belgian Acupunctors Federation (BAF), the largest professional association for acupuncturists in Belgium, recognised by the Minister of Health. She practises at Medihuis in Schoten and specialises in the clinical integration of acupuncture within interdisciplinary pain management settings. Her work exemplifies the model of collaborative, evidence-informed practice that BAF promotes across Belgium, where acupuncture operates alongside conventional medicine within multidisciplinary clinical teams.

Adrianne Waldt is a registered pain nurse and licensed acupuncturist practising within a conventional hospital in Belgium, where she focuses on personalised care and clinical research at the intersection of TCM and mainstream medicine. She holds a Master of Science and an Advanced Master in International Relations and Diplomacy, partly undertaken at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, and previously worked in international humanitarian affairs with the Red Cross, delivering guest lectures and developing training courses and publications. She is the coordinator of the MEP Interest Group on Integrative Care and Sustainable Health at EUROCAM — placing her at the centre of European parliamentary advocacy for integrative medicine. She has facilitated high-level webinars at the European Parliament on integrative oncology and mental health, and is a regular speaker at international TCM and health policy events.

Keir McNamara is an acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner. A second-generation practitioner, he holds a PhD in agricultural science and qualified in acupuncture at the College of Integrative Acupuncture in Galway in 2006, later training in Tung acupuncture; he is also a former Irish international athlete with nearly three decades of experience in sports injury work. As Chairperson of the Acupuncture Council of Ireland — one of the country's longest-established professional bodies, with some 500 members — he has made statutory recognition and public confidence in the profession a central priority, arguing for acupuncture to sit alongside conventional care rather than outside it. He is currently working with the Department of Health on a proportionate, modern regulatory framework for TCM in Ireland: one that raises standards and protects patients without restricting the profession to medical practitioners alone.

Alex Jacobs is the Chief Executive Officer of the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC), a position he has held since June 2024, having previously served as President and CEO of the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine. A practising acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist and tuina practitioner based in West Hampstead, London, he is also a clinical supervisor at City College of Acupuncture and teaches taiji, qigong and Chinese dietary therapy. His interest in Chinese medicine developed while studying Mandarin in Taiwan; he holds a BSc in Acupuncture, an MSc in Chinese Herbal Medicine and is a long-standing member of the BAcC who has contributed to professional guidelines and advocacy for the integration of traditional acupuncture into UK healthcare.

Jana Pahole, dr. med., is a Slovenian specialist in medical oncology who now focuses on integrative oncology. After graduating from the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine in 2004 and specialising at the Institute of Oncology Ljubljana (where she worked for nearly two decades, first in palliative care and later on the lymphoma ward), she left the public system in 2023 to practise independently under Svetlika. She offers supportive care that includes medical hypnosis and counselling, drawing on additional training in hypnotherapy, non-violent communication and reflexology, while emphasising a holistic approach that treats the whole person beyond the diagnosis.

Matthias F. Durrer is Co-President of the TCM Fachverband Schweiz, Switzerland's largest TCM professional association, a role he has held since 2022. The association, founded in 1995, represents more than 1,400 members and helped establish the federal diploma of Naturheilpraktiker with specialisation in TCM. He represents the Fachverband on the national Interprofessionalität platform alongside the FMH, family physicians, physioswiss and other major health professions. A practising dipl. Naturheilpraktiker in acupuncture/Tuina and Chinese herbal medicine based in Bern, he also teaches Emei Qigong and organises clinical immersion tours to the Yunnan Provincial Traditional Medicine Hospital.