The IPVS was founded in 1967. The first congress was held in Cambridge, United Kingdom in 1969 and the second in Hannover, Germany in 1972. Twenty-four IPVS congresses have been held to date, with numbers of participants increasing from 500 at the first in 1967 to records of 2 716 at the 21st in Vancouver in 2010, 3 093 at Jeju, Korea in 2012, 2 560 in Cancun, Mexico in 2014, 3 552 in Dublin, Ireland in 2016 and 5599 in Chongqing, China in 2018.
History Booklets
A booklet (download) [5.27 MB] covering the period 1967 – 2006 was prepared by Dr Peter Evans prior to the Durban 2008 IPVS Conference.
The Chinese LOC for the 25th IPVS Congress held in Chongqing, China prepared an up to date history booklet (download) which can be viewed online.
History subsequent to 2006
| 20th IPVS | Durban, South Africa | 2008 |
| 21st IPVS | Vancouver, Canada | 2010 |
| 22nd IPVS | Jeju, Korea | 2012 |
| 23rd IPVS | Cancun, Mexico | 2014 |
| 24th IPVS | Dublin, Ireland | 2016 |
| 25th IPVS | Chongqing, China | 2018 |