In 1981 the Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health brought forth the notion that ‘Children are one third of our population and all of our future’. In April 2012, over 7,000 pediatricians, research scientists, health care providers and policy makers, including over 1,200 international attendees, will be meeting to honour this notion, share their experiences, discuss controversial hot topics and acknowledge the achievements of young investigators and esteemed paediatricians.  The Pediatric Academic Societies meeting will bring this diverse group of people together for a common purpose in Boston, one of the oldest cities in the United States and an international centre of higher education and medicine.