As a global organization with more than 23,000 members, the AUA has long recognized the value of collaboration and interchange of urological skills, experience, and knowledge among the global urologic community to advance urology together.

AUA’s commitment to developing wide-reaching collaborations and opportunities with our international partners continues to grow and evolve. The AUA values opportunities to collaborate with the global urologic community and would like to thank all of our international colleagues, members, and partners for their friendship and collaboration.

The AUA’s international activities fall under the purview of the secretary along with 3 associate secretaries who are each responsible for a specific geographic region. The current team is comprised of Drs David Penson (secretary), Aseem Shukla (associate secretary for Asia/Australia), Jose Karam (associate secretary for Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and myself as associate secretary for the Americas and the Caribbean. Dr Jaspreet Sandhu was recently announced to succeed Dr Shukla as associate secretary beginning in June 2024. This team is critical to maintaining continuity of global leadership and ensures that our international society partners have a direct conduit to the AUA as well as opportunities to increase engagement in the organization.

Despite the differences in our language, culture, and health care systems, we all share a common desire to improve urologic education and training, and to deliver the highest quality health care to our patients. Since AUA began implementing its International Education Plan in 2007, collaborations have grown exponentially with strong partnerships and friendships established around the world. I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight one of AUA’s first society partners, the Sociedade Brasileira de Urologia (SBU), which has become the largest country outside of the US in both AUA international membership and AUA Annual Meeting attendance. AUA and SBU have worked together for more than a decade. Throughout that time, the AUA has consistently brought our educational benefits and resources to our friends and colleagues in Brazil. In addition, many leaders have been an integral part of creating and nurturing a strong collaborative partnership between our societies, which has also led to many close personal friendships being developed that continue to this day, spanning 5 AUA secretary terms: Drs John Denstedt, Manoj Monga, Gopal Badlani, Robert Flanigan, and now, David Penson (Figures 1 and 2).

Prior to the associate secretary structure, Dr Fernando Kim served as Host Country Liaison to Brazil, and while these efforts are now aligned under the associate secretary position, Dr Kim’s efforts helped guide AUA/SBU collaborations and educational programming as well as ensuring continuity between leadership transitions. SBU President (2018/2019) Dr Sebastiao Westphal noted that “the restructuring of the Brazilian/Portuguese Urology program with Dr Kim’s invaluable contributions became more attractive and resulted in a significant increase in participants.” Dr Kim was recognized with a Presidential Citation in 2019, and as he moves on to serve as president of the AUA South Central Section, we thank him for his 14 years of service and his efforts in establishing a strong partnership between the SBU and AUA (Figures 3 and 4).

This relationship continued to evolve under the aegis of Dr Angela Smith, assistant secretary (2018-2022) and not only has allowed the AUA to gain a better understanding of the educational needs of Brazilian urologists, but also has allowed SBU leadership to learn more about the AUA (Figure 5).

Several SBU leadership delegations visited the AUA headquarters over the past decade to learn more about our governance and organizational structure with SBU, subsequently implementing changes to formalize processes and services. SBU President (2022/2023) Dr Alfredo Canalini said, “The relationship between SBU and AUA improved in the last years. I am a witness of this movement since 2016 in my first visit to the AUA headquarters… I am sure that this reality will never change, but grow stronger through the coming years” (Figure 6).

Since 2009, the AUA/SBU Academic Exchange program has been held each year with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. This reciprocal program is supported by Teleflex and allows 2 North American urologists to observe at an academic center(s) in Brazil, and attend an SBU Congress while also allowing 2 Brazilian urologists to do the same in the US and attend the AUA Annual Meeting. The program not only allows the sharing of knowledge and experiences, but is designed to foster a closer alliance between the AUA and SBU, and assists in identifying future leaders within both organizations. One of our past scholars, Dr Marcelo Wroclawski, is now president of the SBU Sao Paulo Section (Figure 7).

In 2012, the SBU held the Highlights of the AUA program in Brazil, which featured AUA Annual Meeting content presented in Brazilian Portuguese by SBU experts. The Highlights program occurs on an annual basis and has grown each year, rotating around the country to enable urologists in every part of Brazil to benefit from AUA education. The AUA and SBU also partnered together for resident education to hold a Lessons in Urology course in person for the first time under SBU President (2018/2019) Dr Sebastiao Westphal, who commented that “the activity transcended Brazilian borders.”

Of course, our strong partnership continues to flourish through participation in each other’s national urological meetings. AUA has an annual presence in Brazil and when the SBU Congress is not held, AUA participates in the SBU Paulista Congress. This ongoing involvement provides opportunities not only to engage with the next generation of urologists, but also to build bridges and expand representation of women in urology with the Society of Women in Urology and The Orchids group. A large Brazilian delegation typically attends the AUA Annual Meeting each year, and the AUA Annual Meeting features the Brazilian/Portuguese Urology Program, which brings together experts from both societies. Many Brazilian urologists also serve as abstract reviewers, moderators, or speakers, which further highlights the strong bond between our associations. SBU President (2016/2017) Dr Archimedes Nardozza Jr said, “The collaborative efforts between SBU and AUA have materialized into a series of impactful programs” (Figures 8 and 9).

In my role as associate secretary, I have continued to build upon the efforts and success of my predecessors, and I look forward to ensuring that the AUA/SBU partnership continues long into the future. I had the opportunity to attend the Brazilian Congress of Urology meeting in Salvador, Brazil, in November 2023, and it was an excellent meeting both educationally and socially. AUA had a large delegation at the meeting, which resulted in a successful collaboration and celebration of Dr Canalini’s presidency and the opportunity to welcome our longtime friend, Dr Luiz Torres, who has been involved in our collaborations for over a decade as SBU’s international relations chair and general secretary. The AUA is looking forward to a successful partnership with President Torres and the new SBU leadership (Figures 10 and 11).

Medicine can truly transcend borders. The openness and desire to partner with the AUA by the SBU and all of AUA’s international society partners have been instrumental to our global engagement and outreach. These opportunities have planted the seeds of collaboration and friendship that will continue to grow long into the future.