A stimulating day with a robust agenda. We looked at cultural and international issues, workforce recruitment, workforce retention and workforce training and competencies. Robyn Stone, Director of the Centre for Applied Research @LeadingAge,Washington, stressed”It’s the people” ..it’s all about the workforce…if none, there would be no long-term care or health care system, but the main driver is competent professional and direct care staff across all settings. Numbers of staff are not important; competency is. Speakers from Australia, Singapore, Netherlands, China, UK, and USA shared evidence based research to fuel the debates. More tomorrow when the IAHSA-CHINA conference formally opens. It is a privilege to be here.