| The International
Epilepsy Congress Secretariat was established to provide support
to Richard Holmes, the International Director of Meetings
in all aspects of ILAE/IBE congress planning. The office now
employs a skilled team of people who are working in cooperation
with the international committees for each congress. A Project
Manager for each meeting works in close collaboration with
International Committees, Regional Commissions and local representatives.
The office is engaged in the planning of all
aspects of the International and Regional Epilepsy Congresses.
This task has involved all organisational tasks such as site
inspections, venue selection reports, Website development,
registration and abstract handling, congress promotion, logistics,
sponsorship, speakers' arrangements and administrative back-up
for all matters related to the Scientific Programme.
International Epilepsy Congresses (ILAE/IBE)
It is likely that by the time this report has been published,
the 25th International Epilepsy Congress will have taken place
in Lisbon in October 2003. The meeting is set to offer a rich
and varied mix with delegates from over 80 countries attending,
and speakers from more than 30 countries represented in the
main scientific programme. Seven main topics will be incorporated
into the programme for the meeting covering both the social
and the medical spheres. Lisbon will also be the first ILAE/IBE
meeting to offer the "Congress Attendance Award,"
a joint initiative on behalf of ILAE and IBE comprising a
bursary fund dedicated to assisting delegates from developing
regions to attend the congress.
The IDM office is already planning for the 26th
International Epilepsy Congress, which will take place in
Paris at the end of August 2005. The Project Manager for this
meeting, Soazig Daniel, is working closely with the Scientific
Advisory Committee on the preliminary programming and scheduling
for the meeting. The first Organising Committee meeting was
held in May 2003 and the Scientific Advisory Committee will
meet to begin the task of constructing the Scientific Programme
in November 2003.
European Congresses on Epileptology
The 5th European Congress on Epileptology, held
in Madrid in October 2002, was a great success with an attendance
of over 3,000 delegates. All logistical planning, programme
handling and promotion for the meeting was the responsibility
of the IDM office.
Plans are now well underway for the 6th European
Congress on Epileptology, which will be held in Vienna from
30 May through 3 June 2004. The programme for the meeting
will encompass speakers and topics of interest to epileptologists
and neurologists from all over Europe, East and West, and
will combine Main Session topics with a comprehensive programme
of Discussion Groups, Workshops, Teaching Sessions and free
communications. The Project Manager for the Vienna Congress,
Louise McLoughlin, has been working closely with the committees
and local suppliers in the planning for this event including
congress centre planning, speaker invitations, Website design
and congress promotion.
The 7th European Congress on Epileptology will
be held in Helsinki in 2006 and it is expected that the first
organising committee meeting for this congress will take place
in 2004.
Regional ILAE Congresses
Plans are now advancing for the 3rd Latin American Epilepsy
Congress, which takes place in Mexico City 2-5 July 2004.
The Project Manager for the meeting, David Shirley, has been
involved in the planning for this meeting for over a year
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