The ILAE Headquarters
Office was established in 2002 to centralize the League’s administrative functions, to
improve the relationship and day-to-day communication with
the Chapters, and to relieve the members of the Executive
Committee of the League’s administrative responsibilities
so that they can focus on developing new
programs and services.
The aims of the ILAE Headquarters Office are:
- To be the
central contact point for all chapters
- To be the central repository for all League
correspondence and archives
- To provide administrative support for all Management
and Executive Committee activities and to staff their meetings
Delphine Sartiaux, Assistant Administrative Director and
Nele Devolder, Membership Services, staff the Headquarters
Office in Brussels, Belgium. I am based at the Financial
Office in the U.S. and in continuous contact, via e-mail
and telephone, with Delphine and Nele in Brussels. There
is also now one database for the Headquarters and Financial
Offices that is shared between both offices and updated via
the website.
Since its establishment, the Headquarters Office has become
the central point of contact for all chapters. Good relationships
with the contact persons, previously established with each
Chapter in 2002, have been strengthened and new ones established.
Below is a brief overview of the main activities undertaken
by the HQ office in 2004:
Assistance to the Management and Executive Committees
The Headquarters staff provides all necessary support to
the Management and Executive Committees. Staffing is provided
for the various in-person meetings as well as for the regular
telephone conference calls. For each meeting, staff coordinates
with the meeting facility, prepares the agenda/meeting folders,
records the minutes, and provides the necessary follow-up.
Support to Commissions’ Activities
The Brussels Office has a variety of small and large meeting
rooms with all the latest technology available for meetings.
HQ staff provides logistical assistance to Commissions and
Task Forces who wish to have their meetings in Brussels.
The Commission on European Affairs regularly meets at HQ
and the EUREPA Workshop was held there in October 2004.
Central
Point of Contact for Chapters HQ continuously updates the database, which contains contact
information for the chapters' officers. This information
is also available on the Chapter section of the ILAE website.
By keeping these contact details up to date, Chapter members
are assured of receiving Epigraph and the newest information
on the ILAE
congress activities.
Increase the Number of ILAE Chapters Worldwide
Together with the Secretary-General’s Office, HQ provides
the necessary information and assistance to
several contact persons in different countries who are interested
in creating an ILAE Chapter.
Elections
The HQ office is also involved in coordinating the League’s
elections. Staff’s role in this process is to send
out official communications from the Election Commission
to the Chapters, to follow up with the Chapters, and finally
to collect votes for each phase of the procedure. This project
started in 2004 with the Presidential election and continued
into 2005 for the remaining Executive Committee positions.
Organization of Chapter Conventions
As a result of the success of the first Chapter Convention
in Madrid, Spain in 2002, the ILAE again invited all Chapters
to participate in the Chapter Convention held in Lisbon,
Portugal during the last International Congress. More than
fifty Chapters from all over the world were represented.
In 2004, Chapter Meetings were held at all of the Regional
Meetings in Cotonou, Benin; Vienna, Austria; Mexico City,
Mexico; Bangkok, Thailand; and Marrakesh, Morocco.
Participation at Congresses
Delphine, Nele, and I participated in the 25th International
Congress in Lisbon. Many Chapter members took the opportunity
to visit the ILAE booth and to meet us in person. At least
one of us attended each of the 2004 Regional Meetings and
staffed the information table. Again, this was an excellent
opportunity to exchange views with several of the Chapters’ members
and to establish personal contacts. We invite you to come
and meet us at the ILAE booth during the 26th International
Congress in Paris in August 2005. We look forward to welcoming
you at our stand!
Re-branding
About a year ago, the League underwent a re-branding process
to overhaul our communications. The staff worked to design
an appropriate representation of the League. The Executive
Committee provided input, and then approved the designs.
The new logo is a strong representation of who ILAE is as
a society. The acronym ILAE is represented in large capital
letters and the full name International League Against Epilepsy
drapes the left side. By including the acronym and full name
of the League, those who view the logo will associate the
letters ILAE with its meaning.
The most profound part of the new logo is the use of the
EEG line in lieu of the letter A. This use of the EEG line,
one of the most universally recognized medical images, immediately
establishes ILAE as a neurology-based organization. The strategic
use of the color red for the EEG line makes it stand out
in contrast to the color of the rest of the letters in the
logo. The League has used an EEG line as their logo for a
number of years and the image has been carried over to the
new logo to maintain the history of the logo, while providing
a bolder, more modern look.
The League’s new logo now serves as the umbrella for
the look and feel of all of ILAE’s communications and
publications.
With nearly 700 million people worldwide with internet access,
the League’s next priority was to visually upgrade
the website. The new-look website was designed based on the
colors from the new logo and
to appeal to an international audience. As the League’s
universal communication tool, the web site directly complements
the League’s new logo and color scheme.
The League has also added a new look to the official newsletter,
Epigraph. The newsletter’s design is a contrast from
the website and logo, but using the consistent color scheme
and feel to identify it as an ILAE publication. The central
focus of the newsletter is the color red, which is the anchor
in the ILAE logotype.
The new look of Epigraph is a slight contrast from the look
of the website and the logo, focusing more on
the dark colors of the logo, but keeping the look in the
same family of the brand. Alternating the look of this publication
will help reinforce the brand by taking a step back from
the look, but by maintaining the feel, adds a certain flavor
to the publication and helps prevent the brand and look from
becoming overused and stale.
The latest addition to the ILAE re-branding family is this
annual report, which features a design consistent with the
international look and feel, along with the consistent color
scheme of the League’s other communications.
The League has established a series of stringent guidelines
to ensure the integrity of the ILAE brand. These guidelines
cover everything from the proper sizing, color and placement
of the logo to the proper use of the official ILAE colors
for different publications.
These guidelines, available in the Chapter Officer section
of the ILAE website, cover the correct and incorrect usage
of the League’s brand.
The guidelines that must be adhered to in each and every
use of the League’s name, logo and official colors.
The guidelines provide a thorough checklist of how the logo
must be represented. These guidelines are available in the
Chapter Officer section of the ILAE website and are available
for download in .pdf format.
Building a brand is a process that does not have an end.
Each and every use of the name, logo and colors is a representation
of the organization. When comparing each communication piece
to each other, the consistent feel of the ILAE is evident,
while each piece maintains individuality among the others.
As future ILAE publications are developed, this look will
be carried forward and further develop the exposure of the
ILAE brand.
Peter Berry, CAE
Administrative Director
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