It is with a mixture of gratitude and sadness that we announce the departure of our Executive Director, Ann Little. Ann will step down from her role at IBE on December 31st, following 25 years of service. Over those 25 years Ann has been central to IBE’s activities and instrumental to the organisation’s growth. Her contribution has been immeasurable and she leaves a lasting legacy.
We hope you will join us in extending our thanks to Ann and in wishing her every happiness in her upcoming retirement.
Over the course of those 25 years, I have been honoured to work with five boards, led by dedicated Presidents, whose efforts have seen the introduction of a wide range of initiatives, each one developed to address IBE’s mission to improve the quality of life of people with epilepsy and their care providers. As the term of the next board begins, I can see that IBE is in a good place with exciting times ahead as new programs come on stream led by Francesca and her team. I am also delighted that Donna will be taking over as CEO; I have known her for a number of years and have always been astonished by her work ethic.
It has been a privilege to watch IBE grow and develop in the past quarter of a century. Membership alone has more than doubled from 74 Chapters and ‘Friends’ in 1997 to 149 Full and Associate Chapters today. The launch of the ILAE/IBE/WHO Global Campaign Against Epilepsy in 1997 was the first major event during my IBE career and has led to significant successes for IBE (and ILAE) with the approval by the World Health Assembly of the Resolution on Epilepsy in 2015 and the Resolution on Epilepsy and other Neurological Conditions in 2021.
A major constitutional review in 2004 saw the introduction of board elections and regional structures marking the start of a truly democratic association, that is now led by its members and recognises regional diversity.
In 2006, the Promising Strategies Program was launched and has since supported more than 90 projects in resource-poor countries. In the same year, the European White Paper on Epilepsy was launched in the European Parliament and, one year later, in 2007, IBE obtained Special Consultative Status on the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
IBE celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011 with a series of events at the International Epilepsy Congress in Rome. Earlier that year, the first European Epilepsy Day was launched in the European Parliament in Strasbourg – an event that was to set the seeds for the creation of Epilepsy Alliance Europe and a European Written Declaration on Epilepsy that achieved the highest ever number of MEP signatures for a declaration on a medical issue.
Four years later, in 2015, the first International Epilepsy Day was celebrated and is now an annual event in more than 140 countries worldwide. This year we added to the celebration with the 50 Million Steps campaign.
More recently, the Golden Light Awards have been introduced, providing an important avenue to celebrate the efforts of young people and to encourage their involvement in the work of IBE and their local associations.
It’s difficult to remember all of the great initiatives that I have seen introduced over the years, and I have listed just a few. However, what will always remain with me is the memory of the wonderful people – people with epilepsy, their families, association staff – that I have met, in all corners of the world, who work with drive and dedication to make things better. I have been particularly humbled by those who, despite the adversity they might face because of financial or political struggles, never give up. It has been a privilege.
Ann Little