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The Australian Coalition Government will commit $20M over four years to support people living with epilepsy, Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, announced on Saturday. The funding will enable the expanded delivery of a range of national epilepsy initiatives that will reduce the chronic health impacts experienced by Australians of all ages living with epilepsy through a new program titled Epilepsy Smart Australia. The national program will ensure people with epilepsy have access to information relevant to their age and condition, that workforces understand epilepsy and appropriately respond to the needs of workers living with epilepsy, ensure children in schools can achieve a better education and reduce demands on hospitals. The program developed by the Epilepsy Foundation will be delivered by Epilepsy Australia, the national coalition of state and territory-based epilepsy service providers. Epilepsy is the most common chronic and serious brain disorder that cannot be cured, currently affecting approximately 250,000 Australians with 1.25 million indirectly affected. This number is expected to grow significantly in coming years due to a sharp increase in older Australians now acquiring this chronic condition. “This is an opportunity for a whole-of-government investment in a much-needed, nationally consistent program that will enable more efficient and better delivery [...]

Is there a young member of your association who is affected by epilepsy, or cares for someone with epilepsy, who has been a “shining light” for others and, so, is deserving of recognition? We are calling on all IBE chapters around the world to submit nominations for the International Golden Light Award, to be presented during the 33rd International Epilepsy Congress in Bangkok in June 2019. Background The award recognises the contributions of people affected by epilepsy in their community and those who care for them and were first presented in 2004, with the title ‘Outstanding Person with Epilepsy Award’. They have been given every two years at each Asian & Oceanian Epilepsy Congress since then. The title of the award was changed to Golden Light Awards in 2016, to recognise the fact that people with epilepsy should not be defined by their condition, thereby embracing the call of the International Bureau for Epilepsy to ‘bring epilepsy out of the shadows and into the light’. Due to the success of these awards, IBE now intends to present them during all regional and international epilepsy congresses. The first of these International Golden Lights Awards will be given during the [...]

The Speakers Brian Hayes MEP Brian Hayes served as a member of Dail Eireann (Irish Parliament) from 1997-2002 and 2007-2014, until his election to the European Parliament in May 2014. He was appointed to three European Parliament Committees - Economic & Monetary Affairs, Development, and Budgetary Control. He is a member of the Delegations to Iraq and South Africa. Martin Brodie Prof Martin Brodie is President of the International Bureau for Epilepsy (IBE) and Co-chair Epilepsy Alliance Europe. His involvement with IBE goes back more than 30 years, having served as a member of its board from 2005 to 2009. His research interests include antiepileptic drug neuropharmacology, randomised clinical trials, prognostic outcome studies, management of epilepsy and factors affecting antiepileptic drug response. Francesca Sofia Dr Sofia is a molecular biologist with a PhD in neuroscience. She specialized in healthcare economics and policy as a research program manager for an Italian health foundation, dedicated to rare genetic diseases. Her career path changed when her youngest daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy, in 2011. In July 2014, she joined the Italian Epilepsy Federation with the aim of fostering epilepsy research. Recently, she [...]

To coincide with International Epilepsy Day, Scottish production company Storm Features today launched an experimental online magazine called A Life Electric. For the past year a Scottish visual journalist has been collecting stories about epilepsy inspired by the death of his brother to the illness. Fraser Morton, 36, from Edinburgh, has traveled to India, Indonesia, Australia and has found stories as far afield as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mongolia, San Francisco, as well as in the United Kingdom. His brother Blair died aged 19 due to Sudden Unexpected Death By Epilepsy (SUDEP), a condition where no other cause of death can be found, so a fatal epilepsy seizure is suspected. In the UK, 21 people each week die from the condition. Morton has launched an experimental online magazine exploring epilepsy and is currently producing a feature documentary to tell the contrasting stories of people living with epilepsy in 2019. The project is called A Life Electric and comprises of an online magazine with documentary film and book of the same name. The self-funded online magazine A Life Electric can be viewed here www.alifeelectric.org    

As part of our International Epilepsy Day celebrations for 2019, we invited you to enter a video competition. The competition, open to everyone, had two categories: My Personal Story and Educational Video. Winning videos have been selected based on their success in telling an inspiring personal story or in using a novel means of increasing knowledge and awareness of epilepsy. In each category, there is one 1st Prize of US$500 and five Runners’ Up prizes of US$100. We are delighted to announce the winners, below:   Category 1: My Personal Story 1st Prize Winner: Linda Cambell (Scotland), ‘Zoned Out’ Runners Up: Farah (Fatemeh) Abbasi Siar (Iran), ‘My Dream is a world without war’ Ng, Wai Hung (Hong Kong), ‘A Big Boy Story’ Delyma Asnydar SS (Indonesia), ‘A Sweet And Short Journey of An Epilepsy Warrior’ Yvette Barrera-Molina (USA), ‘Some Super Heros Fight Crime, Mine Fights Epilepsy’ Jess McCallum (Australia), ‘Jess McCallum She Beast’ Watch the Category 1 Runner Up videos here   Category 2: Educational Video 1st Prize Winner: Epilepsy Foundation (USA), ‘Taking Charge of the Storm Jr.’ Runners Up: Cairo University Epilepsy Unit (Egypt), Pregnancy Awareness Norsk Epilepsiforbund (Norway), How to handle an epileptic seizure Epilepsy Action (UK), Ali’s story: taking my medicine Youth on the Move (Kenya), [...]

The Italian League Against Epilepsy (LICE) and Italian Association Against Epilepsy - Veneto (AICE) have launched an initiative that aims to increase public understanding of epilepsy, with the hope that it will be replicated in other countries. What is more common than a carton of milk? With half a million people living with it, and 30,000 new cases found per year in Italy, epilepsy is a very common pathology. Yet it is seen as an obscure disease which should be hidden. This add to the stigma around it, which is hard to eradicate. This is not true for the Lattebusche dairy co-op, which from December 2018 to May 2019 will sell cartons of milk at all points of sale, displaying the 8 rules to follow in case of a seizure. The awareness campaign will reach out at least 1,5 million people. In addition, for International Epilepsy Day (February 11th), 300,000 Lattebusche cartons of milk will display the same rules on one side of the carton. The co-op will also print the rules in 100,000 flyers to be distributed until May. “Epilepsy is a disease with a lot of fear and skepticism around it”, states Sergio Giordani, major of Padua. “a completely [...]

To celebrate International Epilepsy Day 2019, we present the fourth video in our series featuring International Epilepsy Day mascot, Campi the seahorse. In this video, Campi meets a new friend- Stella Starfish, who also has epilepsy. Stella loves to play football but her team coach is not sure that it's safe for her to play. Watch the video to find out how she solves this problem, and what she and Campi learn about epilepsy and sports. This latest animation is part of a series of educational stories, specially suited to young children. Together with the videos, we are creating a teachers’ pack to help educators to use the tool in the classroom. First up is a page to colour in. You can watch more videos featuring Campi on International Epilepsy Day’s YouTube Channel here.

It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Augustine Mugarura, long-standing director of the Epilepsy Support Association Uganda (ESAU). Augustine led the IBE chapter in Uganda for many years, introducing projects to improve the quality of lives of people with epilepsy through training and education. RIP Augustine.

A caring short film on Epilepsy Nina, The Little Bulldozer is a short film that is part documentary, part animation. Through the words of Nadia and Thomas Davies (Nina's parents) the little girl comes to life and symbolizes the spirit of overcoming. This unique short film was created by a world class group of extremely talented individuals from Animation and Character Design Studios in Spain, France, Japan, and the US. The music was provided by a highly talented and esteemed musician from the San Francisco Bay area. Their individual names are listed in the credits section. In four and one-half minutes you will see epilepsy in a new light. This one of a kind short film simulates a seizure in an animated, artistic and compassionate manner. It is suitable for people of all ages. It portrays the courage and hope of a little girl that in spite of her illness never gives up and keeps going. She jumps over all obstacles in her way to reach her goal. This wonderful piece of art offers hope for all afflicted. All artists worked gratuitously to bring Nina’s story to life. It was done in the hope that this devastating neurological disease might be [...]