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Balloting is now underway to elect the 7 Regional Vice Presidents for the period 2017-2019. The IBE chapters are invited to ballot in the elections to fill the Vice President positions in Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America, North America, South East Asia and Western Pacific regions. The close of the ballot period is 8th April 2017 and the results of the elections will be announced on 11th April. As a once off, to begin the new staggering of terms on the International Executive Committee, the Vice Presidents will be elected for a two-year term 2017-2019. A third cycle of elections, to fill remaining positions on the Regional Executive Committees will start in mid-April. All elections will be completed by mid-July. The new term of office for all successfully elected candidates begins at the time of the next IBE General Assembly, taking place during the 32nd International Executive Committee in Barcelona in September 2017. Meet the candidates and read their election statements. AFRICA EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN EUROPE LATIN AMERICA NORTH AMERICA SOUTH EAST ASIA WESTERN PACIFIC

IBE is pleased to announce the results of the recent elections to fill the Officer positions (President, Secretary General and Treasurer) on the International Executive Committee for the period 2017-2021.   President-elect is Prof Martin Brodie (Scotland). Prof Brodie has previously been a member of the IBE International Executive Committee when he held the office of ILAE Treasurer from 2005 to 2009. He has been involved in other IBE activities, including chairing EUcare – a joint task force of IBE and ILAE, which was active from 2001 to 2009. He set up and chairs the Board of Trustees of the charity Scottish Epilepsy Initiative. Its major project is “The TEA Room”, a friendly space for teenagers with epilepsy. He has received the IBE/ILAE Ambassador for Epilepsy award, the ILAE CEA European Epileptology Award, the Epilepsy Lifetime Service Award from the ILAE UK chapter and the William G Lennox Award from the American Epilepsy Society. In his election statement, Prof Brodie said: “Epilepsy care should be an equal partnership involving all stakeholders and so we must harness our best talents – wherever these might be found – to convey our message loudly and clearly to the world. We must encourage the general [...]

Following close of the nomination period, IBE chapters are now invited to ballot in the elections to fill the three officer positions - President, Secretary General and Treasurer – on the International Executive Committee for the term 2017-2021. Ballot papers have already been circulated and the close of balloting is December 31, 2016. The results of the elections will be announced in early January 2017. Following completion of this election cycle, elections to fill the seven regional Vice President positions on the committee will begin on January 4, 2017. As a once off, to begin the new staggering of terms on the International Executive Committee, the Vice Presidents will be elected for a two-year term 2017-2019. A third cycle of elections, to fill remaining positions on the Regional Executive Committees will start in mid-April. All elections will be completed by mid-July. The new term of office for all successfully elected candidates begins at the time of the next IBE General Assembly, taking place during the 32nd International Executive Committee in Barcelona in September 2017. Meet the candidates and read their election statements. Nominees for President Nominees for Secretary General Nominees for Treasurer

Star Wars and Star Trek Director,  J.J. Abrams, has called on people to talk about epilepsy in a new public service announcement for the TalkAboutIt.org campaign. Abrams told viewers that "Lives could literally depend on it", going on to list the statistic for the brain disease in the US. "Nearly 3 million Americans, 65 million people around the world, live with epilepsy and seizures. That’s almost 4% of the population. "150,000 Americans are diagnosed with epilepsy each year. One in 26 of us will develop epilepsy in our lifetime. Do you know 26 people? Of course you do." In the video Abrams talks about the fear of people with epilepsy to tell those around them that they have it and the misconceptions about what to do when someone is having a seizure. "We need to talk about it to get the facts about seizures. To gain understanding. To learn what epilepsy is AND what it isn’t. To erase the stigma. To support new therapies and research. To save lives. To know what to do if someone has a seizure." Learn more about epilepsy on the official International Epilepsy Day website, www.epilepsy.org.

The European Commission has begun a public stakeholder consultation which will feed into the interim evaluation of Horizon 2020, the EU's €77 billion research and innovation funding scheme running from 2014 to 2020. H2o2o has already funded several epilepsy-focused, and other neurological, research projects. More information on these projects can be found on EpilepsyAllianceEurope.org. The interim evaluation of Horizon 2020 will be an important element in preparations of a next EU research and innovation programme. Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "I hope as many people as possible will use the chance to have their say on Horizon 2020, its first three years and its future direction. We are already analysing available data, facts and figures. But in order to have a full overview, it is very important to get direct feedback from researchers, entrepreneurs, innovators, citizens and all types of organisations that have participated in the programme." Horizon 2020 is one of the largest research and innovation schemes worldwide. In its first two years, the programme attracted over 76,000 eligible proposals. Over 9,000 grant agreements were signed by September 1, 2016 for calls with deadlines in 2014 and 2015, allocating almost €16 billion to boosting excellent science, creating [...]

IBE is delighted to announce the launch of the next round of funding under its Promising Strategies Program. With 81 projects in 37 countries already supported under this major program, IBE is pleased to further extend its support to epilepsy associations in developing countries to empower them to create initiatives to improve the quality of life of people with epilepsy in their region. As a first step, qualifying associations are invited to submit Letters of Intent - with a closing date of November 30. A short list will be announced on December 15, and the final list of projects to receive support in 2017 will be announced in mid-January. Please consider making a donation to IBE to help us further develop the Promising Strategies Program. With your support we can do great things. Download the IBE Promising Strategy Call for Letters of Intent.

The European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) recently held the second annual Neurology Advocacy Awards. The awards recognise the contribution of an individual or group to the development and promotion of advocacy for people with neurological disorders in Europe. This year’s winners were presented with their awards at a Gala Dinner in Dublin on October 13. The winning European Policy-Maker for 2016 was Marian Harkin MEP, a prominent member of the European Advocates for Epilepsy. She was nominated for the award, jointly, by the International Bureau for Epilepsy and Pain Alliance Europe. Gay Mitchell, former MEP, Marian Harkin MEP Marian is currently a co-chair of the MEP Interest Group on Brain, Mind and Pain – but has been long-term champion of health issues in the European Parliament. She was presented with her award by last year’s winner – Gay Mitchell, former MEP. Other awards presented on the night includes the European Health Professional,  which went to Professor Paola Giunti, the European Patient Advocate, which went to Alistair Newton, and the Lifetime Achievement Award, which was presented to Past President of EFNA Audrey Craven.