Dear Congress Participant
A warm welcome to the 14th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies held in the beautiful city of Geneva from 25th to 28th September 2010.
We have had more than 1900 abstracts submitted and expect about 5,000 attendees of whom 200 will be holders of EFNS bursaries for neurologists less than 35 years of age. Most of the attendees will be European but we extend a warm welcome to those from other continents.
The scientific sessions will be preceded by a wide-ranging programme of excellent but inexpensive teaching courses from experts who have been selected for their communication skills as well as their knowledge of science and medicine. The programme has been organised by our Teaching Course Committee chaired by Professor Detlef Kömpf from Lübeck, Germany. The teaching courses start on Saturday morning with the now traditional free-of-charge session “How do I examine….?”, a reflection of the importance of clinical skills in our subject. There will also be practical courses on clinical neurophysiology, neurosonology and positional vertigo.
For the scientific programme, selected abstracts will be presented in platform or poster sessions built round a framework of 12 main topics and 15 focused workshops. These will be led by world leading researchers and have been selected by our Congress Programme Committee chaired by Professor Gian Luigi Lenzi from Rome, Italy. As usual we welcome the participation of the European Section of the Movement Disorder Society under the Presidency of Professor Alfredo Berardelli from Rome, Italy who have organised a main theme on Parkinson’s disease, two teaching courses, a focused workshop and the European Basal Ganglia Club. We also have pharmaceutical company satellite symposia and 7 special sessions organised by our associated societies including the, EUREPA (European Epilepsy Academy) and importantly EFNA (European Federation of Patient Associations), the European organisation for patient support groups. The EFNS Clinical Lecture, one of the highlights of every EFNS congress, will this year be given by the outstanding clinical expert Professor Thomas Brandt from Munich, Germany, on the subject of “Out of Balance”.
Particularly important are the two tournaments for young neurologists for the “Uschi Tschabitscher Prizes for Young Neurologists”. The late Uschi Tschabitscher from Vienna, Austria was the much loved founding executive director of the EFNS to whom we owe our existence as an organisation. There will also be “Investigator Awards” awarded by each of the scientist panels to be collected at the Closing Ceremony on Tuesday.
The Congress is more than just a collection of lectures and scientific communications, our Council, our standing committees and our scientist panels will meet and conduct their business. The occasion provides important opportunities for European research groups to hold face-to-face meetings and individuals to meet European colleagues.
We thank our hosts, the Swiss Neurological Society, for inviting us to the beautiful international city of Geneva. We look forward to learning more about the greatest of medical specialties, to discovering new ways to help our patients, to renewing old acquaintances and to making new friends.
Richard Hughes
President EFNS