Dear EAN members, friends, and colleagues,
It is my pleasure to address you as EAN’s President–Elect and to provide some insights on my priorities in the upcoming term as the President of the European Academy of Neurology, as well as ongoing EAN activities.
The call for nomination of candidates for the EAN Board Election 2024 is still ongoing and the deadline is fast approaching. Joining the EAN board provides a special opportunity to be a member of a dynamic and dedicated group of leaders in neurology. As a board member, you can shape the future of the discipline, mentor younger generations, and foster connections between the EAN and its numerous allies and partners.
Supplementary to the Board elections, the EAN is also looking for new officers to join the ranks of its committees and working groups – don’t miss the chance to take an active part in shaping the world of neurology together with your colleagues! All relevant information can be found on our website here.
Addressing the gender gap in neurology along with diversity and inclusion will be one of the priorities for my term as president. Gender gaps exist not only in epidemiology and clinical features but also in the outcome and overall management of many neurological disorders. As a co-chair of EAN’s Coordinating Panel on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Neurology, together with Prof. Marianne de Visser, I have been working on bringing awareness to this topic through several activities aimed at promoting awareness about the need of equal and accessible care to people with neurological diseases, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status and, to provide equal opportunities for all European neurologists. As we approach the 8th of March, a day symbolising the ongoing struggle for Women’s rights and equality, it’s a reminder that there is still a lot to work to be done.
Another priority will be to work together with the young neurologists and fellows for preparing the neurology of the future. What will the neurological landscape look like within the next 10 years? How to get ready for facing the increasing burden of neurological diseases in terms of education, training priorities, neurology clinic and ward settings, and health care systems? How to integrate AI in our practice? How to adapt neurology to climate and environmental changes? These are only few of the many questions that we need to answer promptly. The EAN will need to collaborate closely with the National Societies and other stakeholders to reshape neurology according to these new fast changes.
The EAN has just published the Strategic Neurological Research Agenda. This research plan now needs to be implemented and this will be the third priority of the next two years. The Brain Health Mission has just been launched and several initiatives are ongoing. I would also like to highlight the biggest European Brain Health Summit so far, taking place in Brussels on 7 May, with the presence of Her Royal Highness Queen Matilde of Belgium. Join us for a full-day event that will be live streamed on different social media platforms as well as on the EAN website, where we will announce the full programme soon. Therefore, my fourth priority will be to foster and further implement this Mission.
As always, the EAN is very active with different projects taking place in spring – with the start of Brain Awareness Week 2024, the second module of the new EAN Advocacy Training programme will take place on 11 March, with Prof. Michael Markowski from the American Academy of Neurology as the key speaker. After that we are heading to beautiful Salzburg (15-19 March) for another round of our popular Science School. Towards the end of March, we are happy to invite you to another EAN Congress Masterclass that will take us to Dresden on 22March with the overarching theme being “Brain health in common and rare neurological disease”.
This celebratory year for EAN was made even more special by the record number of 2,777 summitted abstracts for the 10th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology. Don’t miss the chance to register with a reduced early fee until 24 April! Additionally, if you have confirmed your EAN membership before 31 May, this will bring you further discounts and lower fees.
While we celebrate a lot of remarkable work behind us in the past 10 years, I wish you a lovely spring and invite you to join us for many more years of strengthening the home of neurology in Europe together.
Yours sincerely,
Elena Moro, EAN President-Elect
