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WELCOME MESSAGE
Brussels: a key-town in today’s European attempt to overcome all the limitations that prevent European people from realizing the long-awaited free movement and free communication. Free to move from a particular culture, language, religion, to a different particularity of a different country, in full respect and consideration of the individualities of hosts and of guests. As a matter of fact, in 1515, here in Bruxelles Charles Vth declared in “Burgundian” language to the convenants from all Europe that his personal emblem was “PLUS ULTRA”, and he was able to talk to them in French, Spanish, German, Latin, and Burgundian-Flemish as well. Charles Vth knew the power of direct communication! Charles Vth’s emblem indicated the push of manpower to go beyond the barriers that are settled by previous acquisitions. I think that this motto is today particularly valid for culture and for science. And in the Congress we will dedicate a session to explaining the guidelines for EU scientific policy for the next Framework Programmes, to gain support to go “ULTRA” and “PLUS” in neurology. Brussels, however, does not represent only politics and history: its central position has enhanced the social parts of daily good living, and from gourmet aspects to musical entertainment, you may find wide choices. The Scientific Programme of this 11th EFNS Congress is not structured any differently from all our previous Congresses. This provides continuity for a format that has demonstrated itself valid and well received by all the attendants. Teaching courses (TCs) open the Congress, and you will be able to choose between 16 topics, from basic neurological themes to more particular or advanced aspects. Allow me to underline two of them: the TC on “How to examine a patient with...?”, which has become one of the more popular rendezvous of our Congress, and the TC Monkeys in neurology that will remind us of how many times we may not be completely correct in our diagnosis. On each of the Congress days, we will have three parallel main sessions in the morning, covering the main fields of interest, as selected by the votes of the attendants to the previous (Athens) Congress, with invited lecturers and with sessions for free oral communications. However, the strong pulse of European Neurology will be most appreciated in the poster sessions that truly make up the bulk of the scientific part. A selected number of these poster presentations will be discussed with the chairperson on-site. The Tournament for young neurologists will again consist of two sessions, one on clinical neurology, and one on basic neurological science. Six young neurologists in each session will discuss their personal scientific contributions. The winner of each group will receive the Uschi Tschabitscher Prize for Young Neurologists. Finally, 15 selected focused workshops and 6 special sessions will complete the scientific programme. Please keep in mind that several satellite symposia are organized every day and have shown in our previous Congresses to cover, with full honours, an important scientific role in dealing with aspects of neurology more closely linked to therapy and daily practice. EFNS continues to support young neurologists by offering up to 200 bursaries consisting of free registration and four nights hotel accommodation to neurologists under the age of 35, who do not hold a permanent position and whose abstracts have been accepted. All this information is fully reported on our website: www.efns.org/efns2007. We hope that you will be able to join us in Bruxelles, as you did in Athens, Glasgow and the other previous Congresses of our Federation of Neurological Societies, open to all European neurological societies, European neurologists, and to worldwide neurology as well. Therefore, ARRIVEDERCI A BRUXELLES, a wish that I would like to share with all the members of the Congress Programme Committee, from my co-chairman Jean Schoenen, chair of the Local Arrangements Committee, with all the other members; with the EFNS Teaching Course Committee, under the chair of Detlef Kömpf, and with the EFNS Management Committee, in particular the president Jacques L. De Reuck and the pastpresident Wolf-Dieter Heiss; and especially with the staff of the EFNS, Lisa Müller and Anja Sander, precious key-persons in the organisation of EFNS activities. Again, ARRIVEDERCI A BRUXELLES from all of us. Gian Luigi Lenzi |
It is with our outmost pleasure that we invite you to participate in the
forthcoming 11th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological
Societies – EFNS, which is scheduled to take place in Brussels, Belgium,
August 25 - 28, 2007.