2nd October 2024
Dear WFN Delegates and Member Societies,
Re.: Council of Delegates Meeting 25th September 2024
The meeting was held, virtually, from the London Office where all trustees were present.
On behalf of the trustees of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) I want to thank you for your participation in this important meeting. We had thirty-six delegates present and thus reached the quorum necessary for decision making. The reports of the officers highlighted the current work of the WFN, its activities as a charity, the progression of the preparations for the WCN 2025 in Seoul, South Korea, a glance at the WCN 2027 in Cape Town, and the call for a WCN in 2029 in Europe.
Following this several Chairs reported on the activities of their committees.
Our work with the WHO and the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) was presented by the now past trustee Prof. Alla Guekht. Brain Health and the WHO’s Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders (IGAP) remain on top of the WFN agenda. For all member societies who might need more information on the WHO IGAP please let us know, and we will be glad to organize a special update seminar. Please download the WHO IGAP Toolkit.
We have also heard about the WFN’s educational activities, and we are excited that for the four-year position in Cape Town we had 164 applicants and thirteen applicants for their one-year stroke fellowship offering. This confirms a wide-ranging interest in the WFN concept of training centres in Africa.
Publications, and the World Brain Day, are moving along swiftly. The Needs Registry by Prof. William Carroll has now been published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences (JNS), and I want to remind you that we are now running a WFN Service Page in the JNS which gives additional information about the activities of the WFN.
During the meeting four motions were put forward and accepted:
- Accept the auditor’s report for the 2023 accounts.
- Reappoint Griffin Stone Moscrop & Co. as auditors for 2024
- Accept changes to the byelaws to have a president-elect and a past president on the board in the future.
- Welcome Ghana as the 125th member society of the WFN.
There was an election for one trustee, as Prof. Guekht had come to the end of her second term as an elected trustee and could not stand again. The Nominating Committee suggested six candidates as suitable for the position of an elected trustee and Prof. Tissa Wijeratne from Sri Lanka/Australia was elected. Prof Wijeratne has been engaged in the WFN’s activities for long time and has been a long-term Chair of the World Brain Day Committee. He adds to the representation of Asian trustees in the WFN.
Following the Trustees’ meetings and the COD meeting, the WFN held its first virtual educational update. The WNU 2024 had had six high class plenary lectures and six Teaching Courses. The meeting was accredited for 9.5 CME points (UEMS EACCME) and remains open to enter as a virtual meeting for the next three months.
This first digital update attracted participants from forty-four countries. It is intended that this event will recur between the biennial World Congress of Neurology, which will eventually become a yearly congress.
Best Regards,
Prof. Wolfgang Grisold
WFN President
President
Prof. Wolfgang Grisold
First Vice President
Dr Guy Rouleau
Secretary General
Prof. Steven L. Lewis
Treasurer
Prof. Morris Freedman
Elected Trustees
Prof. Chandrashekhar Meshram
Prof. Mohammad Wasay
Prof. Tissa Wijeratne
