ICNC2018 , ICNC2020 and new ICNA initiatives

Following a tremendously successful 14th ICNA Congress (ICNC2016) which was held in Amsterdam last week in cooperation with the Dutch Society of Pediatric Neurology and which offered a strong, clinically relevant and scientifically rigorous program and unique opportunity to network with > 1580 enthusiastic participants from around the world, I am writing on behalf of the ICNA Executive Board to provide you with certain key updates:

1. I am very pleased to inform you that Dr. Jo Wilmshurst has been elected as the President-elect of ICNA (2016-2018) and will be assuming her role as President of ICNA in May 2018 at the ICNC2018 in Turkey. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Wilmshurst who has made seminal contributions to ICNA over many years.
2. Please also remember to add our next ICNC2018 to your calendars. This 15th ICNA congress will now be taking place in India. The 2018 ICNA congress was originally scheduled to be held in Antalya, Turkey. Based on recent events in the region, the local organisers have made the very difficult, proactive and brave decision to withdraw from running the congress. This decision was not made easily and the Executive Board of the ICNA have great respect for our colleagues in Turkey. Their decision was based on the need to put the safety of members first. Further information about the specific dates and location in India for the 2018 ICNC will follow.
3. For your longer term planning, the site for our ICNC2020 has also been chosen and will be taking place from October 19th to 23rd, 2020 in San Diego, CA, USA in cooperation with the Child Neurology Society.
4. We further look forward to many new exciting initiatives for ICNA including:
   1. Formation of the Council of the Future Leaders of ICNA composed of senior neurology trainees and junior faculty
   2. Expansion of the Global Burden of Diseases Research Fellowship Seed Grants
   3. Development of Research Portals on ICNApedia to facilitate links between resource-rich and resource-poor regions to further international clinical and research collaborations which will be of mutual benefit to the children, their families, physicians and researchers in promoting understanding of the neurological diseases' pathophysiologies and for the development of novel targeted therapies for RCTs.
   4. Development of an online Textbook of Child Neurology on ICNApedia with annually updated chapters 
   5. Launching of a distance Research mentorship program for neurology trainees and junior faculty
   6. Expansion of our research methodology symposia at all future ICNCs
   7. Continued recruitment of submissions to our Journal of ICNA (JICNA)
   8. Continued expansion of resources (online lectures, guidelines, clinical videos, neuroimages, journal watch, fellowship opportunities, WHO alerts, etc.) on our ICNApedia website http://icnapedia.org/
   9. Development of a medical/laboratory instrument transfer portal on ICNApedia.
      
      We look forward to working with you and hope that you will join us in developing and contributing to our initiatives to promote excellence in clinical care, education and research in Child Neurology throughout the world though our current membership of > 2,000 members from all geographic regions.
5. Please also help us spread the word about the important role that ICNA has to play in supporting the field of Child Neurology by passing our details to your colleagues and encouraging them to join us. 

As you know ICNA Membership is FREE of charge. It is easy to join us. Applicants must submit an online ICNA Membership Application Form at http://icnapedia.formbin.com/forms/join. We look forward to working with you toward an exciting, progressive and enlightened future, through our international network of Child Neurology, to benefit and maximize the potential of children in all corners of the world,

With kindest regards,

Ingrid Tein MD, President of ICNA