First International Epilepsy Day

The International Bureau of Epilepsy (IBE) and the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) have joined forces to establish the first International Epilepsy Day.

Monday February 9th

The first International Epilepsy Day will take place on Monday, 9th February 2015. Following on from this, the official day will be the second Monday of February each year. This world day for epilepsy will be a major step in improving epilepsy awareness in every region of the world, and will also highlight the urgent need for increased research into epilepsy.

Epilepsy Around the Globe

This joint iniativate of the IBE and the ILAE will be a major event celebrated across the globe in the 138 of countries in which IBE and ILAE are represented. With both IBE and ILAE in official working relations with the WHO, and with IBE in Special Consultative Status in the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, this will make International Epilepsy Day the most prestigious epilepsy event in the world.

Events will take place around the world. IBE’s members are grouped within seven regional structures following the WHO regional boundaries: Africa, Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Latin America, North America, South East Asia and Western Pacific. IBE currently has 135 members in 104 countries. ILAE currently has 115 chapters in 127 countries.

Visit epilepsy.org to learn more about International Epilepsy Day events. And comment below to let us know how you will mark the first International Epilepsy Day.

Jessica K. Smith Founder and CEO; Executive Director

Jessica Keenan Smith is a patient advocate and epilepsy community leader with more than 15 years of experience. As Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy and Executive Director of ASENT she bridges the gap between the scientific and patient communities, with a particular focus on the needs of the epilepsies. Jessica Keenan Smith is Founder and CEO of Living Well With Epilepsy, an award winning online resource for people affected by epilepsy to share stories and access in-depth information on the disease. Since 2009, Living Well With Epilepsy (https://livingwellwithepilepsy.com) has been featured in Forbes, Wired, NBC, NPR and the cover story of Epilepsy Advocate Magazine and has partnered with companies such as UCB, Lundbeck, Sunovion, Eisai, and more. Ms. Smith is also the Executive Director of the American Society for Experimental Neurotherapeutics (ASENT) (https://asent.org), an organization that brings together leaders from industry, academia, government and advocacy who are engaged in bringing drugs and devices to market across all neurologic disease states. In this role she is responsible for leading a successful scientific journal and annual scientific conference with speakers from all over the world.

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