Award Nomination Instructions

Ambassador Award

The Ambassador for Epilepsy Award of the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League against Epilepsy is intended as a recognition of outstanding international contributions to activities advancing the cause of epilepsy. These activities should either be performed at an international level or they should have an international impact. Although not carrying a monetary value, the Award reflects peer recognition of individual contributions. The Award consists of an Ambassador for Epilepsy pin.

The recipients will be invited to attend the International Epilepsy Congress to receive his/her Award and, if able to attend, will be offered free registration to the Congress.

The Award will be presented at the International Epilepsy Congress, following the election by the IBE and ILAE Executive Committees.

Criteria

1. The candidate must have made contributions above and beyond the call of duty, either voluntarily or professionally, in any scientific, clinical, educational or social support field of epilepsy. The candidate must have achieved international recognition: in other words, the individual has, by his or her efforts, significantly contributed towards the development of epilepsy care and the well-being of people with epilepsy in an international context.
2. The candidate must be proposed by one of the member organisations of IBE or ILAE or by one of the members of the Joint Executive Committee of IBE and ILAE.
3. The Joint Executive Committee of IBE and ILAE will elect a maximum of 12 persons every two years.
4. Nominees from the previous election, who did not receive the Award, will automatically be considered a nominee for one following election.

Nominating Procedure

1. All IBE and ILAE chapters and all members of the Joint Executive Committees of IBE and ILAE will be invited to nominate a maximum of 4 candidates for election in any two-year period.
2. An invitation for nominations must be distributed to all chapters and members of the Joint Executive Committee 6 months prior to election. It must be accompanied by a list of those who have already been nominated, but not elected, in the previous election and who are eligible for election again.
3. The name and curriculum vitae of each nominee must be sent to the IBE Office, P.O. Box 21, 2100 AA Heemstede, the Netherlands, no later than three months prior to the date of election, together with a completed copy of the nomination form, supplied with the invitation, and a letter setting out the reasons why his/her contribution has been sufficient to be considered for this Award. The nominator must sign this form and the curriculum vitae must be no more than three pages in length.

Election Procedure

1. The nominations must be distributed to each member of the Joint Executive Committee.
2. Each candidate should have a member of the Joint Executive Committee to defend him/her prior to the vote.
3. Voting upon nominations will be carried out by a secret ballot.
4. Each Joint Executive Committee member may vote for as many or as few candidates as he/she wishes. To be accepted, a candidate must be approved by an absolute majority of the members of the Joint Executive Committee present.
5. A maximum of 12 candidates will be accepted.
6. If less then 12 candidates receive a majority vote, after discussion, the voting procedure may be repeated twice.
7. The decision of the Joint Executive Committee is final.
8. Immediately following the election, the new Ambassadors and their nominators will be informed of their appointments. Recipients will be invited to attend the International Epilepsy Congress to receive their Awards.
9. The Ambassador for Epilepsy Awards will be presented by the Presidents of IBE and ILAE. Awards will be presented individually, following a brief outline of achievement of the recipients, to those assembled.
10. Information concerning the Ambassador for Epilepsy Awards must be included in the materials distributed to the Congress Delegates and will be published in Epilepsia, Epigraph and the International Epilepsy News at the earliest opportunity following the presentation.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Every two years, the Joint Executive Committee of the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League against Epilepsy, will discuss honoring those truly exceptional persons with a record of achievement in work against epilepsy, which exceeds even that of those who have been awarded the Ambassador for Epilepsy Award or the Award for Social Accomplishment.

If such a person is elected, then during an International Epilepsy Congress he/she will be presented with two silver candlesticks, upon which will be engraved the logos of IBE and ILAE, the name of the Award and the name of the recipient.

The recipient will be invited to attend the International Epilepsy Congress to receive his/her Award and, if able to attend, he/she will be offered free travel (business class), accommodation and registration to the Congress. The Award will be presented during the International Epilepsy Congress, following the election by the IBE and ILAE Executive Committee.

Nominating Procedure

The candidate must be proposed by one of the members of the Executive Committees of IBE or ILAE. Others outside the Committees may draw the attention of a Committee member to a possible candidate, but the decision to nominate lies with the Committee member.

The name of the nominee, together with a full record of his/her lifetime achievements in the field of epilepsy and a letter setting out the reasons why the candidate should be considered for election should be sent to the IBE Office, P.O. Box 21, 2100 AA Heemstede, the Netherlands, three months prior to the date of election. Nominations will only be accepted if they reach the IBE office by the deadline.

Election Procedure

1. Each nomination must be distributed to each member of the Joint Executive Committee of IBE and ILAE.
2. Voting will be carried out by a secret ballot.
3. Each member will have one vote.
4. To be selected, the candidate must receive a unanimous vote.
5. The voting procedure may be repeated once.
6. The decision of the Joint Executive Committee will be final.
7. Immediately following the election the awardee will be informed of his/her election. The recipient will be invited to attend the International Epilepsy Congress to receive his/her Award.
8. The Award will be presented by the Presidents of IBE and ILAE, following an outline of the achievements of the recipient, to those assembled.
9. Information concerning the Award must be included in the materials distributed to congress delegates and published in Epilepsia, Epigraph and the International Epilepsy News at the earliest opportunity, following the presentation.

Social Achievement Award

This award is present to one individual who has carried out outstanding activities aimed at the social benefit of people with epilepsy. Those honoured receive a scroll and a cheque for US $1,000. The award is given biannually at the IEC.

Every two years one individual who has carried out outstanding activities aimed at the social benefit of people with epilepsy, is recognized by the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the International League against Epilepsy. This Award consists of a scroll, plus a cheque for US $ 1,000. The recipient will be invited to attend the International Epilepsy Congress to receive his/her Award and, if able to attend, will be offered free travel (coach/economy class), 2 night’s accommodation and free registration to the Congress. The Award will be presented at the International Epilepsy Congress, following the election by the IBE and ILAE Executive Committees.

Criteria

The candidate should be known to have a longstanding record of activities promoting improvement in the social circumstances of people with epilepsy. Alternatively, they should have taken one single action, which has resulted in a major breakthrough in improving social conditions for people with epilepsy. Possible fields of activity may be:

• organizational activities
  • legislation
  • public
• information through either audio-visual or written materials

Nominating Procedure

1. An invitation for nominations will be distributed to all chapters and to the members of the Joint Executive Committee 6 months prior to election. It should be accompanied by a list of those who have already been nominated, but not elected, in the previous election, and who are eligible for election again.
2. The candidate must be proposed by one of the member organisations of IBE and ILAE, or by one of the members of the Joint Executive Committee.
3. Each chapter and each member of the Joint Executive Committee can nominate one candidate for election.
4. A letter describing the relevant activities of the nominee and setting out the reasons why these activities should be considered for the Award, together with a curriculum vitae of the nominee must sent to the IBE Office, P.O. Box 21, 2100 AA Heemstede, the Netherlands, 3 months prior to the date of election. The nominator must sign a nomination. Curricula vitae should be no more than 3 pages in length. Nominations will only be accepted within the deadline.
5. Nominees from the previous election who did not receive the Award will automatically be considered a nominee in one following election.

Election Procedure

1. The Joint Executive Committee will elect one person, although an exception can be made if more than one person has been actively involved in the same project.
2. Each nomination must be distributed to each member of the Joint Executive Committee.
3. Voting will be carried out by a secret ballot.
4. Each Joint Executive Committee member has one vote.
5. To be elected, a candidate should receive an absolute majority of votes.
6. If this cannot be achieved in one vote, then the voting procedure may be repeated to a maximum of two times. If this does note produce an absolute majority, then no candidate is elected.
7. The decision of the Joint Executive Committee is final.
8. Immediately following the election, the awardee and his/her nominator shall be informed of his/her election and the recipient will be invited to attend the International Epilepsy Congress to receive his/her Award.
9. The Award will be presented by the Presidents of IBE and ILAE, following a brief outline of the achievements of the recipient, to those assembled.
10. Information concerning the Award should be included in the materials distributed to the congress delegates and published in Epilepsia, Epigraph and the International Epilepsy News at the earliest opportunity following the presentation.