About Us

The primary aims of ILAE-YES are to:

• Improve the professional development opportunities of young people in epilepsy care and/or research across the globe, so that we are better placed to improve the lives of people with epilepsy;
• Expand the involvement of young women and men from all nations and disciplines in the ILAE; and
• To foster peer support

ILAE-YES brings together young people who are in the early stages of their career and have a shared interest in improving the care and quality of life of people with epilepsy. This includes clinicians and researchers from a diverse range of disciplines.

The first meeting of the YES general assembly took place at the YES Kick-Off Workshop on 12th-13th May 2018 in London, UK, and has rapidly grown to over 1000 participants across all regions of the globe.

ILAE-YES participants contribute their expertise and unique insights to initiatives and activities organised by our regional groups and task forces, by participating in our regular educational, scientific, and networking events (currently online secondary to COVID-19), or by using and sharing our self-education and advocacy resources. 

A key goal of ILAE-YES is to improve professional development opportunities for all young people in epilepsy. We do this by facilitating peer and mentor support, providing networking and educational opportunities tailored to young people, and working to increase our involvement in epilepsy conferences. In doing so, we intend to develop stronger regional and global networks of young professionals within the epilepsy field. Peer support and networking is supported through a global Slack community with channels designated to specific regions and special interests, such as neuropsychology, genetics, and basic science. 

YES actively fosters increased engagement of its participants in the task forces, councils, and committees of the ILAE, enhancing the representation of young people within these groups. At least three representatives from YES are also part of the ILAE Next Generation Task Force. This is to the mutual benefit of both YES and the ILAE: simultaneously, we seek to grow the future leaders in the ILAE and its chapters, as well as to effect change and innovation at the local, regional, and international levels of epilepsy care and research by increasing junior representation in ILAE initiatives. 

YES is presided by a board and leadership team comprising the six regional representatives as well as the current task force leaders. These committees are elected at a biennial general assembly meeting.

Who can be part of the Young Epilepsy Section?

ILAE chapter members or ILAE individual international affiliates who are less than 40 years old or still in training are welcome to participate.

ILAE-YES is committed to transparency in all levels of our organisation. Our fortnightly business meeting is held via Zoom and is open to all YES participants, with the minutes available in the Reports section of our website. We also work hard to make our opportunities equitably available to all participants, regardless of their region, race, discipline, or gender (see our Terms of Reference in Reports). 

Aims

• To attract young people from all nations to epileptology
• Promote the involvement of young people in epileptology
• Increase the number of Junior Members of the ILAE and facilitate their involvement on ILAE committees and task forces
• Improve networking and scientific communication opportunities for young epileptologists
• Establish regional networks of young people involved in epileptology
• Develop a worldwide network of young epileptologists with equal representation of all regions
• Promote the improved education and professional development of young people in epileptology
• Encourage the participation of young people in ILAE conferences

YES Introductory Video

Filmed at the 2018 European Congress on Epileptology: https://youtu.be/859wVJ26mro