1. Abstract submitters should ensure that the version sent is the final one; changes will not be permitted once the deadline has passed.
2. Institution information should be provided for all authors. Please include institution, city and country, but exclude department, division, laboratory, etc.
3. Authors are required to submit the abstract under one of the congress abstract topics. The abstract topics for the congress are:
   • Basic Sciences
   • Building Capacity in Epilepsy Care
   • Drug Therapeutics
   • Education and Training
   • EEG
   • Epidemiology
   • Epilepsy Surgery
   • Etiologies
   • IGAP
   • Neuroimaging
   • Neuropsychology
   • Paediatric Epileptology
   • Psychiatry
   • Social Issues/Nursing
   • Status Epilepticus
   • Stigma, Discrimination & Access to Care
   • Terminology and Classification
   • Traditional Medicine and Epilepsy / Fostering Collaboration with Traditional Healers
   • Women and Epilepsy

4. Abstracts should be structured in 4 sections as follows:

Purpose: Indicate the objectives of the work being presented.

Method: Describe study material or subjects (e.g. number and type of patients), intervention and evaluation procedures.

Results: Summarize the main findings. Wherever possible, give numerical values and statistical significance or confidence intervals.

Conclusion: State briefly the conclusions reached in the work.

5. Figures, tables and other illustrations cannot be included.
6. If the work was supported by funds provided by a commercial organization this should be stated in a short acknowledgment at the end of the abstract. Other sources of funding may be acknowledged in the same way.
7. Multiple submissions of abstracts describing different components of the same study are not appropriate. All findings generated from the same study should be included in a single abstract.
8. Abstracts containing single case reports will not usually be accepted, unless the report is of outstanding scientific or clinical interest because of the uniqueness of the findings or the sophistication of the investigations.
9. Abstracts containing data considered to be insufficiently informative will not be accepted.
10. Authors should use a concise title that indicates the content of the abstract. Abbreviations should be avoided in the title.
11. For intervention studies (for example, therapeutic trials), the type of design (prospective or retrospective, controlled or uncontrolled, randomized or observational, open vs. single-blind vs. double-blind), dosages, assessment methods and duration of follow-up should be specified.
12. Non-proprietary names of drugs must be used throughout. If results are considered to be specific for a given proprietary product (for example, bio-equivalence studies), the non-proprietary name must still be used, followed by the proprietary name and the name of the manufacturers in brackets.
13. Abbreviations should be used sparingly. For words that are abbreviated, use the whole term the first time, followed by the standard abbreviation in parenthesis.
14. References should be used sparingly. They should be included within the text in brackets. For journals, mention first author "et al" followed by the name of the journal as abbreviated in the Index Medicus, year, volume number and inclusive pages (i.e. Hardus P et al. Epilepsia 2001;42:262-267.). For book chapters, give first author "et al", editor, title, publisher, city of publication, year and inclusive pages (i.e. Levy RH et al. In: Levy RH et al, Antiepileptic Drugs. Lippincott-Raven, 1996;13-30.).
15. Submission of an abstract automatically implies acknowledgment that the work described was conducted in accordance with current ethical standards and regulations in biomedical research. Failure to adhere to these standards will result in rejection of the abstract.

1. Abstracts must be submitted online via the abstract submission system before midnight (GMT) on 14 February 2025. Abstracts received after this date will NOT be accepted. Abstracts submitted by post, fax or email will not be considered.
2. All abstracts should be written, submitted and presented in English.
3. Abstract may have a maximum word count of 250 words (not including the abstract title, authors and institutions).
4. Authors will be notified in writing by March 2025 as to whether or not their abstract has been accepted for poster presentation. The decision of the SOC is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
5. Abstracts accepted and presented at the congress will be published, subject to editorial review, on the congress website.
6. Once an abstract has been approved, the presenting author must register for the entire congress for final acceptance. Non-registered authors may be excluded from the congress.
7. Instructions for poster presentations are available on the congress website.
8. All correspondence will be sent to the submitting author only. It is the responsibility of the submitting author to forward any relevant correspondence to the presenting author, if different.

In order to encourage young researchers to participate in the congress, bursaries will be awarded to a number of applicants who have submitted an abstract to the congress that stands out for its scientific quality. 

Bursary awards assist awardees with a contribution towards costs in order to attend the congress. Please note this is a limited fund and may not cover all costs incurred in travelling to the congress.  

Applications for bursaries will only be accepted from those who submit an abstract and the application is made via the abstract submission system. 

Please contact the ILAE Secretariat at aec@ilae.org with any queries. 

 REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS 

• Applications for bursaries will only be accepted via the online abstract submission system for the congress. 
• The applicant must submit an abstract and receive a score higher than 3.5 out of 5. 
• At the time of application, the applicant must be 45 years of age or under. A copy of the applicant’s passport/ID document must be included with the application to verify date of birth. 
• The applicant must submit a short statement explaining why attendance at the congress would be particularly relevant to his/her present appointment or activity in the field of epilepsy, making sure to indicate the reason he/she requires funding to attend the congress and why he/she feels the application should be considered. 
• The applicant must submit a signed reference from a person supporting his/her application (e.g. local ILAE Chapter representative, Head of Department of hospital or institution, etc.). 
• The applicant must declare if he/she has sourced any other funding to attend the congress and disclose the nature of the funding. 

Abstract Submission:

Can I make changes to my abstract after submission?

You can make changes to the abstract, even if the abstract has been submitted, up to the abstract submission deadline. Please contact abstracts@epilepsycongress.org.

Once the abstract submission deadline has passed, changes are not permitted unless they relate to the results of the study; in this case only after the deadline please contact abstracts@epilepsycongress.org.

Can I submit an abstract after the deadline?

Late abstracts will not be accepted.

Can an Encore Abstract be submitted?

Yes an Encore Abstract can be submitted providing that there is no copyright issue with the original publisher.

Abstract Acceptance:

When will I know if my abstract has been accepted?

Authors will be notified of the outcome of the abstract review by February 2025.

How will I receive the information from the Congress Secretariat?

Contact details provided at the time of submission will be used for all correspondence related to the congress. Please ensure that the correct details are entered.

All correspondence will be sent to the submitting author only. It is the responsibility of the submitting author to forward any relevant correspondence to the presenting author, if different.

How will my abstract be presented at the congress?

Abstracts are accepted for poster presentations.

My colleague has received confirmation of his/her abstract acceptance and I did not, is there something wrong?

There may be a problem with your email address, therefore please contact abstracts@epilepsycongress.org.

Abstracts – Onsite Information:

Will e-posters be available at the congress?

E-posters are not available at the congress.

Do posters have to stay up for the duration of the congress?

Yes, posters must stay up on 17 and 18 May.

Can I include videos beside my poster?

AV equipment is not provided by the congress. If you wish to order any specific equipment to complement your poster, please contact the Congress Secretariat in order to receive a quotation.

Abstracts – General Queries:

Which reference number should I use when I send a query to the Congress Secretariat?

The reference number sent to you by the Congress Secretariat with the acknowledgement of your abstract submission should be mentioned in all correspondence.

I am not the first author; can I present the poster on behalf of my colleagues?

Presentation by a second author may be allowed. Once your registration has been completed, please contact abstracts@epilepsycongress.org.

Can the presenting author pay one-day registration fee (for that day when the poster is displayed)?

No. Once an abstract has been approved, the presenting author must register for the entire congress for final acceptance. An abstract presenter may not register as a day delegate. Non-registered authors may be excluded from publication in the congress Final Programme book.

I am a speaker in the congress programme; do I need to submit an abstract?

Speakers are not required to submit abstracts to illustrate their talks.

GUIDELINES FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS IN PLATFORM SESSIONS 
 

Preparing your Presentation  

1. Presentations must be given in English, the official language of the congress. No translation will be available.   
2. Presentations should be planned carefully, and each phase of the lecture should be co-ordinated to match the PowerPoint presentation.  
3. Finer details will be emailed to the presenting author after 4 April; such as the maximum number of slides allowed and minutes presenting.
4. Remember, the 3 rules of effective presentation are:
1. Introduce your topic and inform your audience about what you intend to speak. 
2. Deliver your talk, including the methods, results and conclusions.  
3. Summarise the most important points of your lecture for the audience.   
5. On arrival at the congress venue, please go to the Speakers’ Room to check in and save your presentation on the network. We recommend that you go to the Speakers’ Room the day before your presentation. Please note that all presentations must be placed on the network at least 3 hours before the session.   
6. Format and saving method for PowerPoint documents:   
1. Only MS-PowerPoint (*.ppt) presentations with video formats will be accepted.   
2. Please verify that the size of your slides is adapted to projection ratio of 16:9.   
3. Please save fonts used in your document.   
4. If your presentation uses digital video file (files .mpg or .avi), check that they are saved in the same directory as your PowerPoint file and adapt the link if necessary.   
7. Media to use to provide your presentation:   
1. Please bring a USB memory stick (flash drive) for PC.   
2. If you wish to compress your files, use Winzip.   
3. We strongly recommend that you bring a copy of your presentation on a USB memory stick (flash drive), even if your presentation exists on your laptop.   
8. The use of your files:   
1. Your original media used in the Speakers’ Room are immediately returned to you.  
2. A single file with your presentation is created on the server; no copy is made except for technical back-ups.   
9. Please make sure that you arrive in the session room at least 10 minutes before the start of the session in order to meet the Co-chairs. 
10. If your presentation uses digital video files, bring your videos to the Speakers’ Room on DVD or USB drive and please ensure that you leave adequate time ahead of your session to discuss and confirm with the technicians that the files are in working order. MPG (MPEG), WMV or AVI are the only acceptable video formats. 
11. If you use hyperlinks to websites in your presentation, please download the website to your USB drive. Try to avoid too many different folders on the medium. 
12. Special notes for Apple users:  
1. Please give your filename an extension “.PPT”.  
2. Try out your presentation on a PC before bringing it to the congress.  
3. Use a common font, such as Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, etc. (special fonts might be changed to a default font on a Windows PC).  
13. Do not use timer-controlled transitions (transitions that switch to the next slide after a pre-set amount of time).  
14. In presentation mode, your text should be large enough to be easily readable. The slides should not include multiple rows of text in small font.  
15. Media to use to provide your presentation: 
1. Please bring a USB memory stick (flash drive) for PC.   
2. If you wish to compress your files, use Winzip.   
3. We strongly recommend that you bring a copy of your presentation on a USB memory stick (flash drive), even if your presentation exists on your laptop. 

Speakers’ Room  

1. You must go to the Speakers’ Room to check in and save your presentation on the network. 
2. It is recommended to go to the Speakers’ Room the day before your presentation. Please note that all presentations must be placed on the network at least 3 hours before the session. Speakers at early morning sessions are required to submit their material no later than 17.00 on the evening before their session is scheduled. 
3. Computers are available in the Speakers’ Room for any last-minute changes and to review presentations. Presentations may not be edited in the session room. 
4. In the Speakers’ Room, a technician helps you to transfer your presentation onto the network and then performs a quick run-through with you to check that the presentation runs correctly.  

Your Presentation  

1. You can use your own presentation slides or the congress template when you can download here.
2. Please make sure to arrive in the session room at least 10 minutes before the start of the session to meet the Chair(s) and to discuss general session arrangements. Session Chairs have been encouraged to contact speakers prior to the congress to prepare their sessions and to request a short bio from each speaker. 
3. Remember, the three rules of effective presentation are:  
1. Introduce your topic and inform your audience about what your intended topic. 
2. Deliver your talk, including the methods, results and conclusions.  
3. Summarise the most important points of your lecture for the audience. 
4. Please explain any acronyms used in your presentation as well as your visuals for the benefit of all attendees.  
5. To avoid breaks between speakers, presentations from speakers’ own laptops are not permitted in session rooms.   

If you have any questions on your platform presentation, please contact aec@epilepsycongress.org

What are the requirements for in-person poster presenters?  

As an in-person poster presenter, you must bring with you a physical poster.

What is the procedure for displaying posters during the congress?  

Physical Poster  

• Each poster will be on display from Saturday, 17 May – Sunday, 18 May. 
• Each poster presenter must present their physical poster. No equipment for displaying video content will be provided or available.  
• All posters are to be put up between 08:00 – 11:00 on Saturday, 17 May. 
• Each poster presenter must be available to answer questions at their poster during the lunch period (13:00-14:15) on each day. 
• Poster boards are portrait in orientation and the maximum poster size is 96cm x 240cm.
• The poster must be removed between 17:00 and 18:00 on Sunday 18 May. The congress does not take any responsibility for unclaimed posters. Any posters left up after 18:00 on Sunday, 18 May will be discarded. 

How do I register for the congress as an in-person poster presenter?  

• The presenting author must register for the congress to finalise the acceptance of the abstract and to ensure publication of the abstract in Epilepsia.  
• Non-registered authors will be removed and excluded from publication.    

I am not the first author; may I present the poster on behalf of my colleagues? 

Presentation by a second author may be allowed. Once the presenting author’s registration has been completed, please contact abstracts@epilepsycongress.org to identify the name and email address of the presenting author. Please note however that each author is permitted to present only once during the congress (not including invited lectures).

The Scientific and Organising Committee would like to extend its gratitude for the assistance of the following people with the review of the abstracts.

Abstract Review Committee:

Patrick Adjei (Ghana)

Melody Asukile (Zambia)

J Helen Cross (United Kingdom)

Aimee Dollman (South Africa)

Nico Enslin (South Africa)

Angelina Kakooza (Uganda)

Sloan Mahone (United Kingdom)

Faith Mosha (Malawi/Tanzania)

Rugare Mugumbate (Zimbabwe)

Joseph Raimondo (South Africa)

Francesca Sofia (Italy)

Emmanuel Wegoye (Uganda)

Jo Wilmshurst (South Africa)

Accepted abstracts will be made available on the Congress website approximately four weeks prior to the congress (21 April 2025). Information contained in these abstracts may not be released prior to their availability on the Congress website.

Violation of the embargo may result in the abstract being withdrawn from the Congress.