ASN 2017

The organizing committee has put together a comprehensive scientific program with the participation of many Internationally renowned invited speakers including the President of the World Federation of Neurology and the President of the Asia Pacific Stroke Organisation.

Professor Raad Shakir, the President of the World Federation of Neurology, will be the Chief Guest at the Opening Ceremony. A vibrant academic programme has been lined up, with a large number of local and overseas speakers. The faculty includes a delegation from the Association of British Neurologists, and we are thankful for their continued support in our Annual Sessions. The programme spans three days, with plenaries, the J. B. Peiris Oration, neurology quizzes and several symposia, including two half-day symposia on movement disorders and stroke. This year, the scientific papers will be given more prominence with daily guided poster walks, which will enable the researchers to present their research to a wider audience. A record number of free paper submissions were received this year, and we are very pleased with this healthy trend. A pre-congress workshop will be conducted for our EEG technician colleagues. I sincerely thank all the invited speakers, the abstract evaluation committee, the oration evaluation committee and the free paper judges for their invaluable contributions.

We have had a busy year full of academic activities targeting neurologists, physicians, and postgraduate trainees in neurology and general medicine. Regular updates under the theme of ‘ABCs in Neurology’ and Clinical Case Discussions were held in Colombo. Regional Meetings under the theme of ‘Everyday Neurology’ were held in Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Ratnapura and Monaragala. They were clearly successful in achieving the dual objectives of reaching out to our neurology and physician colleagues, and promoting continued professional development, in the peripheries. I thank all the regional clinical societies, speakers and coordinators for their untiring efforts in making the regional meeting programme a success.