Dear Friends, Colleagues and conference 2017 Delegates,

It is a great pleasure for me and for the whole organizing committee to welcome you to register for the Annual ECVN/ESVN conference in Helsinki 21-23 September 2017. Time is flying, it seems it was just a moment ago that we all met in Edinburgh where we had a splendid conference. Now it is time to register for the conference of 2017!

As you know ECVN/ESVN conference 2017 will take place in Helsinki, Finland. The topic of the conference is Geriatric Neurology. It has been chosen not because the age of our College is approaching its 30th birthday  but because this topic has never been addressed before in our meetings and we think it is actual and important. The age of our patients is increasing constantly and it is also the task of neurologist to help to recognize and treat the age related conditions together with other veterinary specialists. We believe you will feel yourself right at home in Helsinki and we will make all possible to make this year’s conference useful from the clinical and inspiring from the scientific point of view.

Resident day (21 September 2017) will be dedicated to the correlation between neuropathology and diagnostic imaging. This is an exciting topic not just for the neurologists in training, but also for everybody in neurology clinics. We welcome all clinical neurologists to attend the resident day. We are happy, that the tandem of Marc Vandevelde and Johann Lang, leading veterinary neuropathologist-neurologist and neuroradiologist, will guide us through this exciting topic. Please note, that resident day is a full day program, starts 9.00 in the morning and going to finish around 17.00. Therefore, arrival should be scheduled for Wednesday already!

We are proud to introduce also the invited speakers of the main session (22-23 September 2017). Marc Vandevelde will provide an update on “Clinical Implications of the Neuropathology of Ageing”. Johann Lang will share with us his lifelong experiences with the “Neuroradiology of the Ageing Spine and Brain”. Surprisingly many conditions in ageing humans and animals have a genetic basis and ageing itself is programmed. Hannes Lohi has promised to highlight the mysteries of “Genetics of Ageing”. “The Neurobiology of Memory” will be the exciting topic of the talk of Heikki Tanila. The topic of the lecture of Riitta Hari will be “Brain and World” and will reflect the areas of her scientific interests including the brain basis of social interaction and cognition, cortical dynamics and noninvasive human brain imaging. We are looking for the exciting lectures and scientific reports. We have planned seven invited speaker lectures and 30 abstract slots; therefore it will be a full two day program of the main congress.

We are sure that you will enjoy your stay also because of the social program we have prepared for the meeting. The Welcome Party will take place at the City Hall of Helsinki and will be hosted by the Major of the City. The Gala Dinner will be held at the Stock Exchange House of Helsinki and it will be the 30th birthday anniversary of the Society and College. This round number is additional stimulation to have a real party with a band and exciting program. We would like that everybody would attend the Gala Dinner, therefore residents will have a reduced ticket price this year (50 euros). Stock Exchange House is a huge building where dancers-singers, bar attenders and lovers of the quiet conversation, all will find the right place to enjoy the moment together.

The registration to the meeting is opened. We encourage all the delegates to register early as it will be cheaper for you and will make organization of the conference easier for us. The early bird registration will close the 15 July 2017, therefore please make your registration before summer holidays! The deadline for the abstract submission is 1 June 2017; the information concerning the outcome of the submission will be send to the authors by the 1 July 2017.

It is for the first time that veterinary neurology community will come to the Nordics and Finland. For most of you it will be probably the first time in Finland. Helsinki is a nice and safe city to visit and if you will have a day or two to spend you will enjoy your time here. If you have several days of holidays and you are the lover of nature, we strongly recommend renting a cottage near the lake or on the seashore and having a relaxing time before or after the conference (cottage rental: Finnish nature is beautiful and one can find plenty of quiet places to forget the routine and stress and enjoy a walk in the forest gathering berries and mushroom (September is perfect month for that), go fishing, have a refreshing swim in a lake or sea, and enjoy the warmth of Finnish sauna.

In the name of the organizing committee and the sponsors of the meeting (many thanks for their support), we welcome you all in Helsinki in September 2017.

See you soon!

Sigitas Cizinauskas