Welcome to the WFN website, and we wish you a productive and successful year 2023!

This year's WFN highlight will be the World Congress of Neurology (WCN) in Montreal Canada, which will take place from Oct 15-19, 2023 and will combine the input of the Canadian Neurological host society and the membership of the WFN.

The preparations for the WCN are running smoothly, and the scientific program and teaching course programs are in the final stages. Each day will also have plenary lectures which will range from the patient perspective towards practical disease related aspects and scientific topics. Also, a joint session with the WHO is planned, among many others. For the first time, the young neurologists subcommittee of the WFN will arrange 2 sessions on their own. As before, we will have a Patient Day preceding the congress and we will also host a patient organizations platform.

Montreal and the congress facilities are excellent, and we look forward to this exciting meeting. To make access as worldwide as possible we will also include the possibility to attend virtually, but of course we hope that as many of you as possible will be able to come.

This year's Council of Delegates (COD) meeting will be the site for elections for the treasurer and one elected trustee. In addition, the congress site 2027 (in the PanArab or African region) will be finally decided. Voting again will be electronically.

We are glad to report that our cooperations with the WHO work well, and it is not only Brain Health, the Intersectoral Global Action Plan (IGAP) and the Covid working groups, but also a recent invitation to participate in the WHO program to fight meningitis. For the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), we attended the UN meeting in December, and were able to make short interventions on behalf of the World Federation. These international connections are important for the voice of neurology.

In a similar way, it is important to use and strengthen the facilities of the Global Neurology Alliance (GNA), which consists of World Societies, the regions, topical societies, and the WFN Specialty Groups. This network enhances the impact of the WFN, and with several societies and regions we have started joint projects such as meetings and educational programs. The most recent events were a joint meeting with the World Federation of NeuroRehabilitation (WFNR) in Vienna, and only last week the WFN has been invited to the World Congress of Psychiatry. A meeting of the GNA is planned for the WCN in Montreal.

The World Brain Day (WBD) topic this year will be Brain Health and Disability , and this event will again be developed with the global regions and the participation of the WFNR. Disabilities can be acquired, and they can be transient , persisting, or progressive, and they do not only involve neurological functions but also include mental health. Our task is not only to prevent and cure, but to support persons with disabilities , and also prevent stigma. This year's WBD topic on disability aligns the WHO also taking up disability as a topic this year: www.who.int/health-topics/disability ⧉

Education is the strong backbone of the WFN, and in addition to the successful department visits and the Training Centers, we will also initiate Asian department visits, an Asian Training Center and also work on an educational day in the Asian region.

We are glad that in many parts of the world the Covid pandemic seems to be reduced, but it is definitely not over. (Please follow our website for news: https://wfneurology.org/wfn-news). This pandemic has shown how fragile our health and communication systems are. Yet we have all learned how to use virtual reality for communication, education, webinars, and virtual congresses; these positive side effects may have also reduced some of the carbon footprint.

Last, but not least, the WFN hopes and pledges for an end of all armed conflicts worldwide. We are deeply concerned about victims of conflicts, migrants, refugees and the large number of displaced and stateless persons. We continue to encourage to support professional organizations involved in the support of these groups.