Engaging the next generation of epilepsy professionals

The importance of engaging the next generation in broad ranging initiatives cannot be over emphasized. This is reflected by a proliferation of publications related to next-generation, training, and healthcare professionals or scientists, with almost 2000 articles published in the last 30 years, showing a marked increase in the previous two decades. Several multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations, UNESCO and the World Health Organization, have recognized the importance of engaging youth in the global agenda. Accordingly, in 2017 The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) created organizational entities focused on epilepsy and the next generation of epilepsy professionals. At the core of these is the ILAE Young Epilepsy Section (YES). Its mission is to create a new generation of epilepsy experts poised to discover and deliver state-of-the-art care for people with epilepsy well into the future, with several initiatives worldwide, including education, research collaborations, and advocacy tasks, among others. The Latin American Summer School on Epilepsy, which turns 15 in 2021, has been a steady source of early career epilepsy professional participating in YES, who are moving forward the epilepsy agenda in Latin America.