Introduction of the new Board

During the General Assembly that was held on 29 May 2022, in Salzburg, Austria, the new ESLA Board was elected.

Sahra Mengal is one of ESLA’s new Board Members and is responsible for Communication and Engagement. She represents the Danish SLT Association Audiologopædisk forening (ALF), and her motto, taken from the Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard, is Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Raluca Trifu is another new Board Member in ESLA, and is responsible for Professional and Scientific-based Standards. She is from the Asociatia Specialistilor in Terapia Tulburarilor de Limbaj din România (ASTTLR), and her motto is Never underestimate the power of words.

Blazenka Brozovic from the Croatian Logopedics Association (CLA) was re-elected as Board Member for Professional Education and her motto is: It's wonderful when profession and passion come together.

Giuseppe “Pino” Mancini from the Federazione Logopedisti Italiani (FLI) was re-elected as well as ESLA’s Treasurer. His motto is: The more you know the more you can.

Ellianna Mantaka-Brinkmann from the Panhellenic Association of Speech and Language Therapists (PAL) was re-elected as General Secretary and her motto is: Chi va piano va sano e va lontano - Who goes slow, goes steady and wins.

Fofi Constantinidou was re-elected ESLA’s Deputy Chair, she is from the Cyprus Association of Registered Speech-Language Pathologists (CARSLP), and her motto is: Carpe Diem: Work hard, play hard, inspire, be inspired!

Norma Camilleri from the Association of Speech-Language Pathologists (ASLP), Malta, was re-elected ESLA Chair. Her motto is: The big picture is formed from very small pieces - every contribution is important. 

We are grateful to have had Jenta Sluijmers, from NVLF Netherlands, who was a Board member for Professional and Scientific- based Standards within the previous mandate. We thank her for her contribution and her fruitful involvement in the last ESLA Board.

Good luck to the new ESLA Board for their work during this new mandate!   

11th ESLA Congress

The 11th ESLA Congress took place in a hybrid version, with both online and on-site participants n Salzburg, Austria from the 26th to the 28th of May 2022.

More than 400 participants from more than 35 countries all around the world attended the Congress. We are grateful and proud of our SLT community! We also thank the Congress Task Force Heike Muench, Claudia Graf, Mark Jayes, and Jenta Sluijmers for their hard work to ensure a successful Congress. We also thank our hosts logopaedieaustria!

A total of 235 abstracts were submitted for scientific contributions. At the Congress, we had 5 keynote speakers, 185 presenters, 66 E-Posters, 66 online Presentations, 44 on-site Presentations, and 32 Live Posters.

The Best Poster Presentation award went to Dr. Michaela Nerantzini, Ioannis Papakyritsis, Dr. Spyridoula Stamouli, Dr. Evanthia Faliagka, Dr. Christos Panagiotou, Dr. Arhonto Terzi for a contribution with the title: “Computer-based speech/language therapy platform for people with chronic neurogenic communication disorders; design and preliminary implementation” Read their abstract here.

The Oral Presentation with highest score abstract went to  Dr Sam Harding, Dr. Krisztina Zajdó, Maja Kelić, Thora S Ulfsdottir, Sofia Baena, Julie Feilberg, Inge Klatte, Rena Lyons, Kristine M Jensen de Lopez, Rama Novogrodsky and Isabel R Rodriguez-Ortiz  for a contribution with the title: “Rearing a child with DLD: Parents' experiences with SLT services in 10 countries” Read their abstract here.

What’s on?

We are delighted to highlight and promote the upcoming events organised by some of our member associations and partners. 

The Danish Association of Speech and Language Pathologists, Audiologopædisk forening (ALF), is hosting three advanced training workshops in August and September by Edythe Strand, Ph.D., CCC-SLP about the treatment of childhood apraxia of speech using evidence-based treatment methods. This unique, two-day workshop will include demonstrations of treatment techniques, videos, case studies, and treatment planning/goal writing activities to help participants improve their clinical skills. Seats are limited. Follow this link to register: https://alf.dk/kurser-og-konferencer/.

At this year’s 14th Pan-European Voice Conference on the topic of “Voice beyond borders”, which will be held from the 24th to the 27th of August in Tallinn at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, ESLA was invited to organise a Round-Table discussion. The topic chosen by ESLA is Tools for vocal rehabilitation / paediatric therapy. The session will include presentations and discussions by ESLA’s  Chair, Norma Camilleri, Dario Strangis (member of the Federazione Logopedisti Italiani) and Meeri Kompus (member of the Estonian Logopedists Union).

The Slovenian Speech and Language Therapists Association (SAL/DlogS) is organising their 6th Conference of Slovenian Speech and Language Therapists, from the 19th to the 21st of October 2022. The Conference will be concerned with Speech and Language Therapy at a Breakpoint, which will address the positive changes that the pandemic has brought to society. Research findings from the areas of education, social care, healthcare, and science will be shared and discussed. SAL/DlogS  invites all of you to join their conference in beautiful Slovenia!