Minutes from and agendas for meetings

Nordic Stroke Society board Meeting, 4^th European Stroke Organisation Congress

Gothenburg May, 17^th 2018

Participants: Janika Kõrv (chair); Claus Simonsen; Hege-Ihle Hansen (on behalf of Ragnhild Munthe-Kaas); Carina Persson; Guntis Karelis; Kristaps Jurjans (on behalf of Evija Miglane); Rytis Maciliunas; Christina Kruuse; Siim Schneider; Petrea Frid; Vaidas Matijosaitis

Riina Vibo (secretary)

Apologies: Marianne Altmann; Juha Onatsu; Minna Linna;

1. Aarhus congress reported a negative budget (-43577,50 DKK). Introduction: chair Janika Kõrv. Statutes do not provide possibility to cover negative budget of the congress. However, there was a negative budget of the Aarhus congress. In addition to negative budget, the NSS do not receive membership fees for the next two years. Claus Simonsen: local organisers have the big task to organise a big congress in the name of the Nordic Stroke Society. It can happen that there will be a deficit and it should be reimbursed by the society.
   Siim Schneider: It is important to provide support for local congress organisers, but what if this will continue? The society does not receive money, but just gives it away.
   Voting: To reimburse the deficit of the Aarhus congress according to the invoice that the Aarhus congress organisers will provide. Also, this issue needs to be discussed at the next General Assembly of the Nordic Stroke Society.
   Voting result: all agree.
2. ESO membership. Discussion: The fee is high. General opinion is that this might be too much for a small society. Many of the NSS members are already ESO individual/organisational members There will not be much benefit for members of the NSS, but it would be honourable to be a member of the ESO. This issue will be discussed during next General Assembly.
3. Membership issue and membership fees: how to proceed? Chair Janika Kõrv. There is still no solid system in NSS membership. The so-called membership list is generated after each NSS congress and the members of the society are the congress participants. The organisers of the congress will pay the NSS for each member (the regular fee is 20 EUR and for Baltic countries 10 EUR). Membership fee should be a percentage of the congress fee? 10%?
   Kristaps Jurjans: maybe membership should be organisational not individual members. Others do not agree, it will not be possible for small countries.
   There should be possibility to indicate during congress registration that you are from Nordic/Baltic countries and/or indicate the agreement to become a member of the NSS for the next 2 years. During the next General Assembly, it will be proposed to change the membership fee to be 10% of the congress fee.
   Vote: all agree
4. Travel grants and best oral/poster presentation awards for Trømso congress. The NSS will provide 6 travel grants (2 nights accommodation and congress fee covered by NSS) and an award for the best poster and for the best oral presentation (500 EUR each) following the statute from the previous congresses.
   Vote: all agree.
5. Congress fee for NSS board members: It has been suggested that the congress fee for NSS board members should be waived if the congress budget allows. The members of the NSS board can participate in the congress program and in the scientific committee of the congress.
   Vote: all agree.
6. In order to improve the cooperation of the Nordic Stroke Society and the local congress organisers, a summary document will be created and forwarded to the organisers of the next congress.
7. NSS treasurer Petrea Frid suggested that one bank account (in Nordea bank) will be closed, because it has administrative expenses and is not used. In addition, the other account will be transferred to another bank better accessible through Sweden (SEB) to simplify the selection of treasurers in the future.
   Vote: all agree.
8. Claus Simonsen proposed that the NSS may have other income possibilities than membership fee, for example pharmaceutical company advertisements at the society's webpage.
   Petrea Frid : no, this is not allowed without change in the statutes.

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Nordic Stroke Society board meeting, August 24th, 2017, Aarhus, Denmark

Participants: Janika Kõrv, Claus Simonsen, Marianne Altmann, Juha Onatsu, Minna Linna, Ragnhild Munthe-Kaas, Petrea Frid, Rytis Masiliunas

Riina Vibo (secretary)

Not participated: Evija Miglane, Guntis Karelis, Siim Schneider, Carina U Persson, Christina Kruuse, Vaidas Matijosaitis

1. Welcoming the new members of the board. J. Kõrv
2. Election of the chairperson. It was suggested that Janika Kõrv from Estonia will continue as the chairperson. Agreed.
3. Treasurer P. Frid: agrees to continue as a treasurer. It is necessary to indicate on the NSS website, that Petrea Frid is a treasurer for NSS. It was also proposed, that one bank account should be closed, because the account maintenance fee is high and there is no need for two accounts. P. Frid will provide the details and the cost of the account closing in the near future.
4. Collaboration with Polish Stroke Society. It was agreed also by the board (in addition to the General Assembly) that the collaboration with Polish Stroke Society can continue. It was suggested that the Polish Stroke Society could be official collaborators of the NSS. Agreed.
5. The membership issue was again discussed. As the general assembly did not approve the board proposals for the change in membership fees, it should not be changed.
C. Simonsen: the budget of the Aarhus congress is very tight and it may not be possible to pay the membership fees.
It was agreed that the congress organisers will provide the list of participants to the board and the membership fees will be calculated and sent to congress organisers. If it is not possible to pay the fees due to low budget, then the organisers will provide the detailed congress budget to the board and the decision about the membership fees will be made then.
6. The next board meeting will be announced in the near future. It was decided, that one meeting will be held during the next European Stroke Organisation Congress in Göteborg, Sweden in May 2018.

General assembly of Nordic Stroke Society, August, 24th, 2017
Aarhus, Denmark

Chair: Janika Kõrv

1. Selection of rapporteur: Riina Vibo, secretary of the Nordic Stroke Society selected as a rapporteur.
2. Overview of NSS board activities. Janika Kõrv
3. Overview of the financial status of the NSS. Janika Kõrv (on behalf of the treasures Petrea Fird). Accounting approved by the auditors Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen (SWE) and Per Wester (SWE).
4. Discussion about the NSS membership issue. The board has been discussing the problems with the NSS membership status. There is no list of members and the currently valid membership system is not adequately working. The board has also proposed that there should not be membership fee, because the members do not have any advantages compared to non-members. The board has also made a proposal that this year the membership fees will be donated to the organisers of the congress.
J. Kõrv: proposal to add to the statutes that the members of the NSS can be only from member-countries and must not include nonmedical professionals. Agreed.
E. Berge: membership fee is essential for the society to have a constant income. If the membership fees are cancelled and the congress has no surplus, then the society does not receive any income. This is necessary for the basic management of the society. The board's proposals were not agreed by the general assembly. The membership fee status remains unchanged.
J.Petersson: Suggestion to add to the statutes that "at least" 25% of the surplus of the congress should be transferred to the society. Agreed.
5. Discussion about the congress fees: suggestion to encourage the organisers of the congress to waive the congress fee for the NSS board members, if possible. Also to encourage the organisers to keep the congress fee low to enable more participants to attend. Agreed.
6. The next Nordic Stroke Congress: the next congress will be held from August 21th to 23th, 2019 in Tromsø, Norway.
7. Collaboration with the Polish Stroke Society: The collaboration was proposed by the Polish Stroke Society, former General Assembly has decided to encourage the collaboration, but there has been no decision about the membership.
G. Andersen: the NSS should only have members from Nordic and Baltic countries. Societies from other countries can be official collaborators with the NSS.
E. Berge: suggestion to have different levels/forms of membership (i.e. associate member etc).
G. Kozera (president of the Polish Stroke Association): The Polish Stroke Society is interested in collaborating with the NSS. Membership is not essential, but confirmed official collaboration would help to make it formal.
It was agreed that the collaboration with the Polish Stroke Society can continue and the issue may be again discussed during the next General Assembly.
8. New members of the NSS board and the new chairperson: J. Kõrv made overview of the board members and 4 members have to be replaced: Karsten Overgaard (DEN); Per-Olof Hansson (SWE); Hege Ihle-Hansen (NOR) and Ilga Kikule (LAT).
It was suggested that the new members of the board are: Christina Kruuse (DEN); Carina U Persson (SWE); Ragnhild Munthe-Kaas (NOR) and Guntis Karelis (LAT). Also, 3 other members of the board have applied that they do not wish to continue and new members were suggested: Antanas Vaitkus (LTU) to be replaced by Vaidas Matijosaitis (LTU); Kristina Ryliskiene (LTU) to be replaced by Rytis Masiliunas (LTU) and Viiu-Marika Rand (EST) to be replaced with Siim Schneider (EST). The changes in board members were agreed. The chairperson will be elected from the board members during the next NSS board meeting.
9. During the last General Assembly in Malmö the election committee was not selected. The election committee for the next General Assembly was elected: Hege Ihle-Hansen; Jesper Petersson, Dalius Jatuzis. One more member needs to be elected.
10. It was agreed that if the auditors Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen (Sweden) and Per Wester (SWE) agree to continue in that position, they will do so.

Nordic Stroke Society board meeting by Skype on June, 6th 2017

Participants: Janika Kõrv (chair); Claus Simonsen; Hege-Ihle Hansen; Kristina Ryliskiene; Juha Onatsu; Marianne Altmann;

Suggestions made by email: Petrea Frid; Per-Olof Hansson;Riina Vibo (secretary)

Apologies: Karsten Overgaard; Minna Linna; Viiu-Marika Rand; Antanas Vaitkus; Evija Miglane; Ilga Kikule;

1. Travel grant selection for the Nordic Stroke Congress in Aarhus. There were 9 applications from 7 countries. 2 applications did not qualify because those were not from Baltic or Nordic countries. From the reminder of applications 6 grant winners were selected: Triinu Kurvits (Estonia), Agnese Karklina (Latvia), Martha Gustavsson (Sweden), Vibe Bolvig Hyldgård (Denmark), Guna Bērziņa (Latvia) and Maren Ranhoff Hov (Norway). The congress organisers will inform the grant applicants about the decision. The Nordic Stroke Society will cover their participation fee and accommodation in a conference hotel for 2 nights during the congress.
2. NSS scientific session during the Congress in Aarhus. Several member countries have announced their representative to give presentation at the workshop. All the names of speakers should be stated by the June 30th at the latest and sent to Hege Ihle-Hansen.
3. Membership issues: The board discussed again the issue of NSS membership and decided that it will be proposed during the general assembly that all congress non-pharmaceutical participants from member countries (Nordic and Baltic) will be the members of the society for the next 2 years. The additional possibility could be to become a member is by sending an application to the NSS board. It was also suggested that there should be no membership fee as the members do not get any advantages compared to non-members.
4. Web-page: the society's new web page was evaluated. The proposals for necessary changes were decided and forwarded to Marianne Altmann and her team who is responsible for the web page reconstruction. The renewed website will be available in the near future.

Nordic Stroke Society board meeting during European Stroke Congress in Prague on May, 16th 2017

Participants: Janika Kõrv (chair); Claus Simonsen; Per-Olof Hansson; Hege-Ihle Hansen; Evija Miglane; Petrea Frid; Ilga Kikule; Dalius Jatuzic (on behalf of Kristina Ryliskiene)

Riina Vibo (secretary)

Apologies: Karsten Overgaard; Marianne Altmann; Juha Onatsu; Minna Linna; Kristina Ryliskiene; Viiu-Marika Rand; Antanas Vaitkus;

1. Discussion about new members of the board to be selected during the General Assembly in Aarhus on August 28. It was pointed out that during the last General Assembly, the election committee was not elected and therefore we should propose new members directly to the General Assembly. Potential new members should be found before the congress and discussed among the board before the congress (in June, at the next telephone conference).
2. NSS scientific session during the Congress in Aarhus. The organisers of the Aarhus congress need the names and titles of the presentations from each country as soon as possible to be included in the programme. The names of speakers should be stated by the beginning of June (next telephone conference) at the latest.
3. Membership issues: The board discussed the issue of NSS membership and proposed that it would be easier to consider all congress participants from member countries as members of the society. The additional possibility could be to become a member is by sending an application to the NSS board. It was also suggested that there should be no membership fee as the members do not get any advantages compared to non-members. It was also proposed that this year the membership fees would be donated to the organisers of the Aarhus congress. All board members attending the meeting agreed.
4. Board member congress fees: The congress fee for the Aarhus congress is waived for board members of the society. It was decided that this issue will be discussed before every future congress separately and if the budget allows, it is encouraged to waive the fee for the board members.
5. The best poster and the best oral presentation award in Aarhus: It was decided that 2 members from the scientific committee and 1 member from the NSS board will decide the winners of these awards.
6. A financial report should be provided for the auditors at least a month before the GA. The treasurer Petrea Frid will provide this report.
7. Web-page: the society's new web page was evaluated. The proposals for necessary changes were decided and forwarded to Marianne Altmann and her team who is responsible for the web page reconstruction.
8. Next NSS board meeting will be held in June over Skype. A doodle poll was sent out to select the best date for everyone.

Nordic Stroke Society board meeting by Skype on April, 25th 2017

Participants: Janika Kõrv (chair); Claus Simonsen; Per-Olof Hansson; Karsten Overgaard

Riina Vibo (secretary)

Apologies: Hege-Ihle Hansen; Marianne Altmann; Juha Onatsu; Evija Miglane; Minna Linna; Petrea Frid; Ilga Kikule

No information: Viiu-Marika Rand; Kristina Ryliskiene; Antanas Vaitkus;

1. Web-page: the society web page is under construction and will be renewed.
2. Membership issues: There has been no reply from the membership team (Evija Miglane, Ilga Kikule, Antanas Vaitkus and Juha Onatsu) about the organisation and problems with NSS membership issues. It has been confirmed by the organisers of the Aarhus congress, that there will be a possibility to become a member of the NSS at the registration desk of the congress. It was also reminded to the organisers of the congress, that the membership fee for each member should be payed to the society after the congress.
The problems regarding the NSS membership should be solved and changes proposed before the next general assembly. All board members can suggest how the membership should be organised.
3. Congress in Aarhus:

• a. NSS scientific session during the Congress in Aarhus. To enhance collaboration between the countries of the NSS, a symposium will be held during the congress in Aarhus. A representative from each member-country should do 10 min presentation about the possibilities for collaboration in stroke research in their country. Every board member should give a name of their representative speaker ASAP to be included in the congress programme.

• b. During the congress the board should select the best poster and the best oral presentation. The decision of travel grants should be made between 29 May - 2 June.

• c. General Assembly:
• 1. proposal of statute change (incl. membership issues). 2. Proposals for new members of the board: The board members that have to leave after 4 years in the board are Karsten Overgaard (DEN); Per-Olof Hansson (SWE); Hege Ihle-Hansen (NOR) and Ilga Kikule (LAT). They should provide the name and details of the next board member from their country. Unfortunately, no election committee was elected during the previous general assembly. A new committee should be elected during GA. 3. A financial report should be provided for the auditors at least a month before the GA. The treasurer should provide this report.
• 1. proposal of statute change (incl. membership issues).
• 2. Proposals for new members of the board: The board members that have to leave after 4 years in the board are Karsten Overgaard (DEN); Per-Olof Hansson (SWE); Hege Ihle-Hansen (NOR) and Ilga Kikule (LAT). They should provide the name and details of the next board member from their country. Unfortunately, no election committee was elected during the previous general assembly. A new committee should be elected during GA.
• 3. A financial report should be provided for the auditors at least a month before the GA. The treasurer should provide this report.

4. Next NSS board meeting will be held in Prague May 16th from 13.00-14.30 Room 225, 2nd floor of the Prague Congress Center.
5. Also another meeting will be held in June 2017 to discuss all the issues needed for the congress in Aarhus and the general assembly.

Nordic Stroke Society board meeting by Skype on February, 28th 2017

Participants: Janika Kõrv (chair); Marianne Altmann, Hege Ihle-Hansen, Kristina Ryliskiene, Minna Linna, Juha Onatsu, Karsten Overgaard

Riina Vibo (secretary)

Apologies: Petrea Frid, Claus Ziegler Simonsen, Per-Olof Hansson

No information: Viiu-Marika Rand, Evija Miglane, Ilga Kikule, Antanas Vaitkus

1. Introduction by Janika Kõrv
2. Overview of the team-work results agreed at the last board meeting:

• 2.1. Web-site team (leader Marianne Altmann): The website team was the only team which provided information about their work prior to board meeting. The web page is out of date and needs renewal. The board agreed that the team will take contact with the company providing web-page updates and then the board decides if it is reasonable to renew the society webpage. Also the team has updated the text in the NSS statutes on the web page according to the decisions made in past general assemblies. It was also decided that the board should do proposals for the changes to be made to the outdated statutes during the next general assembly (during the NSS congress in Aarhus) and the changes should be proposed at least 2 months before the general assembly. The membership team will work on that issue.
• 2.2. The membership team has not had time to thoroughly discuss the membership issues. Juha Onatsu presented his view of the problems with membership and it was discussed, how to change the statute. Juha Onatsu agreed to discuss the subject further with other members of this team and give feedback in a month.
• 2.3. The acitivities and finances team proposed an idea to organise a session during the next NSS congress to introduce and promote scientific cooperation between Nordic countries. The team leader Hege Ihle-Hansen will be in contact with the organisers of the congress to discuss if such session would be suitable to be introduced into the program. The program of the session is decided accordingly during the next board meeting.

3. The Nordic Stroke Society Congress in Aarhus in August 2017: As decided during the last board meeting, the NSS will provide the best poster prize and the best oral presentation prize during the congress (500 EUR each). Congress scientific committee should select the best poster and the pest oral presentation during the congress. This information is forwarded to the organisers of the congress.
Also, travel grants will be announced according to the decision of the last board meeting. The information regarding the travel grants will be forwarded to the organisers of the congress. The board discussed the issue of the next Nordic Stroke Award and will propose a candidate for this award.
It was noted from the preliminary congress scientific programme that the general assembly is scheduled on August, 24th from 12:00 to 12:30. However, the general assembly should last one hour. This information is forwarded to the organisers of the congress.
There should be joint sessions with Polish and Korean stroke societies in the program (not included in the preliminary program). This information is forwarded to the organisers of the congress.
4. It was decided that the next face-to-face NSS board meeting will be held during the 3rd European Stroke Congress in Prague in May 2017. Another teleconference will be held in April 2017.

Participants: Janika Kõrv (chair); Claus Simonsen; Per-Olof Hansson; Karsten Overgaard

Riina Vibo (secretary)

Apologies: Hege-Ihle Hansen; Marianne Altmann; Juha Onatsu; Evija Miglane; Minna Linna; Petrea Frid; Ilga Kikule

No information: Viiu-Marika Rand; Kristina Ryliskiene; Antanas Vaitkus;

Prior meetings arranged by the Nordic Stroke Society Agenda for forthcoming meetings

Minutes of the General Assembly of Nordic Stroke Society
Mälmö, Sweden, 27th Aug., 2015
1. Chairpersonof the board Dalius Jatuzis (Lithuania) opened the general assembly. Tiina Sairanen (Finland) was chosen to write the minutes.
2. Board activities over the last two years were presented by Dalius Jatuzis.
These include:
a. E-mail and direct personal communications
b. Participation in organization of 18th Nordic Congress on Cerebrovascular Diseases (2015)
c. Discussions on:
i. proposals and voting for Nordic Award winner 2015
ii. proposals for location of 19th Nordic Congress on 2017
iii. connections with other stroke societies
d. Continuing collaboration with Korean Stroke Society
i. 2ndjoint session of Korean and Nordic Stroke Societies at international conference "Stroke Update 2014", 6-8 November, 2014, Jeju, Korea
ii. 3rdjoint session at 18th Nordic Congress on Cerebrovascular Diseases
e. Regular update of NSS website: www.nordicstroke.org (by Dorte Damgaard, Denmark)
3. Treasurer's report was presented by Irina Dragancea (Sweden). The income of the society comes from 25% share of the Nordic Stroke Congress return. The society has 19 500 euros on its account.
4. The auditors have been Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen (Sweden) and Per Wester (SWE). The auditor's report was presented by Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen (Sweden) with proposal to release the Board from the responsibility and approval of the financial accounting presented by the treasurer. Approval was given by the Assembly.
5. Questions and discussions of the General Assembly:
- Location of the next Nordic Stroke Congress on 2017. Norway requested postponing their rotation. Nordic Stroke Society supports the 2019 meeting to be held in Norway. Norwegian colleagues will discuss this in their national meeting. Aarhus (Denmark) was suggested for 2017 meeting location and approved by the Assembly.
- Connections with Polish Stroke Society. On behalf of the Polish Stroke Society Grzegorz Kozera presented their interest in co-operation with the NSS. Co-operation similar to Korean Stroke Society was approved and joint session between NSS and Polish Stroke Society was suggested for Aarhus 2017 Congress.
6. The leaving Board members were thanked for their four years of participation: Dorte Damgaard, Irina Dragancea, Ole Morten Ronning, Tiina Sairanen, Tero Tapiola, Riina Vibo, Siim Schneider, Dalius Jatuzis, Daiva Rastenyte and Andrejs Millers.
Election of new NSS board members: Claus Simonsen (Denmark), Petrea Frid (Sweden), Marianne Altmann (Norway), Minna Linna (FIN), Juha Onatsu (FIN), Janika Kõrv (Estonia), Viiu-Marika Rand (EST), Kristina Ryliskiene (LIT), Antanas Vaitkus (LIT) and Evija Miglane (Latvia) were approved by the Assembly besides the members of the current Board who will continue: Karsten Overgaard (Denmark, from 2013), Per-Olof Hansson (SWE, 2013), Hege Ihle-Hansen (NOR, 2013) and Ilga Kikule (Latvia).´
Janika Kõrv from Estonia was chosen as the Chairperson and convener of the new Board.
7. Election of auditors:Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen (Sweden) and Per Wester (SWE) were chosen to continue.
On behalf of the General Assembly of The Nordic Stroke Society, Tiina Sairanen, Helsinki 6th Sept, 2015

Minutes from General assembly of Nordic Stroke Society (NSS)

August 23, 2013 Vilnius, Lithuania

1. Dalius Jatuzis (Lithuania) opened the assembly and was elected as a chairman.
2. The proposed agenda was adopted.
3. Election of rapporteurs: Kristina Ryliskiene (Lithuania) and Grethe Andersen (Denmark) were proposed and elected.
4. The chairman Dalius Jatuzis gave a detailed report of the society's activities in 2011-2013.
5. Economic issues:
1. The treasurer Irina Dragancea (Sweden) gave an overview of financial condition of Nordic Stroke Society and bank statements.
2. The written audit report prepared by Per Wester (Sweden) and Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen (Sweden) and signed by Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen was presented.
3. Former treasurer Arne Lindgren (Sweden) commented on necessity for financial support for organization of future NSS congresses and reminded of the need totransfer 25 % of congress income to the account of Nordic Stroke Society.
4. Approvement of financial accounts by the General assembly.
6. Kirsi Rantanen (Finland) asked the question about travel grants - Dalius Jatuzis clarified that before current NSS Congress 3 applications from doctors were received, 2 from Norway and 1 from Byelorussia. 2 winners were selected from the Norway (Marianne Lundervik and Aliona Nacu) - Nordic country, according to the Statute of NSS.
7. Questions for Assembly:

1. Venue of the next Nordic Stroke Congress in 2015.
1. Dalius Jatuzis reminded that the next Congress (according to unwritten rotation between NSS countries) had to be held in Norway.
2. Members of the Board from Norway have informed that Norwegian colleagues have tried to establish an organizing committee to start the preparations for Congress in 2015; however, it was not possible because of limited human and academic stroke resources to manage the arrangements. Therefore Norway is not able to host the next congress, and there is the urgent need to discuss all possible alternatives.
3. Jesper Petersson and Bo Norrving (Sweden) announced that the next NSS congress in 2015 may be organized in Sweden. Proposed host country (Sweden) was approved, and the NSS members from Sweden were thanked for their help and support. The time and place will be announced on the websitewww.nordicstroke.org. Dalius Jatuzis added that for future NSS should have strict schedule of the hosting rotation.

b. Arne Lindgren proposed that all future congresses should have an open budget, and suggested minor wording changes (in yellow) in NSS statute:

16.

The Nordic Stroke Society may provide a loan of 50,000 SKR (2009 prices) to National Stroke Societies hosting the forthcoming Nordic Stroke Society Congress (optional). The budget of the Nordic Stroke Society Congress should be reported to the General Assembly. A minimum of 25% of surplus from Nordic Stroke Society Congresses must be transferred to the Nordic Stroke Society (non-optional).

Transfer of money from the hosting country of the Nordic Congress on Cerebrovascular Diseases to the Nordic Stroke Society:

1. If there has been a loan from the Nordic Stroke Society to the hosts of the Congress, the loan is first paid back. In this case the Congress budget should be reviewed by the Society's auditors before presentation at the General Assembly.

2. If there is then remains a surplus of the Congress, 25 % of the surplus should be transferred to the Nordic Stroke Society. However, a minimum sum, corresponding to the sum of the membership fees, obtained at registration for the conference, should be transferred to the Nordic Stroke Society.

If financial situation will be bad, it will be allowed not to return the loan. The wording changes in Statute and decision to have an open budget was approved by General Assembly.

c. Clarification of travel grant description. Proposal from the audience that it may be more rational to cover registration fee and accommodation for 2 nights for grant winner (instead of awarding a fixed amount of money), and the grant could be renamed to "grant for participation in Nordic Stroke Congress" or "research grant". The proposal was approved.

d. Participation of Poland in activities of Nordic Stroke Society. Dalius Jatuzis informed about the intention of Poland to become the member of Nordic Stroke Society. Markku Kaste (Finland) pointed out that country's admission to the Society is a long process. The first step is to ask Poland colleagues how they could work together with NSS - as associate members/collaborators or full participants? Only the next Assembly could discuss the question of admission of Poland as associate member of Nordic Stroke Society, because this process needs the changes of NSS Statute. Bo Norrving pointed out that Nordic Stroke Society should stay limited to the Scandinavian and Baltic countries at this moment; however, it is necessary to prepare for this suggestion. The proposal to prepare and to discuss the participation of Poland in NSS during the next Assembly was approved.

e. Partnership with Korean Stroke society. Since 2011 it was successful, and in this congress the 1st Joint Session of Nordic and Korean Stroke societies was organized. Colleagues from Korea are interested in future co-operation, and have intention to held 2nd Joint Session of Nordic and Korean Stroke societies next year in Korea.

f. Membership fee. It was decided that the membership fee should remain unchanged: 20 Euros for members from Nordic countries for a two year period, and 10 Euros for members from Baltic countries for a two year period.

1. Election of board members of the NSS was proposed: 1 from Denmark, 1 from Norway, 1 from Sweden.

1. Denmark: Dorte Damgaard (2009 non-voting secretary, continues), Helle K. Iversen (elected 2009) is leaving the board. Karsten Overgaard was proposed.

2. Finland: Tiina Sairanen and Tero Tapiola, both elected 2011, continue.

3. Norway: Ole M. Rønning elected 2011, continues. Hanne Ellekjaer (elected 2009) is leaving the board. Hege Ihle-Hansen was proposed.

4. Sweden: Irina Dragancea elected 2011 (treasurer), continues. Katarina Jood (elected 2009) is leaving the board. Per-Olof Hansson was proposed.

5. Estonia: Riina Vibo, Siim Schneider both elected 2011, continue.

6. Latvia: Andrejs Millers and Ilga Kikule were proposed on 2011, activities start from this year.

7. Lithuania: Dalius Jatuzis, Daiva Rastenyte elected 2011, continue.

Helle K. Iversen, Hanne Ellekjaer, Katarina Jood were given the General assembly's applause for their great efforts.

Minutes from the general assembly Nordic Stroke Society
September 30th 2011, Tallinn, Estonia

The local representative of the board of Nordic Stroke Society, Jannika Kõrv opened the meeting in the absence of the chair Thomas Truelsen.

1. Arne Lindgren was elected to chair the meeting.
2. The proposed agenda was adopted.
3. Grethe Andersen, Denmark and David Russell, Norway were elected as rapporteurs.
4. Report of the board activities from treasurer Arne Lindgreen
1. Written report of the board from chair Thomas Truelsen:
i. Teams were established with the responsibility of updating the website (Hanne Ellekjer, Norway, Dorte Damgaard, Denmark), membership status (Katarina Jood, Sweden), and submission of proposal for a stroke awareness survey (Thomas Truelsen, Denmark)
ii. The proposal for a stroke awareness study was submitted to different institutions including a public Nordic organisation, however, the required amount of around 1 mill DKR was not obtained. The idea is abandoned and instead national initiatives would be required for any such activities.
iii. Six travel grants of up to 5000 SEK for the Nordic Congress on Cerebrovascular Diseases in Tallinn have been announced. Three grants were awarded to: Maarja Soomann, Estonia, Daniel Kondizella, Denmark, Filip Scheperjans, Finland
iv. The website has been updated with minutes from NSS board meetings.
v. It is extremely resource demanding to keep manual record of membership status. Cheap, electronic solutions could be sought as a possibility for the new board.
vi. The old board has discussed clarifications to the current statutes that are recommended to be accepted by the GA (point b below).
1. The following clarifications of the statutes of Nordic Stroke Society were approved at the General Assembly on Sept 30, 2011 in Tallinn:
i. Ad 9. In case a board member leaves the board, the board can appoint a new member with the possibility of being elected at the next general assembly and the period starting at that time of election.
ii. Ad 16. Transfer of money from the hosting country of the Nordic Congress on Cerebrovascular Diseases to the Nordic Stroke Society:
1. If there has been a loan from the Nordic Stroke Society to the hosts of the Congress, the loan is first paid back.
2. If there is then a surplus of the Congress, 25 % of the surplus should be transferred to the Nordic Stroke Society. However, a minimum sum, corresponding to the sum of the membership fees, obtained at registration for the conference, should be transferred to the Nordic Stroke Society.
iii. Ad 17. When registering for a Nordic Congress on Cerebrovascular Diseases it is optional to select to become a member of the Nordic Stroke Society. The Congress fee is the same whether this option is selected or not. (This is in conjunction with memory notes, item 9 from Helsinki meeting stating that: "It should be stated on the NSS congress material, that the congress fee is covering membership of the NSS for 2 years, and only if one "tics no" this is avoided.")
1. Report of the treasurer. Arne Lindgren gave an overview of the economic of the society:

Financial report Nordic Stroke Society, 21 Sept 2011. Assets:

Bank Date Currency Amount Approx Eur
(responsible person in NSS)

Färs & Frosta Sparbank 21 Sept 2011 SEK 179353,10 17000
(Arne Lindgren)

Plusgirot 21 Sept 2011 SEK 27317,17 2500
(Arne Lindgren)

Norwegian Account 31 Aug 2011 NOK 47,86 50
(Bent Indredavik)

Danish Account 21 Sept 2011 DKK 3220,70 350
(Grethe Andersen)

Finnish Account Closed EUR 204.40 204.40
(Kirsi Rantanen)
Total (approximately in Eur) 20104

1. Auditor Magnus von Arbins´s report:

i. The undersigned auditor in the Nordic Stroke Society has audited the accountancy and management of the Nordic Stroke Society as of 090814 - 110921. These financial statements are the responsibility of the board of the society. My responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on my audit.
ii. I conducted my audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in our Nordic countries. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. I believe that my audit provides a reasonable basis for my opinion.
iii. In my opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Nordic Stroke Society as of September 21, 2011, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted.

1. The financial accounts were approved by the General Assembly.
2. Membership fee: The General Assembly decided the following membership fees:
1. 20 Euros for members from Nordic countries for a two year period
2. 10 Euros for members from Baltic countries for a two year period
1. The General Assembly decided that the Nordic Stroke Society should offer 6 Young Scientist Travel Grants to health professionals working in the area of cerebrovascular disease. The purpose of the Nordic Stroke Travel Award is to stimulate stroke research and management by supporting young scientist to participate in the Nordic Stroke Society's conferences. Scandinavian and Baltic citizens or permanent residents can apply for the travel grants.
1. Eligibility:To be eligible for the Nordic Stroke Travel Grant, the applicant must:
i. be a member of the Society
ii. be less than 40 years of age
iii. have submitted an abstract to the Nordic Stroke Society's conference as first author
1. The 6 travel grants will be given to 2 nurses, 2 allied health personnel e.g. physiotherapists, occupational therapists etc, and 2 doctors.
2. Selection: The recipient of the Nordic Stroke Society's Travel Award will be selected by the Nordic Stroke Society's Board Members. All applications will be considered competitively ensuring high scientific value and a broad representation from Scandinavian and Baltic countries.
3. Description of grant: The Nordic Stroke Travel Award consists of a bursary of up to 5,000 SEK to defray expenses for of attending the Nordic Stroke conference.
1. Election of board members of the NSS proposed by the election committee. The chair of the election committee Gudrun Boysen presented proposals for the new board members.
1. Denmark: Thomas Truelsen (elected 2007) is leaving the board. Helle Iversen (elected 2009) continues. Dorte Damgaard (2009 non-voting secretary) was proposed as new voting member of the board from 2011.
2. Finland: Kirsi Rantanen (elected 2007) is leaving the board. Heikki Numminen (elected 2007) is leaving the board. Tiina Sairanen was proposed. Tero Tapiola was proposed.
3. Norway: Arve Dahl left the board in 2010 due to illness. Hanne Ellekjer (elected 2009) continues. Ole M. Rønning was proposed.
4. Sweden: Arne Lindgreen (elected 2007) is leaving the board. Katarina Jood (elected 2009) continues. Irina Dragancea was proposed.
5. Estonia: Janika Kõrv (elected 2007) is leaving the board. Riina Vibo was proposed. Siim Schneider was proposed.
6. Latvia: Andrejs Millers was proposed. Ilga Kikulen was proposed
7. Lithuania: Dalius Jatusis was proposed. Daiva Rasetnyte was proposed

All were elected by acclamation. Dalius Jatusis was elected as the new chair of the board of Nordic Stroke Society. Daiva Rasetnyte was elected as vice-chair.Irina Dragancea was elected as the new treasurer of Nordic Stroke Society. Katarina Jood was elected as vice-treasurer. Thomas Truelsen, Kirsi Rantanen, Heikki Numminen, Arne Lindgren and Janika Kõrv are given the GA's applaus for their great efforts.
1. Per Wester and Katarina Stibrand Sunnerhagen were proposed as auditors and elected. The old auditors were thanked for their work.
2. Magnus von Arbin, Bent Indredavik and Marku Kaste were proposed as members of the new election committee and elected. The old election committee was thanked for its work. According to the statutes, the chair of the Board of Nordic Stroke Society is also a member of the election committee.
3. The proposal that the next Nordic Congress of cerebrovascular diseases will be in Vilnius, Lithuania in September 2013 was accepted by the General Assembly.
4. The proposal that the aim is to hold the next next Nordic Congress of cerebrovascular diseases in Norway was accepted by the General Assembly.
5. Any other business: Marku Kaste informed the GA, that the Korean Society is interested in collaborating with the Nordic Stroke Society about arranging a meeting. The General Assembly thanked the local organizing committee for a very successful conference.
6. The meeting was closed.

Minutes Nordic Stroke Society Board Meeting Hamburg 26th May 2011
Attending: Helle, Janika, Katarina, Heikki, Kirsi, Arne and Dorte
1. Preparation for the NSS:
Janika, Heikki, Kirsi, Janika, Arve, Arne and Thomas are leaving the board.
Gudrun Boysen has accepted to be chairman of the election committee. The members of the board and members of the society should sent suggestions about new board members from each country to Gudrun Boysen. 2 from each country including Baltic countries (Janika will help with contacting the Baltic countries).
2. The election committee members should suggest new election committee members
3. Activities in the previous year:
Katarina has updated a registry of the members of the society.
Janika has and is organizing the nest NSS congress in Tallin.
There has been a huge effort to raise funding to "The awareness of stroke" project. It has not been possibly to raise funding and it is decided to close the "The awareness of stroke" project.
4. Travel grants to the NSS congress: The secretary has received to applications to the travel grants.
Janika will sent information to the individuals with accepted abstracts about the possibility of applying for travel grants. Deadline June 10th.
5. NSS 2013 update: Dalius Jatuzis in Lithuania has suggested Vilnius. Janika will ask Dalius if this is OK.
6. NSS activities at the NSS meeting in Tallinn
a. Board meeting at lunch on the day before General Assembly (GA).
b. Circulate agenda for GA before board meeting.
c. Another board meeting after GA at lunch on 1 October.
Minutes from NSS board phone meeting November 14th 2010
Attending:
Thomas Truelsen, Janika Kõrv, Katarina Jood, Arne Lindgreen, Heikki Numminen, Dorte Damgaard
1. News from the website team:
Dorte is responsible for uploading new material on the website. Each member of the board should contribute with some news about stroke and sent it by mail to Dorte. Dorte will put information about the next NSS conference into the front page on the website
2. News from the NSS study:
Thomas informed the board about an estimated price for telephone interviews in the Baltic countries of about 1.000.000 Danish Crowns (app. 130000 euro). Thomas will make an application in English. Discussion whether to make a joint application or individual applications in the different countries. The members of the team will try to investigate possible cheaper offers in the other countries.
3. News from the membership team:
Katarina: At present no possibilities to renew membership. Please see attached files with proposals from Katarina. Katarina need an excel file with E-mail addresses of potential members.
Thomas and Katarina will write a letter to potential members which is planned to be sent by E-mail.
4. News from Nordic Stroke Congress 2011.
Program in progress. Expected to be ready in the beginning of 2011.
Financial situation: Information from companies about sponsoring is expected in the middle of November. Janika is encouraged to contact other members of the board if she needs information about companies in the different countries.
5. Chairperson from now until NSS congress 2011.
It was approved by the board that Thomas continues as chairperson. At a pre-meeting at ESC Hamburg May 2011 proposals to changes to the statuettes should be discussed regarding: What to do if a board member changes position? What to do if a person leaves the board. An agenda to the meeting one month before.
The board members were also encouraged to think of new potential candidates to the board.
6. New board member from Norway.
No information from Hanne. Thomas will be in contact with Hanne.
7. Next meeting: Telephone meeting Wednesday January 19th 3.15 pm.
Minutes from NSS board phone meeting August 26th 2010-08-27
Attending:
Thomas Truelsen, Janika Kõrv, Katarina Jood, Arne Lindgreen, Hanne Ellekjer, Heikki Numminen, Dorte Damgaard
1. News from the website team:
Hanne Ellekjer was selected as team-leader. Dorte is responsible for uploading new material on the website. The primary purpose of the website is to increase awareness of the Nordic Stroke Society. Some ideas were for example announcement of meetings, information about local research and travel grants for young investigators. All board members are encouraged to contribute with important information to put on the website.
2. News from the NSS study
Thomas will sent information round to the board members about the Danish Study. Thomas informed the board that by December 1st 2010 he is going to be employed full time by a private company. Thomas is interested in continuing leading the NSS study and this was approved by the board.
3. News from the membership team
Membership lists exists from the NSS congresses in 2007 and 2009. The members of the team from each country shall make a list of potential organizations to contact and publications/websites to advertize for NSS and NSS congress 2011. Memberships was proposed to be renewed every second year. A letter should be prepared and distributed to "members" in December 2010.
4. News from Nordic Stroke Congress 2011.
Is proceeding with inviting chairpersons.
Financial situation: There is a need for 30% co-financing from industry and congress fees. The industry is contacted again.
5. Report from the treasure
Profit from the NSS congresses is the only income
The treasure and the chairperson can approve a loan for the next NSS congress.
6. Chairperson: Can Thomas continue as a chairperson after his change of job to a private company by December 1st 2010? Thomas is willing to continue as a chairperson until NSS congress in Estonia 2011. We have to consult the statuettes and every board member is encouraged to think about potential concerns regarding independency between NSS and industry. Every board member is encouraged to declare their opinion to the next board meeting.
7. Arve Dahl has left the board because of illness. Hanne will try to find a new potential board member who may be appointed member of the board until the general assembly in Estonia 2011.
8. Next meeting: Telephone meeting november 11Th 3 pm.

Memory notes from NSS board meeting in Barcelona 2010-05-26
Attending:
Thomas Truelsen
Janika Kõrv
Katarina Jood
Arne Lindgren
1. Meeting in Tallinn 2011
Janika showed first announcement for NSS congress in Tallinn, 2011. The congress has received support from the Enterprise Estonia (EAS) which main aim is to introduce Estonia as a tourism destination. EAS has supported the congress with approximately 62 000 euros (70%) and there is additionally a need for 30% co-financing. The payment will be made for eligible costs after the activities (after having received the receipts) and the concept of marketing Estonia has to be strictly followed.
There were some questions about the sponsors where Ipsen, BI, and Lundbeck might be willing to support.
The NSS may support with a total of 50 000 SEK, but before this amount is released we must receive an over-view of the financial situation for the congress. It was emphasized that the NSS board members may assist with the preparations.
The draft program has parallel sessions for MD:s, nurses and other allied health personnel.
Before the NSS 2011 congress we need all board members to prepare new candidates for the board; 7 people have to leave (Thomas, Arve, Arne, Janika, Heiki, Kirsi have to leave WHO IS THE 7th?). Helle (DK) may stay. In addition, according to the changes accepted at the 2009 NSS assembly we also have to have 2 board members from each of the Baltic States, which may generate a problem in few years when all have to be replaced after 2-4 years. Janika will contact neurologists in Latvia and Lithuania.
Provisionally participation fee for NSS 2011 may resemble that for NSS 2009: 500 Euro for persons residing in "old" NSS countries, whereas it will be 300 Euros for Baltic residents, and all allied health personal regardless of origin.
2. New teams
a. NSS study. New proposal to be prepared to obtain funds. Web-based questionnaire will be used based on the experiences from a Danish study (accepted for publication in Neuroepidemiology). The study is cheaper if web-based. Still, covering all NSS countries will cost 300-400.000 DKR. Thomas will send proof for Neuroepidemiology of the Danish study and the former application submitted to Nordic Council to the NSS study work group. We will have to accept that persons can continue their work on the NSS study after they leave the board.
b. Web-site team. Leader is Arve Dahl. Thomas will contact the web-site team and ask how to continue with this, which is very important.
c. Membership team. Katarina Jood team leader. Top priority is to send a letter to each person who could be potential member of NSS - therefore our web-site must to up running and more elegant/updated than so far.
3. Other:
Prepare the audit for the Tallinn meeting.
Travel grants to be re-advertised on relevant sites.
4. Next meeting:
Telephone conference: every 2 months by Skype. Send skype address to Dorthe. 26 August 3 pm Nordic time (4pm Eastern European time).
General Assembly, Biomedicum, Helsinki 21.08.2009.

1 The chairman Thomas Truelsen opened the meeting and excused for the missing informations about the time and place for the meeting.
2 Thomas Truelsen was elected to chair the meeting.
3 Tiina Sairanen was elected as verifier and Helle Iversen as rapporteur.
4 Election of members of the election committee
At the GA 2007, it was decided that the Election Committee should become more democratic since several of the members have been in the Committee for many years. Furthermore that membership of the Election Committee should not exceed 6 years and that the new Executive board should ensure that this is clearly stated in the Society's statutes. The Executive board was also asked to ensure the election of a new election committee at the next General Assembly. The point has been added to the statues, and if this will be adopted at the GA 2009, an election committee will be elected at the GA 2011. It is proposed that the committee should consist of one member from each country.
Gudrun boysen is chairman of the election committee. The committee suggested new members 2011.
5 The proposed agenda was adopted.
6 Protocol for the last General Assembly in Aarhus was accepted.
7 Economic Issues
a) Treasurer's report
The treasurer Arne Lindgren, gave an overview over the banc accounts. 2 in Sweden, 1 in Norway, 1 in Finland and 1 in Denmark. The finish account will be closed. Arne proposed that each country selected one member, who should be long term responsible for the local account. The reason for keeping the local accounts was to avoid transfer fee. If the amount of money on the local accounts increased above 5000 skr, the amount should be transferred to the Swedish account.
b) Auditor's report
The auditor Magnus von Arbin presented the audit report and praised the work of the treasurer.
c) The economic account was accepted.
8 Chairmans report
The chairman Thomas Truelsen gave a detailed report of the society's activities in 2007-09.

9 Secretary's report
Registration of new members works perfectly through the web-site, however, the lack of membership lists and payments lists is a major problem. At the NSS meeting in Aarhus 2007, the fee was included in the congrees fee, however, not all who paid have applied for membership.
The goal for the next year is: one board member from each country should update their membership list including e-mail addresses. Then a mail will be forwarded asking the member to register at the website.
It should be stated on the NSS congress material, that the congress fee is covering membership of the NSS for 2 years, and only if one " tics no" this is avoided.
10 Travel Grants
NSS received no applications. The board propose that the grants continue and 9 grants of
5000 skr will be available.
The GA suggested that applicants younger than 40 years old and first authors on submitted
Abstracts should be preferred. Furthermore 2 grants should be for nurses, 2 for therapists
and 2 for doctors.
The GA proposed that information abut the grants is communicated in all congress material
for NSS 2011.

11 The proposal for changes of statues was adopted.
12 The proposal of working groups was adopted.
13 The proposal of transfer of funds between member countries was adopted.
14 Membership fee. It was decided that the membership fee should remain unchanged.
15 The next NSS congress will be in Estonia 2011, end of September, the GA will be planned in connection to this. The time and place will be announced on the websitewww.nordicstroke.org and in the congress material.
16 Election of board members of the NSS proposed by the election committee.
The chairman of the election committee Gudrun Boysen presented proposals for the new board members.
Sweden: Christian Blomstrand (elected 2005) is leaving the board and Katarina
Jood was proposed. Arne Lindgren (elected 2007) continues.
Norway: Torgeir Bruun Wyller (elected 2003) is leaving the board and Hanne
Ellekjaer was proposed. Arve Dahl (elected 2007) continues.
Finland: Kirsi Rantanen and Heikki Numminen (both elected 2007) continue.
Baltic countries: Janica Koerv (elected 2007) continues.
Denmark: Thomas Truelsen (elected 2007) continues. Boris Modrau (elected 2005) is
leaving the board and Helle K. Iversen (secretary 2007) is proposed.
Dorthe Damgaard is proposed as secretary.
All were elected by acclamation. Christian Blomstrand, Torgeir Bruun Wyller and Boris Modrau are given the GA's applaus for their great efforts.
17 Other business.
It was questioned (from a nurse) whether nurses could be elected for the board. There was general agreement, that nurses, physiotherapist, occupational therapists and neuropsycologists working in the stroke research field can be elected as board member.

General Assembly of the Nordic Stroke Society
Helsinki 21.08.2009
Agenda (proposal):
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Election of chair of the meeting
3. Election of rapporteur and verifier
4. Election of members of the election Committee
5. Adoption of the agenda
6. Protocol of the last General Assembly, Aarhus 2007
7. Economic issues:
a. Treasurer's report
b. Auditors' report
c. Acceptance of economic account
1. Chairmans' report
2. Secretarys' report
3. Travel Grants
4. Proposal of changes of statuettes (attached)
5. Proposal of working groups (attached)
6. Membership fee
7. Election of Board members of the society (proposal by the election Committee)
8. Next scientific meeting of the society and the next General assembly
9. Other business
a. Treasurer's report
b. Auditors' report
c. Acceptance of economic account
Revision of statuettes
Item 9. The Board consists of 14 members (2 from each of the following countries:
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Lithuania, and Latvia).
Members of the Board are elected for a period of 2 years. The Chairperson,
Secretary and other members may be re-elected at one occasions, and thus serve a
maximum of 4 years in total. After this period, they may be re-elected following an interval
of 2 years. It is preferable that at least 3 members of the Executive Board are female.
Item 10. The Chairperson is obliged to call a Board meeting if this is requested by at least
2 Board members.
New paragraph: The Nordic Stroke Society may provide a loan of 50,000 SKR (2009
prices) to National Stroke Societies hosting the forthcoming Nordic Stroke Society
congress (optional). A minimum of 25% of surplus from Nordic Stroke Society congresses
must be transferred to the Nordic Stroke Society (non-optional).
New paragraph: Fee for participation in the Nordic Stroke Society congress covers the
membership-expenses for a 2 years period.

Executive Board, Meeting in Nice, Thursday May 15, 2008
Attendants: Boris Modrau (DK), Helle Iversen (DK), Thomas Truelsen (DK), Arne Lindgren (S), Christian Blomstrand (S), Arve Dahl (N), Janika Korv (E), Heikki N (F).
The meeting started with an update on activities since August 2008. The Nordic Stroke Society has launched its website www.nordicstroke.org. The website is considered an important step forward in making the society more visible.
The new website will be used for informing members of new events happening besides the basic information about our work in the Nordic region.
1) Information from the Secretary (Helle I.)
a. Membership lists
260 members from Sweden, 158 Norway, 56 Denmark, Finland 33, Estonia, Lithuania,Iceland.
Membership lists need to be updated - discussion about how to organize data on members.
Coming members apply via the web-site, the secretary mail the standard welcome letter - the applicant pay to NSS and the treasurer (AL) checks on monthly basis - and forward names by email to the secretary.
HI suggested to send a mail/letter of payment at a fixed time point every 2 years, to decrease the workload of the treasurer.
Website will be used to ask members to send their email addresses, position, and profession.
HI to visit Lund to have membership lists.
b. Welcome letter to new members
HI was given permission to give membership to individual members; company memberships are not accepted.
The secretary will keep an electronic copy of all correspondences.
2) Update on NSS in 2009 in Finland (Heikki N.)
Heikki N. told about the ongoing planning of the NSS congress to be held in Helsinki. The organizing group has already decided that the dates will be 19-22 August, 2009.
Thomas Truelsen will follow up regarding providing financial support and in return having the rights for a part of a potential surplus for NSS. Christian B.will follow-up on the rules on how surplus from NSS congresses is forwarded to NSS.
3) NSS scholarships/travel grants (Janika K. and Boris M.)
Janika and Boris presented the draft proposal for travel grants. It was followed by a general discussion on who should qualify for a travel grant where persons presenting at the NSS congresses could have a priority. A new set of selection criteria will be disseminated to Board Members within the next 3 months.
4) Treasurer and finance (Arne L. and Christian B.)
Arne L has had a challenging time getting access to the Swedish funds for the NSS. After a lot of obstacles a new account has been opened in Skåne, Sweden, all funds from Swedenare forwarded to the new account.
There is uncertainty about whether the Society has to pay VAT. Who FU?
Expenses since August 2007: For the website 6000 NKR;
Total amount on the account: 144650,72 SKR
Based on a general discussion it was decided the NSS should provide funds for 6 travel grants each of 5000 SKR.
5) Activities for the rest of 2008
Christian - steering committee to be elected at the Helsinki meeting. Both Arve Dahl, Christian Blomstrand, and Boris Modrau can not be re-elected. The election committee is the one from 2007 but a new one must be ready for election at the 2009 meeting.
Janika K. to come up with a suggestion on where to host the NSS 2011 in the Baltic countries. 3months.
6) Next meeting
European Stroke Congress in Stockholm 2009
7) Other
Christian B has contact with WSO on hosting the congress in 2012, Gothenburg. The Board Members accepted that a formal letter from the NSS could be sent if requested by the applicant.
It was unanimously decided that the NSS should join the WSO as a affiliated stroke organization. TT to contact WSO and sign up the society.
General Assembly of the Nordic Stroke Society Friday 14th September 2007. Radisson SAS Scandinavian Hotel, Århus.
1. Arve Dahl was elected as rapporteur and Birgitta Stegmayer as verifier.
2. The proposed agenda was adopted.
3. Chairman's report. The Chairman Professor David Russell gave a detailed account of the Society's activities during the last two years.
4. Secretary's rapport. The secretary Dr. Arve Dahl informed the Board regarding the membership list which has not been updated by the individual countries since the meeting in Gothenburg in 2005. The list lack e-mail addresses, which the new secretary should solicit from all members.
5. Treasurer's rapport: Each country has a bank account to which the members pay their fee. The balances in Norway and Sweden are updated, but the Treasurer had no information regarding Finland and did not know who was responsible for this account. The Board suggested that the next Executive board should establish a single account for the Society.
6. The amount of money in the respective national accounts per 31.12.2006 are as follows:
Norway: 3111 SKR Denmark: 1348 SKR (2002). (No later information) S weden: 7420 SKR. Finland: No information
Total Bank funds up to 2007: 158,383,76 SKR An audit report was presented by Professor Magnus von Arbin.
7. Membership fee. It was decided that the membership fee should remain unchanged at 12 Euro, or 100 NKr, SKr or Dkr.
8. Election of new members of the executive committee. The chairman of the election committee, Gudrun Boysen, presented proposals for the new board members. From Norway: Torgeir Bruun Wyller (elected first time in 2003) and Arve Dahl (worked as a secretary for the chairman from 2003). From Sweden: Christian Blomstrand and Arne Lindgren From Denmark: Boris Modrau and Helle Iversen (secretary) F rom Finland: Heikki Numminen and Kirsi Rantanen From the Baltic Countries: Janica Koerv. All were elected by acclamation.
9. Election of new chairman for the society. Thomas Truelsen was proposed and elected with acclaim.
10.Election of new members of the election committee. It was decided that the Election Committee should become more democratic since several of the members have been in the Committee for many years. Furthermore that membership of the Election Committee should not exceed 6 years and that the new Executive board should ensure that this is clearly stated in the Society's statutes. The Executive board was also asked to ensure the election of a new election committee at the next General Assembly
The members of the election committee at present are:
• Chairman isGudrun Boysen, Copenhagen
• Bent Indredavik, Trondheim
• Markku Kaste, Helsinki
• Bo Norrving, Malmø.
11.Revision of the statutes. The chairman gave a detailed account of the proposed changes to the Society's statutes which were accepted unanimously by the General Assembly.
12.Site of the next meeting. It is Finland's turn to arrange the next meeting of the Society. However, no Finnish members of the Executive Board were present in Århus. It was decided that the new Executive Board should contact with Board members from Finland as soon as possible so that the location and date of the Society's next meeting could be formalized.
13.Any other business.
i. The urgent need of a website was discussed and it was agreed that this should be established.
ii. The General Assembly was informed regarding the Society's support for the Baltic countries decision to hold the 14thmeeting of the European Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics in Riga in May 2009. This was unanimously supported by the General Assembly.
Arve Dahl Birgitta Stegmayr
Rappporteur Verifier

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Secretary : Riina Vibo riina.vibo@kliinikum.ee