Dear ISCA Members,

January is always a pleasant time for the ISCA President because it provides me with an opportunity to wish to you a happy and healthy New Year, both professionally and personally. It is a particularly bittersweet moment for me, as it is my last occasion to do this on behalf of the ISCA board.
As you know, I am finishing my second term in the ISCA board this year and, like several of my board colleagues, I will retire from the board after 8 years of service. It is always difficult for a President to engage in self-reflection about what and was not accomplished.My least worry is about the future of our association. The dedication of my colleagues who will remain on the board and the strong financial condition of ISCA ensures a bright future. ISCA current activities are very successful, and our newer projects such as the ISCA training schools, the use of social networks, and our attempts to be the representative of speech activities to the external community have much promise for the future.
The only concern I want to share with you is the lack of time we suffer from. It is more and more difficult for the ISCA board to maintain all ISCA activities, much less expand into new areas. In 2013 the board has to better reach out to the broader ISCA community to take more responsibilities to provide more services to the speech community.
As I already said, this year is an important moment for ISCA because of so many senior people leaving the board this year. It is good for our association to have a lot of good candidates to fill the open positions, so please, think about becoming a candidate if you want to help ISCA. Not all volunteers can be elected in one shot, of course, but keep in mind that 2 years is in fact a very short period and we have to look forward now not only to 2013 but also to 2015 and 2017. When you declare your intention to serve ISCA, you are also saying you are ready to take charge of some activities, even if you are not in the board!
Interspeech 2013, Lyon, is now in the start! The deadline for election is coming. Let me remind you to look frequently at the web site (http://www.interspeech2013.org/). As just a modest French guy, I am sure that Lyon 2013 will be a great event!
So, one more time - Best Wishes for 2013 and I hope to see all of you in Lyon!

JF Bonastre,

President