Dear ISCA Members,

Interspeech 2013 is approaching! If your registration and/or
accommodation is not settled now, please do it as soon as possible. You
will find on the conference website the preliminary program and a lot of practical information for the venue.

While the main goal of such an event is to discover and to discuss new
scientific approaches, our conferences are also designed in order to
facilitate new research contacts, to meet some colleagues, to find some
future students or post docs and to have, simply, some good moments
with our 'research friends'.

Interspeech is also an unique occasion for you to talk with the ISCA
board as well as with the other ISCA members about your favorite
scientific association! Since last year, we have revamped the ISCA
General Assembly (which will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 27) in order to offer
more discussion time. It is a little bit disappointing for the board
members as we will have less time to present the past year's activities. However, it
seems more important for us to save as much time as possible for
direct intereaction with you. Please, if you have some questions, if you
have some specific points you want to discuss during the GA, send an
email before the GA or talk to me in Lyon or just ask your points during
the GA!

During Interspeech 2013, we will deliver to Prof. Hynek Hermansky the
ISCA scientific Medal for 2013. We will also congratulate our new
fellows (they will be announced during the INTERSPEECH 2013 welcome
event) and our two new Distinguished Lecturers for 2013-2014 (Prof. Hynek
Hermansky and Dr. Michael Riley).

This year, the GA will be the occasion to welcome five new ISCA board
members: Gérard BAILLY, Martin COOKE, Mark HASEGAWA-JOHNSON, Hynek
HERMANSKY and Kate KNILL. Congratulations! It will be also the time for
all the members to thank David HOUSE, Michael PICHENY, Yannis STYLIANOU
and Isabel TRANCOSO, who are leaving the board. Dear David, Michael,
Yannis and Isabel, I want to take this official occasion to say that it
was really a great pleasure to have you in the board, to see your
enthusiasm day after day and your continuous efforts for ISCA!

I am at the end of both my Presidential mandate and my second board term
and I will also leave the board during INTERSPEECH 2013, and the next
ISCA President will be announced during the General Assembly. So, this
message is my last one as ISCA President... It was (and it is still for
some weeks) a great honor for me to serve as ISCA President.

When an association has a long history and is in a good shape, which is
clearly the case for ISCA, the role of the President is not to repaint
all the picture but mainly to ensure good working conditions for the
real workers, your board colleagues. It was particularly true for me as
I took benefit from both the strong foundations gathered from the work
of the past Presidents and the continuous involvement of my excellent
board colleagues. I don't want to forget here our administrative
secretary, Emmanuelle/'Manu'. She doesn't like to be in the spotlight,
I know, but she is playing an indispensable role in our Association and
it was a pleasure to have her around me during my President mandate.

Sometimes, the President could also add some small details in the
graphic. The main part of these small brushstrokes will be forgotten in
the future but, as President, you hope that one, at least, will be
a seed that germinates one day... My personal hope is to see the
importance of the social role of ISCA growing in the close future, as I
am absolutely sure that ISCA is much more than just a collection of
people and scientific events, even if the people are great and the
events marvelous!

I wish to meet you all during Interspeech and I am sure we will have a
very successful conference.

JF Bonastre
ISCA President