The Vienna International Workshop on Functional Electrical Stimulation (Vienna FES workshop) was first held in 1983 and since then has developed into a well-established triannual event. It is organized by the FES groups of the Medical University of Vienna as well as the Austrian Society for Biomedical Engineering (OeGBMT) and provides a multidisciplinary presentation and discussion forum for the latest developments in the field. The Vienna FES workshop has motivated and led to the foundation of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society (IFESS) in 1995.