Brain Health and Research Day
As part of the European Brain Council (EBC)’s Global Partnerships in Brain Research activities, EBC, in collaboration with partner organizations, will organize a dedicated Brain Research Day at the Science Summit at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) this coming September 2023.
In line with the Science Summit’s core focus of examining policy, regulatory and financial environments needed to implement and sustain the science mechanisms required to support global scientific collaborations, the event will highlight the existing partnerships, roadmaps and potentials of extended global collaboration specifically in the brain area, in the case of neuroscience but also in addressing brain disorders, neurological and mental alike.
Enhancing global collaboration in the domain of research and innovation is key for effectively addressing today’s societal challenges and improving the health and well-being of citizens. This is particularly true for brain disorders, including both neurological and mental conditions, which are widespread and highly disabling diseases that are often difficult to treat. It is crucial to explore how global research collaboration can support brain research in a meaningful way to the benefit of people living with brain conditions across the globe.
Over the last few years, EBC has convened a number of meetings, roundtables and events on the subject to bring together the wider brain community and place key counterparts of experts from Europe, North & South America, Asia, Africa and Australia in one room to share best practices, exchange on ongoing work and priority areas in their countries, explore and identify ways for enhanced (and needed) collaboration to forge a joint path forward to understand and address the brain together rather than in silos across continents. Two main discussions took place over the last year, first at the SSUNGA77 in New York last year and then in a full-day event in Brussels on the occasion of Brain Awareness Week, where it was determined that coming together and addressing global partnerships in a united, concrete manner was an ideal and vital next step to tackle the global burden of brain disorders together.
This event will set the scene to address the urgency of the global burden of brain disorders (both neurological and mental) and convene high-level experts from around the world to share what they are doing at the national level and how cooperation globally could take these efforts to the next level, to move past discussion and work towards explicit and tangible next steps in solidifying global efforts in brain research.