Global Partnerships in Brain Research | Brain Awareness Week Event Aftermovie

On 16 March 2023, the European Brain Council (EBC) held its annual Brain Awareness Week event in Brussels, Belgium; this time with a full-day programme focused around Global Partnerships in Brain Research, showcasing ongoing work to enable dialogue and foster further collaboration within the community. The event was a perfect opportunity for participants to learn from their peers located all over the world through panel discussions, presentations and networking opportunities throughout the day.

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.

It is clear that plenty of high-caliber brain research is underway across continents and the fostering of concrete global partnerships and alliances could only work to further strengthen the work and avoid. Sharing knowledge and learning from peers, working in collaboration rather than silos and strengthening alignment across diverse public and private entities to structure and track investments benefits international research.

This event — organised by EBC in collaboration with the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) and with support from Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim — brought together key stakeholders representing Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia, to reflect on the global burden of brain disease, enhancing brain health and how to approach the challenges together through knowledge and data sharing, capacity building, funding and policy: key areas to forge a path towards stronger international research alliances and, perhaps, a grander, global approach to brain health and research.