The European Brain Council (EBC) was pleased to participate in the 37th Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) held in Milan from 25–28 September 2024. The ECNP Congress is a leading platform for bringing together psychiatrists, neuroscientists, neurologists, and psychologists from around the world to discuss the latest advancements in brain disorder research and treatment.

On September 25th, EBC organized an engaging session titled “Towards the BrainHealth Partnership”. The session opened with remarks from EBC President Prof. Suzanne Dickson, followed by a presentation from Kristien Aarts, EBC’s Chief Research and Innovation Officer, on the “state of play” of brain research collaborative initiatives in the European Union. She emphasized the urgent need for international collaboration and multi-level engagement in both global and national contexts to address the pressing challenges in brain health.

The following panel discussion featured:

• Prof. Martien Kas (President of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacolog)
• Monica Di Luca (EBRA coordinator, former EBC President)
• Sabine Hölter-Koch (PREMOS cluster, EBRA)
• Roger Adan (BRAINFOOD cluster, EBRA)

The panelists showcased concrete examples of how collaboration at the European level, particularly through the EBRA clusters and ECNP networks, has led to tangible impacts in the brain health research field. Each speaker highlighted the critical importance of bringing together diverse stakeholders from the research community, industry, and civil society to drive progress in brain research and innovation.

The session’s message was clear: collaboration is key to overcoming the substantial challenges in brain health research. Through joint efforts and coordinated initiatives, significant progress can be achieved. The discussion also touched upon the work being done by the Coordination and Support Action (CSA) BrainHealth in paving the way towards the future European Partnership on BrainHealth.

The session was well-attended, and the audience was highly engaged, actively participating in the discussion.

Beyond the session, EBC had a strong presence throughout the ECNP Congress. On September 24, EBC had the pleasure to present a poster on the “Rethinking Schizophrenia: Beyond the Voices”, which outlined key policy recommendations to improve the lives of individuals living with schizophrenia in Europe. The ePoster can be accessed by clicking on the following link. Rethinking Schizophrenia is a research-driven project offering tangible policy changes to improve the lives of people living with schizophrenia across Europe. It challenges the status quo and refreshes the European policy debate on people living with schizophrenia and encourages multi-stakeholder-driven policy. The project falls under #BeyondTheVoices campaign.