EBC Brain Awareness Week Event 2025: Towards the establishment of national brain plans in Europe and beyond
18.03.2025 @ 14:00 - 18:15
On 18 March 2025, EBC is pleased to invite you to the Brain Health Plans Summit, an event dedicated to the establishment of brain health plans. This event is particularly timely, as it fully resonates with EBC’s current involvement in an EU thematic network “Towards an EU Coordination Plan for the Brain”, its engagement with National Brain Councils in the creation of brain plans and/or strategies at the national level and in line with EBC’s growing global policy work and the explicit call for brain health plans by the WHO in the latest Intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders. Both in Europe and beyond, leading countries have worked hard to develop and establish brain plans or strategies in partnership with key leaders in the brain space and their governments: Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Finland, Singapore, Cameroon – to name a few. Many others have concrete short-term goals or works in progress…and momentum is growing quickly.
This event is an opportunity to create a platform for showcasing success stories and best practices, knowledge exchange, brainstorming opportunities and facilitating the emergence of additional brain plans.
Practical information
Date: Tuesday, 18 March 2025
Time: 14:00-18:15 (Brussels time)
Host: MEP Aurelijus Veryga (ECR, LT)
Location: European Parliament – European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Building, Room Giovanni Buttarelli, MTS30 (Rue Montoyer 30, 1000 Brussels, Belgium)
All participants must register before attending this event.
EBC would like to express its sincere appreciation to Angelini Pharma, Lundbeck and Roche for their support and contribution to this event.
Programme
Welcome and Opening
14:00 – 14:05
Word of Welcome by Convening MEP
MEP Aurelijus Veryga (ECR, LT)
14:05 – 14:15
Brain Health on the Rise: WHO Action Plans
Tarun Dua,
Head of Brain Health Unit, World Health Organisation
Collaboration Across Borders: Best Practices for Establishing and Scaling National Brain Health Plans
14:15 – 15:00
Claudio Bassetti,
Chair, Swiss Brain Health Plan (SBHP) and Vice President, European Brain Council
Christopher Chen, Director, Memory Aging and Cognition Centre, National University Health System,
Singapore
Jennie Z. Young, Executive Director, Canadian Brain Research Strategy
Henrik Peersen, Secretary General, Norwegian Brain Plan
Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director, European Brain Council
Keynote Address: The Yaoundé Declaration
15:00 – 15:10
Alfred K. Njamnshi, CEO and Founder, Brain Research Africa Initiative (BRAIN); World Federation of
Neurology Delegate for Cameroon
15:10 – 15:25
Open Discussion #1
Deep Dive into an EU Country Perspective – Spain
(Panel in Spanish, EN-ES Interpretation Provided)
15:25 – 15:45
Mara Dierssen, President, Spanish Brain Council
Elvira Vacas Montero, President, Spanish Epilepsy Federation; Vice-President, International Bureau for Epilepsy European Region
Claudio Bassetti,
Chair, Swiss Brain Health Plan (SBHP) and Vice President, European Brain Council
15:45 – 16:00
Break
Fireside Chat: EU Presidency Momentum: Developments of a Polish Brain Council and Plan
16:00 – 16:30
Konrad Rejdak,
Chair, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Lublin, Poland
Izabella Dessoulavy-Gladysz,
CEO & Founder, Mental Power Fundacja dla Zdrowia Mózgu
Cezary Mazurek,
Head of the Digital Medicine Department, Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center
Claudio Bassetti,
Chair, Swiss Brain Health Plan (SBHP) and Vice President, European Brain Council
Case Study from the Nordics
16:30 – 17:00
Morten Lorenzen, Director, Danish Brain Council
Mika Martikainen, Chair, Finnish Brain Council; Professor of Neurology, University of Oulu
Henrik Peersen, Secretary General, Norwegian Brain Plan
Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director, European Brain Council
Leveraging National Initiatives: Lighthouse Life Science
17:00 – 17:10
Karin Hamberg, SVP & Chief Medical Officer, Lundbeck
Building on the Upcoming European Brain Health Partnership
17:10 – 17:40
Tomás Ryan,
Advocacy Committee Chair, Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS); Board Member, European Brain Council
Agnese Cattaneo,
Chief Medical Officer, Angelini Pharma
Jan Schadrack, Therapeutic Area Head Neuroscience and Rare Diseases, Roche
Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director, European Brain Council
17:40 – 17:55
Open Discussion #2
Fireside Chat: Towards an EU Coordination Plan – Scaling Up EU-Wide Efforts: The Case for Brain Health & Brain Capital
17:55 – 18:10
MEP Tomislav Sokol, Croatia (EPP)
Elena Moro, President, European Academy of Neurology (EAN)
Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director, European Brain Council
Concluding Statements
18:10 – 18:15
Claudio Bassetti, Chair, Swiss Brain Health Plan (SBHP) and Vice President, European Brain Council