The Belgian Brain Council: A platform for advocacy
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1
Belgian Brain Council, Belgium
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2
Université Libre de Bruxelles, Faculty of Medicine, Belgium
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3
Gent University Hospital, Dpt of Neurosurgery, Belgium
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4
University of Mons, Neuroscience, Belgium
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5
Université de Liège, Belgium
The Belgian Brain Council (BBC) is a national association (ASBL-VZW), existing since 12 years (see braincouncil.be).
BBC is a unique national platform that, in 2017, federates 17 scientific societies, 22 patients associations and 24 industry representatives with one common objective: make all efforts to reduce the burden of brain disorders.
To reach this challenge, BBC uses different approaches,
• One is coordinating, each year, events within the Brain Awareness Week which unites the efforts of partner organizations worldwide in a celebration of the brain for people of all ages. A report of the 2007 Belgian BAW events with pictures is readable on the BAW web page ( see http://www.dana.org/BAW/PartnerReports/ ) and see also pictures below.
• Another tool is to organize every 2 years a congress. In 2016, the 6th edition occurred in Mons. Unique in its form and objectives, the BBC congress opens the dialogue between all relevant stakeholders and expertise for a better understanding and a more efficient management of brain disorders. Clinicians, researchers, representatives of patients and pharmaceutical industry participated to this important meeting. The thematic of this 6th edition was the interplay between gene expression and environment, a major actor of most of neurological and psychiatric disorders as well as normal brain functioning. This congress offers therefore the opportunity to address a lot of different questions ranging from basal ganglia function to narcolepsy. A taste of the congress can still be visualised through podcasts alreasy viewed 1.123 times (see https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLInX7lNyh26K-eYo4280WaeutU0R4049l) and eposters (https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B8yE6VlqOq97NmFwWFZTekZGRFk).
• A third is done by launching a National Brain Plan aiming to align with targeted efforts in providing responses towards lowering the impact of common and disabling conditions and finding solutions to tackle to huge costs represented by brain disorders for our Federal/Decentralized Health Budget. The full document can be read at braincouncil.be
• Finally, BBC is a NBC (National Brain Council) working in close collaboration with the European Brain Council (EBC) as NBCs together with EBC can serve to increase EC funding of brain research at the European level. In addition, BBC adhere to the idea that NBCs should have goals reflecting national needs and should develop their own processes for the achievement of its aims.
Keywords:
Brain health,
Brain Diseases,
European Brain Council,
PLATFORM,
advocacy,
National Brain Plan
Conference:
12th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience, Gent, Belgium, 22 May - 22 May, 2017.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
History, Teaching, Public Awareness, and Societal Impacts in Neuroscience
Citation:
Pochet
R,
Van Roost
D,
Ris
L,
Schoenen
J,
Van Der Straten
C,
Le Roy
L and
Franco
G
(2019). The Belgian Brain Council: A platform for advocacy.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
12th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2017.94.00030
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Received:
01 May 2017;
Published Online:
25 Jan 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Roland Pochet, Belgian Brain Council, Brussels, Belgium, rpochet@ulb.ac.be