Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
9
Year:
2020
Type of Events Held:
- Other
- School Program
- Other: Debate
- Other: Science&Art Performance
Target Audiences:
- General Public
- High school students (9-12)
Approximate Number of People Reached:
353 – direct participation in the events; 10 046– interaction through social media content
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
“Journey around the Brain” challenged citizens to join a journey through the brain research that is being done at the CIBB. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was adjusted to fulfill all the restrictions imposed by health authorities.Three main activities were organized:Online debateOn October 14th, the online debate entitled “Brain and Environment: The impact of the pandemic” aimed to discuss the role of the social, biological and natural environments in the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on the brain. This event was organized in collaboration with the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience, which coordinated the Brain Awareness Week in Portugal. We counted with the participation of an audience of 79 people and 7 speakers.Online sessions with Schools From October 12th to 16th, several researchers presented their work, engaging around 214 high school students. We have discussed neuroscience research topics such as Autism, Machado-Joseph Disease and the use of brain organoids to study brain disorders. Science&Art Performance “A Máquina dos Sonhos” took place on October 27th and explored Sleep and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS). This performance combined the artistic and scientific languages and was produced in collaboration with the theater company Marionet and the SleepApneaID – the CIBB research project that aims to study OSAS. This event was organized in the scope of the celebrations of the University of Coimbra 730th anniversary and had 60 viewers.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Mailings
- Posters/Flyers
- Press Release/Media Advisory
- Website
- Social Media
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
What other downloadable materials would you like the Foundation to provide?
- New Fact Sheets
- New Lesson Plans
- Activities/Experiments
Which BAW graphic materials did you use in publicizing your events?
- Brain Awareness Week Logos
Feedback & Keys to Success
How do you feel BAW participation benefited your organization and the local community?
It gave visibility to our institution among the local community through the science&art performance and among other institutions during the debate. Schools discussed the most recent research topics thus improving their school curriculum. 66,7% of the school teachers said the online session was very good, 100% said the session contributed to student’s learning. One said “I found it extremely interesting and updated what makes us think that science has been progressing in an incredible way”.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
We used an online platform of live polls during the online sessions with schools, thus allowing researchers to engage with the audience. 77,7% of teachers said the use of the platform stimulated the students’ attention and interest. We would highly recommend it!
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