Event(s) Summary
Number of Events Organized During Brain Awareness Week:
6
Year:
2022
Type of Events Held:
- Lecture/Briefing
- Online/Virtual
- Other
- Other: Drawing competition
Target Audiences:
- Elementary school students (1-5)
- General Public
- High school students (9-12)
- Professionals
- Seniors
- University students
Approximate Number of People Reached:
3000
Details of Major Brain Awareness Week Events/Activities:
Our Brain Week consisted of two types of events. First was a drawing competition directed towards the children from Primary Schools and youth from High Schools. We asked them to prepare an artworks presenting how they take care of their brains. Such competition not only develops children’s artistic skills and creativity, but also allows them to learn how their brain works and how they can take care of it. We received hundreds of art works from children aged 6-18, and are currently in the process of selecting the winners.
Additionally, we organized a series of lectures teaching youth and adults what neuroplasticity is and its role in their lives. The titles of lectures were:
“Neuroplasticity” Prof. Malgorzata Kossut
“Neuroplastic molecular mind” Prof. Leszek Kaczmarek
“Post-Stroke Cognitive Disorder Therapy – Does It Work?” Prof. Marcin Lesniak
“How learning to read changes the brain” Prof. Katarzyna Jenoróg
“What does the visual cortex of a blind person do? About the plasticity of the brain caused by blindness” Dr Lukasz Bola
Lectures were recorded and later posted on our website: https://www.youtube.com/c/NenckiEduTube and on our Social Media. This way all the lectures can be viewed in the future. Additionally we’ll add the transcripts to the videos, allowing people with hearing dissabilities to access them.
Event Planning & Publicity
Publicity Methods Used:
- Emails
- Posters/Flyers
- Website
- Social Media
Which of These Publicity Methods Was The Most Successful?
Resources
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?
By organizing Brain Week, we’re trying to change the views of the public on the work of scientists and increase the neurobiological knowledge in everyday life. By choosing the theme of the drawing competition, “How do I take care of my brain?” we hope we directed children and youth to learn about this subject and hope that they will use this knowledge in their everyday lives.
Please share any suggestions or lessons learned that may help others plan future events:
Our experience during the Covid-19 pandemic showed that by using the online platforms, we can significantly increase the audience attending the lectures. In future events, when inviting guests for live talks, we’re planning to use online platforms to screen and/or post recordings of the lectures. This way we can reach a much larger audience.
