Brain Awareness Week

The Brain Awareness Week (BAW) aims to comunicate the importance of the brain, alerting to the progress and benefits of R&D and promote activities in society. It is an initiative of the ‘Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives’, US. In Portugal it is coordinated by the Portuguese Society of Neurosciences (SPN).

BAW is an initiative, which normally occurs in March. Since 2008, BAW is celebrated in Samora Correia and Benavente in collaboration with SPN, an initiative initially driven locally by Prof. Edgar Figueiredo da Cruz e Silva. Since then, Prof. Edgar’s family took it as their responsibility to continue with this initiative, having had the support and collaboration of several entities, namely the SPN, the Junta de Freguesia de Samora Correia, the Câmara Municipal de Benavente, and the Companhia das Lezírias.

The fbcs organizes in the Charneca Ribatejana: i) information sessions / debates (about the brain, mental health, well-being, healthy eating); ii) exercises in the library; iii) radio spots on Rádio Iris; iv) ‘Cerebromania’ exhibitions with contributions from children; v) visits of neuroscientist to schools; vi) music for babies; vii) senior art exhibition; viii) cognitive tests for the elderly population; ix) walks, ‘The Brain in Motion’ on the grounds of Companhia das Lezírias; x) bicycle rides, ‘The brain on wheels’; among others.