Every 3rd week of March
Brain Awareness Week is an international campaign that is commemorated by many diverse organizations from all around the world. In Slovenia, we organize a local week-long event yearly. The events are being held in the Slovenian language to promote the development and recognition of local neuroscientists. Every year, in the 3rd week of March, various events around the globe aim to educate the layman and professional public alike about the benefits of researching and learning about our nervous system, especially the brain, to improve the lives of individuals and society as a whole. In Slovenia, the campaign is organized by SiNAPSA – the Slovenian Neuroscience Association. Events are held in the capital, Ljubljana, as well as other cities: Maribor, Koper, Novo mesto, Tolmin, Idrija, and many more.
Each year, the organizational team selects an overarching topic for Brain Awareness Week, which provides the foundation for presenting the various facets of brain functionality. So far, we have tackled topics such as love, sleep and dreaming, neurodiversity, pain, crises, relationships, and many others. The week begins with Monday’s opening speech and plenary lectures which introduce the year’s set topic from different points of view. Tuesday and Thursday are dedicated to healthcare professionals who shed light on specific clinical problems and therapeutic approaches aimed at treating neurological and mental issues connected to the given year’s topic. Wednesday is intended for hot topics in neuroscience, where important and interesting research advances of recent years are presented, irrespective of the year’s set topic. The week ends with Friday’s roundtable where professionals from various fields discuss the set topic from a more interdisciplinary perspective. During the week, several workshops for children and adults are held in collaboration with external professionals, as well as movie projections and discussions, which are organized in collaboration with Slovenian Cinematheque (Slovenska kinoteka) and Fivia distribution. We also hold an annual art competition for primary school students, with the winners receiving attractive prizes. In 2016, the Wednesday in the 3rd week of March was pronounced National Brain Day, and we commemorate the occasion every year with a celebration of this incredible and mysterious organ.
The organizational team of Brain Awareness Week (part of SiNAPSA) is comprised of students of medicine, psychology, cognitive science, biopsychology, economics, pharmacy, pedagogy and andragogy, biology, and many other programs, as well as young adults starting with their career paths. Special care is taken that the team is as interdisciplinary as possible so that the year’s topic is presented from different perspectives.
Events during the year
Neuroscience seminars
Neuroscience seminars are regular meetings aimed at both the layman and professional public alike and are organized by the SiNAPSA neuroscience seminars team in collaboration with students from the Slovenian cognitive science association. They are held as lectures or roundtable discussions and are intended to present current advances, research, achievements, and hot topics in neuroscience. To achieve this, professionals from various fields, such as psychology, cognitive science, philosophy, technology, and others are invited to partake and to help us situate novel neuroscientific advances within the broader scientific and societal context.
You can find past events in our playlist on the SiNAPSA YouTube channel.
UMetnost: Neuroscience in the art gallery
The gallery team is a smaller group that connects two worlds that at first glance seem incompatible – science and art. In collaboration with the National Gallery of Slovenia, we explore neuroscientific, cognitive, psychological, and art history readings of different artworks. Our main goal is to better understand the functioning of the brain as it relates to art and to bring the topics of neuroscience and art to a bigger audience. Our events, which are held throughout the year, have so far addressed topics such as the role of art in brain development, creativity and imagination as neuroscientific phenomena, beauty ideals, artistic elements, and music in connection with neuroscience. By organizing these events, we hope to emphasize the importance of art for individuals and the broader society and to invigorate the field of neuroaesthetics in Slovenia.
You can find past events in our playlist on the SiNAPSA YouTube channel.
B-AIR webinars
B-AIR is a project organized in collaboration with Radio Slovenija and Creative Europe. Its main aims are bringing awareness to and informing the broader public of the importance of sound and music for humans, as well as researching the potential applications of music in healthcare. We take a look at a wide range of sound and music phenomena through the lens of different research fields, particularly neuroscience. The members of the Brain Awareness Week organizational team participate in creating webinars on the neuroscience of music, sound, and hearing. The project also encompasses radio shows, such as B-AIR Zvočenja (B-AIR Soundings) and Možgani na dlani: V omrežju zvoka (Brains in the palm of your hand: In the network of sound).
