2026 Brain Days Programme – UNGA81

The Brain Days at UNGA81 will again serve as a platform to bring together policymakers, scientists, innovators, patient advocates, funders and international organisations to help advance a shared global agenda. Brain Days will take place on 23rd & 24th of September, 2026, at Cure. in New York City. Structured around two interconnected pillars, this year’s event will explore global collaboration in brain health research and innovation — including funding, science diplomacy and international partnerships — and the broader societal and policy dimensions of brain health, including brain capital, prevention, resilience and pathways towards greater recognition at United Nations level. Building on discussions initiated in previous editions while looking firmly ahead, the event will aim not only to showcase progress, but to create a space for active discussion and catalyse concrete next steps for collective action.

Day 1: 23 September

Morning: Strengthening Research & Innovation and Global Science Collaboration

Suzanne Dickson, President, European Brain Council

Speakers will be announced closer to the event.

  • Representative from The Kennedy Forum
  • Andy Keller, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Linda Perryman Evans Presidential Chair of the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

The community attending the Brain Days are what make it unique and special, and every year the perspectives we hear from the audience bring another layer of expertise to the wider brain-related community, may it be the ‘usual actors’ such as researchers, clinicians, patients and scientific organizations or the ‘unsuspecting allies’, such as architects, investors, start-ups, and key opinion leaders interested and active in the space. This year’s event aims to be as interactive as possible, learning and growing from the audience to build towards stronger policy and prioritization of the space.

H.E. Ambassador Luís Gallegos, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador

Speakers will be announced closer to the event.

  • Louise Parr-Brownlie, Brain Health Partnership Co-Lead for New Zealand; University of Otago
  • Patricia Conrod, Canadian Institute for Health Research, Canada

This panel discussion will use the recently launched European Partnership for Brain Health as a leading example for growing interest in global collaboration for science, examining its ambition to position Europe as a uniting force for stronger global collaboration in brain research and innovation. Currently the largest multi-country, co-funded collaborative efforts in brain research worldwide, it brings together international leaders from science, policy, and funding communities. The session will explore how the Partnership seeks to strengthen science diplomacy, foster coordinated action across borders, and build long-term collaboration on shared brain health challenges. Speakers will discuss the importance of connecting partners across regions and disciplines to break down silos, align research priorities, encourage knowledge and data sharing, and accelerate scientific progress.

Following the panel discussion, participants will be invited to join an interactive exchange focused on the role and impact of global collaboration in brain health and research. This session will provide an opportunity for audience members to share their experiences, perspectives, and challenges related to international cooperation, cross-sector partnerships, and collaborative research initiatives. Through open discussion and audience feedback, the session will explore how global collaboration has influenced participants’ work, where barriers and gaps remain, and what actions are needed to strengthen connectivity, break silos, and foster more effective collaboration across regions and disciplines in the future.

11:15 – 11:30 | Coffee Break

Allison B Sekuler, PhD, FCAHS, FSEP, FAPS, FPsyS, Sandra A Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, Rotman Research Institute and University of Toronto; President & Chief Scientist, Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation and Baycrest Academy for Research and Education

In collaboration with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

  • Arthur Evans, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, American Psychological Association
  • Zia Agha, Chief Medical Officer, West Health Institute
  • Laura Murray, Head of Global Mental Health, Google
  • Josh Hsu, General Counsel, Slingshot AI

Moderated by: Hannah Wesolowski, Chief Advocacy Officer, National Alliance on Mental Illness

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how we both protect and improve brain health. From improving early diagnosis to enabling more personalized therapeutics for mental health care, AI has the potential to become a powerful accelerator for brain health worldwide. At the same time, realizing these benefits while protecting vulnerable populations will require thoughtful policies that foster both innovation and safety. This session will explore how cross-sector collaboration can harness AI to improve brain health, with a particular focus on mental health and the policy strategies necessary to ensure that these technologies are safely and effectively employed.

 

12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch Break
Afternoon: A Life Course Approach – Future Generations, Future Health

  • Ming Lim, Board Member, European Paediatric Neurology Society (EPNS); Chair, EPNS Advocacy & Collaboration Committee
  • Liron Sinvani, Director of Research & Innovation for the Institute for Healthy Aging, Northwell Health

Protecting brain health requires action across the entire lifespan. In this fireside chat, experts in childhood neurology and geriatrics will discuss why a life course approach is essential for understanding, promoting, and preserving brain health—from early brain development through healthy ageing. By examining the links between neurological health in childhood, adulthood, and later life, the conversation will explore how research, prevention, and care strategies can be better aligned to reduce the burden of brain disorders and support brain health for all.

Speakers will be announced closer to the event.

In collaboration with the European Academy of Neurology and the Brain Health Mission.

Despite brain disorders being the leading cause of disability worldwide, public awareness of brain health remains fragmented, disease-specific, and often disconnected from prevention and policy action. This discussion will explore how professional societies, patient organizations, mental health stakeholders, and international partnerships can work together to build a recognizable and actionable global brain health movement. 

 

  • Jafri Malin Abdullah FASC, Fellow, Council Member and Advisor of Special Interest Group on Brain Economy for Malaysia, Academy of Sciences Malaysia
  • Facundo Manes, Neurologist and Neuroscientist, Institute of Cognitive Neurology (INECO); National Deputy, Argentina
  • Elizabeth Allen, Executive Advisor – Strategic Policy and Programs, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction
  • Sheryl Batchelor, Founder and CEO, Yiliyapinya, Australia

Moderated by: Harris Eyre, Executive Director, Global Brain Economy Initiative

This panel discussion brings together pioneering leaders from around the world who are championing brain capital and elevating the brain economy to the forefront of national policy agendas in their home countries. Representing diverse sectors including government, business, healthcare, science, education, and innovation, the speakers will share how they are advancing policies and initiatives that prioritize brain health, cognitive skills, mental wellbeing, and human potential as essential drivers of economic growth and societal resilience.

Beyond showcasing success stories, this conversation aims to inspire other countries and stakeholders to consider how brain capital can become a strategic national priority. The discussion will also create an opportunity for mutual learning among the speakers themselves, as they exchange experiences, challenges, and lessons learned from their respective national contexts. Participants will hear firsthand how the concept of the brain economy is being received, adopted, and integrated by governments around the world — and where important gaps and opportunities remain.

15:30 – 16:00 | Coffee Break

  • Babatunde Omilola, Head of Division, Human Development – Agriculture, Human and Social Development Complex, African Development Bank Group
  • Valérie Boulet, Chief Development Officer, WHO Foundation

As economies around the world confront demographic change, technological disruption, and rising mental health and neurological challenges, a new economic paradigm is emerging: the brain economy. Recognizing brain health, cognitive skills, mental wellbeing, and human capital as critical drivers of productivity, innovation, and sustainable growth, governments, investors, and development institutions are increasingly exploring how to finance a brain-healthy transition. This panel brings together leaders from international organizations, regional development banks, and development finance institutions to examine the investment opportunities and policy innovations shaping the brain economy. The discussion will explore how public and private capital can support brain health across the life course, strengthen workforce resilience, foster inclusive growth, and unlock the economic potential of healthier, more cognitively empowered populations.

  • Joanna Lai, Health Specialist, UNICEF
  • Amb. Lavina Ramkissoon, Ambassador and Co-Chair, African Union Science Technology Commission
  • Neetu Abad, Director, Rosalynn Carter Mental Health and Caregiver Program, The Carter Center
  • Elisabeth Staudinger, Member of the Managing Board, Siemens Healthineers
  • Nika Saeedi, Global Lead, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, United Nations Development Programme

Brain health challenges are a global concern, but they are experienced in diverse ways across regions, shaped by differences in demographics, health systems, economic development, education, technology, and access to care. At the same time, innovation is emerging from every corner of the world, creating new opportunities to prevent neurological and mental health conditions, strengthen cognitive wellbeing, and unlock human potential. This panel brings together representatives from UN institutions, regional organizations, and international bodies to explore how brain health priorities, challenges, and solutions are evolving across the Global North and the Global South. Panelists will examine common barriers—from workforce shortages and funding gaps to inequitable access to services and research—while highlighting successful regional initiatives, policy innovations, and emerging opportunities for collaboration. By fostering dialogue across geographies and sectors, the session aims to identify pathways for collective action that advance brain health globally, reduce disparities, and ensure that the benefits of innovation reach all populations.

Suzanne Dickson, President, European Brain Council

Day 2: 24 September

Morning: Towards a UN Resolution for the Brain – Brain Health at the top of the global policy agendas

Suzanne Dickson, President, European Brain Council

Venerable Monk Burin, Executive Director, The Middle Way Institute

  • Jeyaraj Pandian, President, World Stroke Organization
  • Steven Lewis, President, World Federation of Neurology
  • Abdel Fatah Ibrahim, Chair, OneNeurology Partnership
  • Stephanie Debette, Chair, Committee on Brain Health of the S7; Executive Director, Paris Brain Institute

Over the past decade, brain health has gained momentum in terms of recognition on the global policy agenda. Through sustained and tireless advocacy, scientific advances, and international collaboration by leading organisations working in the field, brain conditions have increasingly been incorporated into global health and development frameworks. Landmark policy achievements, including the adoption and implementation of key World Health Organization action plans and intersectoral initiatives, have helped elevate overall brain health as a critical public health, social, and economic priority. This panel brings together leaders from organisations that have played a pivotal role in shaping global brain policy and advancing international commitments in this field. Together, they will reflect on the journey from advocacy to policy adoption, examining the successes, challenges, and lessons learned in securing recognition for brain health within global health governance, exploring the factors that have enabled progress, the barriers that remain, and the strategies that have proven effective in building consensus among policymakers, healthcare leaders, civil society, and patient communities.

  • Tomás Ryan, Chair, Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) Advocacy Committee; Board Member, European Brain Council
  • Mitchell Elkind, Chief Science Officer – Brain Health and Stroke, American Heart Association 

Building on the growing momentum on how brain health has moved from advocacy to policy recognition, this panel discussion will turn to the question of how that progress can be reflected more coherently in the way research, care, innovation and policy are organized. By bringing together voices from neurology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and cardiovascular health, the discussion will highlight the shared biological and public health foundations of neurological and mental health and make the case for an overarching and intersectoral approach as essential to support the next stage of global brain policy.

Speakers will be announced closer to the event.

This panel will focus on how ambition can be translated into action at national level and inform the priority setting and work towards a better prioritization of the brain at international level. Representatives from countries with dedicated strategies for brain health, brain research and innovation or related priorities will share why an intersectoral approach is needed, how to build political commitment and cross-sectoral collaboration, and what helps move strategies from design to implementation. Their experiences will offer practical lessons for other countries seeking to turn growing global momentum into sustainable national action — and, collectively, into greater global impact.

11:20 – 11:40 | Coffee Break

13:00 – 13:45 | Lunch Break
Afternoon: Building Brain-Healthy Societies

  • Carmencita Bua, Founder, Skylark Transition Program

Moderated by: Hala El Khorazaty, Senior Project Designer, Perkins&Will

In collaboration with HKS and the Pedersen Foundation.

In collaboration with the Center for Brain Health.

  • Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, Cognitive Neuroscientist; Founder and Chief Director of the Center for Brain Health; Dee Wyly Distinguished Professor in Brain Health; Professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at The University of Texas at Dallas
  • Dr. Ian Robertson, T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair, Center for Brain Health; Co-Leader, The BrainHealth Project; Co-Director of the Global Brain Health Institute; Emeritus Professor at Trinity College Dublin
  • George Vradenburg, Founding Chairman, Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative
  • Dr. Krystal Sexton, Founder and CEO, Cognitive Capital Group

Moderated by Richard Hatzfeld, Senior Partner, Finn Partners

How do we move from scientific discovery to immediate, scalable societal impact? In this session, Dr. Sandi Chapman and Dr. Ian Robertson will unveil groundbreaking, actionable insights from their recently published paper in Scientific Reports (a Nature Portfolio publication). Derived from The BrainHealth Project—the world’s largest interventional, long-term study of the human brain—this research marks a paradigm shift from solely treating brain decline to actively optimizing our brain potential. To demonstrate the immediate real-world application of this science, the panel will officially launch the BrainHealth Pulse. This transformative, 10-minute assessment delivers a rapid snapshot of brain  fitness by distilling complex, multidimensional brain performance data into three actionable pillars: clarity, connectedness, and emotional balance.

Informed by expert clinicians and validated by a dataset of over 30,000 comprehensive BrainHealth Index (BHI) assessments, this tool empowers both individuals and organizations to track, protect, and continuously optimize their brain health over time. Concluding the session, George Vradenberg and Krystal Sexton will outline how leaders can deploy this scalable tool to revolutionize performance in the modern workplace, advance self-agency within global healthcare systems, and measurably enhance the long-term well-being of communities worldwide.

In collaboration with Better Gambling Forum.

Gambling is gaining in popularity, with more than half of U.S. adults gambling last year. There is increasing concern that young people also are engaging in gambling and gambling related behaviors. The rise in sports-betting, on-line gambling and the ease with which bets can be placed – paired with rapid increases in youth gambling – is increasing risks that rates of gambling addiction will overwhelm harm-reduction efforts. This panel will explore practical paths forward, including the establishment of prevention, early intervention and treatment models that can be integrated into education, healthcare and behavioral health systems and supported with research and accountability systems.

15:40 – 16:00 | Coffee Break

Suzanne Dickson, President, European Brain Council