The EBC Newsletter for March 2017 can be accessed here.
Tag Archives: EBC
Exchange of good practices in OSH – Healthy Workplaces Campaign Partner event (22.03.17)
On 22-23 March 2017, EBC attended a two-day exchange of good practices event for Official Campaign Partners of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign in Brussels, organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
The opening session on 22 March began with a welcome speech by Christa Sedlatschek, Director of EU-OSHA, followed by an introduction to the 2016-17 Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards category of Official Campaign Partners by the Chair of the Jury.
Two series of parallel workshops gave participants the opportunity to collaborate and share their experiences. The first workshop focused on the importance of ‘leadership in OSH’. Representatives from LEGO, Ideal Standard and Siemens shared good practices on why leadership is key to motivating workers and for creating the right working organisation, processes and environment for successes.
The second workshop on ‘a business case for well-being’ featured speakers from the International Safety and Health Construction Coordinators Organization (ISHCCO), Toyota Material Handling and SAP who will talk about ‘prevention through design’, the principle of placing people at the heart of design and development decisions to create a good working space.
The first day ended with a presentation of the main findings of the workshops followed by a networking cocktail, as well as the Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards and Campaign Partner Ceremony, where the winner, SAP, was announced.
The workshops continued on day two where representatives from ISHCCO and SAP discussed ‘linking OSH strategy to business strategy’ by taking current examples from the audience and working on ways to link to the overall business strategy of the respective organisation.
In parallel, speakers from Baxter and Delphi discussed the ‘harmonisation of OSH KPI reporting’, providing an overview of the current status, evaluation of current degree of standardisation and highlighting the opportunities and risks.
The event concluded with a presentation of the main findings of the workshops and an outlook on the forthcoming Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2018-19 on dangerous substances. EBC received recognition as an official campaign partner of the Healthy Workplaces campaign 2016-2017.
To see photos from the event click here.
EBC Newsletter (February, 2017)
EBC Board Meetings 8 – 9 February, 2017
EBC held the first Industry board meeting and board meeting of 2017 on the 8 – 9th of February. On this occasion, delegates from EBC’s member organisations and industry partners discussed the ongoing activities of the organisation and plans for the year ahead.
The main outcomes that can be singled out include:
- The Board of EBC unanimously approved the candidatures of the Dutch, the Norwegian and the Spanish Brain Councils as observers to EBC. The Board also validated the decision by the EANS to become associate member.
- The first achievements on the proposed work plan for 2017 were discussed
- The next milestones towards the closing conference of the « Value of Treatment » research project and the drafting of the white paper were discussed. It was agreed that a work plan would be elaborated in order to set clearly the focus, structure and responsibilities. A new discussion paper was released in order to pave the way to the white paper to be issued.
- Further ideas were suggested such as EBC contribution in the framework of the World Health Day which shall this year focus on depression. For that purpose, a working group involving volunteering member organisations (including EPA, ECNP, GAMIAN-Europe) will be established in order to develop the message and position statement that EBC should disseminate on that occasion.
- The report produced in collaboration with STOA (European Parliament’s scientific foresight unit) on the use of new technologies in the management of addiction was presented to the EP in Strasbourg on 19th January and the final version will be disseminated once released officially.
- Report was given on EBC’s policy workshop on the prevention and early-detection of AF-related strokes. An invitation was launched to members and partners to organise similar events on other topics in the future.
- The forthcoming launch of #ILoveMyBrain (organised on 14th February) was presented and supported.
- The Lunch Debate and the Outreach Event (14th and 16th March) that EBC is co-hosting in the context of the Brain Awareness Week were presented. Members and Partners were invited to support EBC in these endeavours by attending, or possibly contributing financially to the organisation of these.
- A working group on the prevention of suicide was officially established with the participation from representatives and experts from EPA, ECNP, GAMIAN-Europe, EUFAMI. A first meeting was convened after the Board Meeting.
- A taskforce was set up to look into the revision of the declaration on good off-label use of medicines. Volunteers are kindly invited to express their interest to the EBC Brussels office.
- Other developments with EBC projects (e.g. Not Myself Today, and project proposals under consideration) and advocacy campaigns (e.g. animal research) were also presented for information.
- The Joint Statement on Mental Health in Europe, which was initiated by EUFAMI and Mental Health Europe, was officially endorsed by the Board of EBC.
- The financial audit committee was set up, and will include members Alex Schubert (ECNP) on behalf of the Board, and Christoph von der Goltz (Lundbeck) on behalf of the Industry Board.
We would like to thank each one of you who contributed to these meetings – we look forward to continuing our work. Our thanks and appreciation also extend to our guest speakers: Stéphane Hogan (DG Research & Innovation), Marc Lange (EHTEL), Philippe Cupers (DG Research & Innovation) and Andrea Fiorillo (EPA) who kindly accepted our invitation to come and present at the Board Dinner and lunch.
Suicide Prevention Task Force, First Meeting
The first meeting of the newly formed, EBC-led Suicide Prevention Task Force took place on 9 February 2017. The objectives of the expert group are to produce a policy white paper regarding suicide prevention to be disseminated among policy makers, politicians and the members of the different EU Institution by World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September. The paper will focus on raising awareness of the European statistics on suicide, and provide recommendations and guidelines to tackle the growing numbers of people attempting or successfully taking their lives.
For more information on World Suicide Prevention Day click here.
EBC Newsletter (January, 2017)
External Environment Report
Launch of EBC Consensus Statement to expand brain research
The European Brain Council (EBC) launched on 18 March a Consensus Statement meant to improve collaboration in the field of European brain research.
The document is titled “The need to expand Brain Research in Europe” and can be viewed here.
In promoting brain health in Europe, EBC recognises the vital need to create a body of evidence supporting our call to give the brain a higher priority as well as to provide policy makers with the state-of-the-art knowledge concerning key needs in the field of brain research. EBC’s Consensus Statement is answering to this.
The Consensus Statement, prepared by EBC together with its members and partners and in collaboration with over 100 European scientists and patient representatives, presents proposals for future research programmes and describes the needs and achievements of research in Europe.
“We need support from policymakers”
As EBC’s Vice-President Monica Di Luca mentioned during the launch event, the “Statement presents achievements and challenges of brain research and calls for urgent action and targeted support from policymakers.”
Find Monica Di Luca’s presentation here.
“No neurons, no hope”
Neurologist Gustave Moonen, representing EBC’s Member the European Academy of Neurology (EAN), stressed the importance of science in treating brain disorders:
“Once there are no neurons left, there is no hope. You have to treat patients before they lose their neurons and synapses. If we can fly to the moon then we can cure brain disorders.”
Prof. Moonen also added that “the brain is too precious to be involved in political games and squabbles with national structures for funding.”
Find his presentation here.
Horizon 2020
Catherine Berens, representative of the Directorate General Research & Innovation of the European Commission, explained how the Horizon 2020 EU funding framework will help brain research:
“While there is no specific bullet point on the brain, this programme provides many opportunities for brain research because it allows researchers to identify commonalities between disease areas.”
Find her presentation here.
Call to Action for Brain Disorders
There was a general consensus among the participants that brain research should not become a topic of political games, but be awarded the proper support from decision-makers both at EU and national level.
One way of doing that – as EBC and its partners suggest in our recent Call to Action – is to create European and national brain plans to ensure better management of brain disorders.
Neuroscience
This Consensus Document also points to the need for robust basic research in neuroscience and the development of a strong European platform for brain research which is needed to address brain diseases, a societal emergency in European countries.
The current paper is an update to the 2006 and 2011 Consensus Documents, reflecting changes in research priorities and advances in brain research that have taken place in the last few years. In particular, this most recent update formulates proposals for brain research ranging from consciousness to computational neuroscience.
EBC welcomes new Project Development Assistant
EBC has recruited a new Project Development Assistant to boost its growing Brussels office. Stephanie Kramer, 26, boasts a globe-trotter profile and significant experience in communications and project management.
She started her six-month contract with EBC in mid-March. Her work will revolve around the development and coordination of various projects and initiatives, including campaigns and workshops.
Stephanie holds an LLM in International Law from the University of Edinburgh, and a BA in International Relations.
She has previous communications, external relations and project management experience from internships at the United Nations and private sector organisations.
Stephanie, a German citizen, has lived and worked in 12 countries around the world, including the United States, the Netherlands, Thailand and Chile.
EBC present at Brain Awarenees Week event in Greece
EBC’s Senior Policy Manager Tadeusz Hawrot participated on 15 March in a one-day meeting titled “Translation of Brain Research into Clinical Practice”. The event was took place in Athens, Greece, as part of the global campaign Brain Awareness Week, held between 14 and 20 March.
The event was co-organised by representatives of Greek academia together with the Kinapsi organisation, a charity for the siblings of people living with mental illness in Greece.
The objectives of this event were to increase public awareness of the progress and benefits of brain research, and specifically to raise awareness of the recent advances made in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of schizophrenia and dementia.