Dear EAN members, colleagues, and friends,
It gives me great pleasure to provide you with a very positive update on the Brain Health Mission, as Co-Chair of the mission’s Steering Committee. Some of you will already have seen the recently published Brain Health Mission Annual Report 2024-2025, which documents a tremendous year of progress. Even in my position, as someone closely acquainted with the projects undertaken within the mission, it is inspiring to see our activity laid out in this format and to reflect on how the Brain Health Mission continues to grow in visibility, influence, and impact across Europe.
What began as a collective ambition to place brain health at the heart of European health policy has evolved into a thriving collaboration, uniting clinicians, researchers, policymakers, patient advocates, and the wider public behind a shared goal: improving brain health for all, across the life span.
Among the many initiatives in the report, several key projects and events stand out that I would like to highlight for you. Over the past year, the mission has deepened its engagement with the public through initiatives such as the Brain Health School Challenge, which has now been adopted in five countries, and through the fantastic Brain Health Mission Podcast, which was launched in June to reach new audiences. I had the pleasure of kicking off this series of planned podcasts on various aspects of brain health with Barbara Casolla, Brain Health Mission Co-Chair. We have also proudly represented brain health at high-level forums across Europe and beyond. Our presence at events such as the European Health Forum Gastein and the Brain Days at the 80th UN General Assembly in which EAN President Elena Moro actively participated underscores our commitment to ensuring that brain health remains a central priority on the global health agenda. Of course, our own European Brain Health Summit 2025 also played a major role in this, bringing together policymakers, health leaders, and stakeholders to advance coordinated action on brain health, emphasising its role in achieving the priorities of a secure and sustainable Europe. Meanwhile, the strategic roadmap to promoting and improving brain health in Europe that we published earlier this year has been translated into many of the major European languages.
We are excited to build on the momentum generated by these previous events when we hold our next event during Brain Awareness Week (16-22 March 2026). The European Brain Health Summit 2026 is set for 18 March 2026, and a special exhibition at the European Parliament in Brusselswill be taking place in the same week—both serving as milestones in our ongoing efforts to inspire action, foster innovation, and strengthen collaboration across sectors.
The momentum within the Brain Health Mission is such that even since our annual report was published, we have managed to participate in two more significant brain health events. At both, EAN played an important role, with EAN Treasurer, Jana Midelfart-Hoff participating: first, the EBC Brain Innovation Days 2025, joining a fireside chat with Sameer Zuberi, Past President of the European Paediatric Neurology Society (BHM partner); and second, the EFNA MEP Interest Group (Brain Health & Neurological Conditions) event, Health Literacy in Action: Enhancing Patient Outcomes and Policy Impact on 16 October, joining a discussion on promoting health literacy among patients and the wider community.
The Brain Health Mission is making great strides, and we are continuously planning to build on this momentum and looking to expand our existing initiatives and extend the mission’s influence. Initiatives such as the European Brain Health Summit, the Brain Health School Challenge, and the Brain Health Mission Podcast have been great successes that have all quickly developed, helping us to reach an increasingly wide audience. The Public Brain Health Day held at the EAN Congress 2025 was another hit that will be repeated in 2026, as we continue strengthening our engagement with stakeholders at all levels, via summits, meetings, assemblies, etc.
As we move on with these activities and many more, I urge you to keep track of the Brain Health Mission through its website, http://www.brainhealthmission.org, and social media channels (Instagram and BlueSky); listen and subscribe to the Brain Health Mission Podcast; and keep your eyes open for announcements via the EAN’s regular communications.
I look forward to driving the Brain Health Mission forward with your support and to updating you on our future progress.
Best regards
Paul Boon
EAN Past President, Brain Health Mission Co-Chair
