Baku, Azerbaijan – November 14, 2024 – During a series of events at the United Nations Climate Change Summit, COP 29, in Baku, the Brain Capital Alliance, the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association, and the Neuro-Policy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy will launch the Brain Economy Hub.
The Hub is a global coordination and leadership hub for the brain economy. Project and personnel resources function in three key areas:
- Ecosystem: Convening, alliance, dialogue, and lobbying
- Technical: Data, research, and policy recommendations
- Innovation: Innovation and investment
This Hub follows on from the success of the OECD Neuroscience-inspired Policy Initiative (NIPI) and the Brain Capital Alliance. This program has coined and is leading the brain economy, also known as the brain-positive economic transformation, to move humanity from a brain-unhealthy or brain-negative state to a brain-healthy or brain-positive one. The brain economy must galvanize public, private, and philanthropic actors working across sectors and the world. The Hub brings together world-class contributors from various backgrounds to explore approaches to building brain capital at societal scale.
Executive Director of the Brain Economy Hub, Harris Eyre, noted “Mental and neurological disorders cost the global economy $2.2 trillion per year, and this is rising at 5% annually, equating to 2/3 of India’s GNP, home to over ⅓ of the world’s population. This humanity-scale issue occurs when brain skills such as analytical thinking, creativity, and adaptability are vital to the future of work. We risk failing economically and socially if we can not reverse this concerning trend. There is no silver bullet, therefore a systems change approach is essential.”
Rym Ayadi, Co-Founder of the Brain Economy Hub, noted “Systems change is a key approach to addressing humanity-scale issues. The clean energy economic transition involves public, private, and philanthropic actors working across sectors and the world. The Brain Economy Hub believes systems change can be applied to the brain. Neuroscience advances further unlock transformational opportunities given breakthroughs in gene editing, brain-computer interface, and brain mapping approaches.”
The events where the Hub will be introduced and discussed include:
- “Data for 21st Century Governance”. UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub on the 18th of November 13.00-14.00 pm AZT. Hybrid format.
- “Launching the Flourishing Lives on a Flourishing Planet 4 All (FLP4all) initiative”. UNFCCC Global Innovation Hub on the 19th of November 14.00-15.30 pm AZT. Hybrid format.
- “Linking Brain Capital and Natural Capital: Paving the Path for a Brain- and Nature-Positive Economy“, Mediterranean Pavilion on November 21, 2024, from 18:00 to 19:00 AZT / 15:00 to 16:00 CET. Hybrid format.
The Hub will integrate the Global Brain Capital Dashboard and also build out the Brain Economy Systems Change Lab. A specialized working group will refine Systems Change Lab methods for identifying key systems that must transform, identifying the most critical shifts within each system, translating these shifts into global targets, and selecting indicators with accompanying datasets that we use to monitor annual change. The Lab will aim to outline our approach for assessing the world’s collective progress made toward targets and categorizing recent efforts for outcome indicators as on track; off track; well off track; right direction, no target; headed in the wrong direction; or insufficient data.
Please also check:
- Data for the 21st Century Governance: Integrating Nature and Brain Capital Dashboards in ESG Investment Strategies
- Brain economy: Novel Approach to Europe’s Growth
Link to the Brain Economy Hub.
