Four senior members of the Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) — President Prof. Rym Ayadi and Advisors Dr. Harris Eyre, Pawel Swieboda and William Hynes – are contributing to the prestigious Brain Economy Seminar, held under the James A. Baker III Policy Leadership Program in Paris.
Prof. Rym Ayadi, President of EMEA, Co-founder of the Brain Capital Alliance and the Brain Economy Hub, and Senior Advisor at CEPS, is among the contributors of this high-level seminar. She is joined by Dr. Harris Eyre, EMEA Advisor and Lead in Neuro-Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, who plays a central role in the seminar. Dr. Eyre also serves as Executive Director of both the Brain Capital Alliance and the Brain Economy Hub. Pawel Swieboda, EMEA Advisor, Founder of NeuroCentury, Co-founder of the Brain Capital Alliance, Senior Fellow for Neurotechnology at the Center for Future Generations, Senior Fellow at the European Policy Centre, and Senior Advisor on Brain Health at FIPRA, also serves as an instructor. Finally, Dr William Hynes, Senior Economist at the World Bank, Adjunct Professor at University College London and Santa Fe Institute and EMEA Advisor, delivers a keynote presentation at the seminar.
The seminar, held from 7 to 10 April 2025 at the Rice Global Paris Center, is an intensive four-day brainstorming – training designed for mid- to senior-level professionals from government, academia, the private sector, and philanthropy. Its mission is to equip participants with the tools and strategies to embed brain health and brain skills at the heart of economic planning.
The opening session featured welcome remarks by Dr. Eyre and was followed by a high-level panel discussion, “The Brain Economy,” where Prof. Ayadi and P. Swieboda spoke alongside Quazi Haque (Chief Medical Officer and Professor of Psychiatry, Elysium Healthcare) and Shiva Dustdar (Dean and Head, European Investment Bank Institute). The discussion was moderated by Nathan Cook, Senior Director of Government Relations at Rice University.
In her remarks, Prof. Ayadi emphasized that “The brain economy invites us to stop seeing brain health as a cost—and start recognizing it as the most vital investment in our collective future. Brain capital shifts the paradigm—from extractive growth to regenerative development, where investing in cognitive health becomes the cornerstone of resilience and prosperity.”
The session explored how brain capital—a fusion of brain health and cognitive, emotional, and social skills—is becoming the cornerstone of future economic growth. It highlighted the urgent need for investment in brain health to unlock trillions in lost productivity and outlined how peak cognitive performance is essential for innovation, resilience, and national security. The concept of the brain economy was positioned as a transformative economic paradigm, with local, place-based strategies—such as living labs—key to driving global impact.
The seminar on the Brain Economy brings together global experts and participants in an immersive setting that blends expert-led lectures, interactive workshops, and strategic collaboration. With a focus on practical impact, the seminar guides attendees through the development of a personalized strategy portfolio—including policy frameworks, investment models, and innovation roadmaps—empowering them to lead brain-centered economic transformation in their regions and institutions. Positioned at the intersection of health, innovation, and policy, this seminar is a key milestone in advancing the global brain economy agenda.
It should be noted that the EMEA team, in collaboration with the Brain Capital Alliance, and the Global Brain Capital Dashboard Working Group, has developed the Global Brain Capital Dashboard. The Dashboard aims to quantify and track Brain Capital while also serving as a platform to inspire novel policy innovation.
Link to the Global Brain Capital Dashboard
*In the cover photo: EMEA President Prof. Rym Ayadi and Advisors Dr. Harris Eyre and Pawel Swieboda with Dr. Lawrence E. Jones, Edison Electric Institute Senior Vice President, International Programs
