NERRI at the science festival NOVUM

El alcalde de Barcelona, Xavier Trias, visitando la actividad del proyecto NERRI

Universitat Pompeu Fabra has organized on Sunday April the 26^th an activity on Neuro-enhancement at the Science, Technology and Innovation Festival NOVUM, in the framework of the European project NERRI. The event has consisted in three intense citizen debates about Neuro-enhancement, during which participants have learnt what this discipline is about and have been able to make their own mind about it.

The three Play Decide, games of citizen debate, have taken place during all morning at the Curie canopy, where people from different age groups, education and profession have shared their perceptions on Neuro-enhancement. The game is a dynamic activity that allows participants to gain basic knowledge on the topic to be able to present their personal vision and build a debate filled with ethical concerns. The Play Decide kit on Neuro-enhancement was developed by Universitat Pompeu Fabra and can be downloaded for free from the Play Decide website.

The Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, has visited the Curie canopy when two of the citizen debates were taking place. He has been welcome there by Gema Revuelta, associate professor at the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (DCEXS-UPF) and director of the Studies Center on Science, Communication and Society (SCS-UPF) from the same university. Gema Revuelta is the main responsible for the NERRI activities in Spain. The activity at the NOVUM Festival has been conducted by Mar Escarrabill, collaborator of the project, and Núria Saladié, local coordinator of the NERRI activities.

The NERRI European project has also appeared in the Sunday evening TV news report of April the 26^th of the Catalan TV channel TV3. The news piece informs about Neuro-enhancement and includes the NERRI project since it takes into account the public opinion towards it. Activities like the one celebrated this Sunday at the Science, Technology and Innovation Festival NOVUM are vital to gather society’s opinions about Neuro-enhancement to later forward them to the European Commission so that they are taken into account when the regulation time comes.

Interesting links:

• News piece at the Catalan TV channel TV3 (in Catalan)
• Article at the Observatori 2.0 blog
• Official NERRI website
• Report in Spanish “Neurodopaje Alerta por las sustancias que potencian el cerebro” at La Vanguardia newspaper

Este blog cuenta con la colaboración de la Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología – Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación