feedback report 2002 brain awareness week
11 - 17 March 2002

The Mental Health Information Centre is pleased to announce that the 2002 Brain Awareness Week (BAW) campaign was a huge success! We are especially pleased at being able to reach so many people from all walks of life and across the spectrum regarding age and other demographics.

Media launch
The media launch of the 2002 BAW campaign took place at the Callinan Hotel, Cape Town, on 28 February and was well received by the media. Speakers included representatives of all the main partners for 2002 BAW, nl.: Mental Health Information Centre (MHIC), Dept of Health Mental Health Programmes, Cape Mental Health Society (CMHS), Southern Africa Neurosciences Society (SANS) and the Memory Clinics.

We were also fortunate to have a user of mental health services (representing Cape Consumers Advocacy Body, CCAB) give a consumer's point of view. Press kits were mailed to journalists who could not make the launch but had expressed an interest in BAW. This resulted in numerous newspaper articles (including a full-page spread in the Argus! and articles in the Burger and Cape Times) and several interviews on local and national radio stations. One marathon interview which took calls from the public ran for well over 1 ½ hours, another lasted a complete hour where the radio interviewer only managed to play 3 songs, so engrossed was he in the discussion!

Art competition
The MHIC invited 831 primary schools in the Western Cape to take part in a BAW Art Competition. Entries received were of an exceptionally high standard, and it was clear that the scholars had spent much time discussing and researching the topic before creatively demonstrating "The brain: Just Use It!"

The judges unanimously decided on the following winners:

• Grade 1-3: Seth Fuchs from Active Art
• Grade 4-5: Rufus Crous from De Hoop Primary School
• Grade 6-7: Jarred van der Walt from Timour Hall Primary School

School with overall the best entries submitted: De Hoop Primary School in Somerset West.

Art exhibition
The best entries from participating schools were selected and placed on exhibition at the Bellville Public Library. This stimulated much interest from the general public and media alike. BAW posters and brochures were also exhibited. It was here where the judges got together to make a final decision and also where the winners were announced.

Memory talks and testing
A multi-disciplinary team consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists, geriatricians, occupational therapists and students from Stellenbosch University Faculty of Health Sciences visited various old-age homes and community centres to talk about memory-related topics and to conduct free memory testing. This was extremely well received and resulted in many members of the general population being referred for further evaluation and treatment.

School talks
Dr Willie Daniels, a medical physiologist, and his students visited selected high schools across the province to discuss the effects of alcohol and drugs on the brain. BAW posters and brochures were also distributed here. Prof Stuart Rutherfoord, a neuropathologist and Dr Jonathan Carr, a neurologist, presented a neuroscience demonstration "The Neurosciences as a Career" to high school learners.

Clinic and library promotion
We distributed BAW promotional packages consisting of BAW posters, fliers with a brief memory test, and brochures covering various mental health topics, to libraries across South Africa. These also went to all the psychiatric clinics and day hospitals in the Western Cape. Putting together the promotional packages took some planning and much repetitive sorting and counting! A few hundred thousand brochures later we believe most South Africans had a fair chance of viewing at least one BAW promotional piece.

Summary
The 2002 Brain Awareness Week campaign went extremely well. We enjoyed much media attention and all activities were well attended. Congratulations to our Art Competition winners! A huge thank you to all our speakers and participants at the many talks and presentations.

We are pleased that we could take the BAW message to so many South Africans, from young school children to those in old-age homes; from Malmesbury, to Vredenburg, Delft and Gugulethu. We believe we were successful in achieving the international aims of BAW. Thanks to our partners and affiliates.

Thank you especially to our sponsors, the University of Stellenbosch, Janssen-Cilag, Pfizer, and Novartis. Without your financial backing we would not have been able to take part in this year's BAW!

Final note
We have been awarded the Science in Africa Organisation of the Month for our Brain Awareness Week activities - proof enough that 2002 BAW was taken note of !! We have made an impact - thanks to our partners and sponsors. We are already thinking of ways to build on this in 2003!

Go to http://www.edab.net to see some of the events that were hosted across the globe - and to see where South Africa is listed!

Mental Health Information Centre
Dept Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Stellenbosch
PO Box 19063 Tygerberg 7505
Tel: 021 938 9229
Fax: 021 933 5790