Brain Awareness Week began in 1996 as a modest effort involving just 160 organizations in the United States. DABI organized the first Brain Awareness Week to bring together diverse groups with different interests from academia, government, and professional and advocacy organizations. The goal was to unite them with the common theme that brain research is the hope for treatments, preventions, and possible cures for brain diseases and disorders and to ensure a better quality of life at all ages. In the 25 years since its founding, Brain Awareness Week has evolved into a global education initiative that has included the participation of more than 7,300 partners in 117 countries. During the 2019 campaign alone, more than 2,500 partner events were held in 50 countries and 45 states.
