The goal of neuroscience public educators is to improve people’s understanding of brain function and raise their awareness of the issues relating to brain disorders and current neuroscience research.  The need for public education on the brain is equally important in the developing world as it is in the North America and Europe.  Often the communities we wish to reach contain few good speakers (or readers) of the English language.  For such communities there are few teaching resources on the brain that are available in the locally spoken language. For this reason, IBRO initiated a project to provide suitable teaching resources in many languages. 

"Neuroscience: Science of the Brain" is a booklet for older children and the general public. It aims to describe our current understanding of brain function. Each of the twenty chapters focuses on a different aspect of the brain and is written by leading neuroscientists in that field. The original booklet was commissioned and published in 2003 by the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) and European Dana Alliance for the Brain (EDAB).  The booklet was distributed throughout secondary schools in the UK where it was used to introduce older children to the subject of neuroscience.

The Translation Project
The first translation of the booklet into Mandarin was made in 2004 at the request of Richard Morris. The idea to make multiple translations in many languages was conceived by Duncan Banks of the BNA and Esther Binns of IBRO.  As a pilot project, the Spanish version was produced in 2005.  The remaining translations were begun in 2006.

Over 50 IBRO members volunteered as translators. Duncan Banks created a Word version of the booklet from the original Quark Express DTP software and gave technical advice. The word version was placed on the Web for easy access by our translators.

Completed translations have been mounted on the IBRO Brain Campaign web page for download.  To make access easier in locations where broad band access to the web is difficult, CD-ROMs were produced (by direct source UK http://www.direct-source.co.uk). The project was managed by Esther Binns (former Chair of the IBRO PEC). If the language you need is not listed, click here. If you would like to make a translation, click here.

How to use the translations
We hope that you will use these translations for the purpose of improving public understanding and awareness of the brain and the importance of brain research.

• It is useful in world regions where English is not widely spoken.
• It could also be used in English speaking countries to aid social inclusion of ethnic minorities in teaching programs.

IBRO and the BNA are happy for you to make printed copies or clone these PDF files. However this should not be done for profit. For more information please read the additional information that is appended at the end of the booklet. The booklet can be used in entirety or in part. Hard copies of the booklet are not available from IBRO. However, if you feel that your brain public education event would be enhanced by issuing hard copies of the booklet, you can make an application for financial assistance through our annual Brain Campaign funding competition.