It is vital to us that we develop Growing Brains through an ongoing conversation with our audience. During our Co-Creation phase from August 2023 to March 2024, we engaged with children, teenagers, and adults across Switzerland to understand their existing knowledge of the brain, mental health, and related subjects, as well as to discover what they were eager to learn about these areas. We employed a twofold approach: Firstly, by launching an online survey, which garnered responses from over 300 participants. Secondly, we took part in various outreach events and activities, enabling us to discuss brain-related topics with approximately 350 individuals aged between 10 and 81.
In addition, over 100 participants were split into two groups for an exercise: one half read two pages of standard text, while the other half explored a comic that incorporated text, both containing identical content. We inquired about their levels of excitement and curiosity, the clarity of the information presented, and their ability to relay the information to others after engaging with either the text or comic format. In the online survey, we also asked the participants what types of science communication materials would be the most appealing to them.
Many of these outreach initiatives were conducted in partnership with our affiliates, including Science et Cité, Life Science Zurich, the Children's University of Zurich, and the Neuroscience Center Zurich. Some events we participated in included «Rendez-vous. Forschende im Gespräch”; National Future Day; BrainFair Zurich; sessions before and after a lecture at the Children's University; and visits to several schools in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
This direct engagement with our audience has been immensely rewarding, offering valuable insights that will now serve as the foundation to develop our dialogue events, outreach materials, and our graphic novel. The findings from the survey, discussions, and exercise will be made available here on our website shortly. We also invite you to subscribe to our newsletter (see below) to keep up to date of the latest developments of Growing Brains.
