“BIAL Foundation - 25 Years”
Travelling exhibition
Curator's Message
Established on May 6, 1994 by BIAL and the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities, the BIAL Foundation celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2019. To mark the occasion, we decided to organize a travelling exhibition to bring some of its history - a discreet history, but one that we are proud of - to the scientific community, especially in the area of the medical sciences.
The exhibition has a simple structure, as simple as the life of the BIAL Foundation has been throughout these twenty-five years.
With the mission of fostering the scientific study of the human being, from both the physical and spiritual perspectives, the Foundation fulfils this mission through three major areas of activity:
1. The bestowment of Prémio BIAL de Medicina Clínica, created in 1984 by BIAL, already with 18 editions, and the BIAL Award in Biomedicine, the first edition of which took place in 2019;
2. The Grants for Scientific Research focused on the neurophysiological and mental study of the human being, in the areas of Psychophysiology and Parapsychology, an activity already with 13 editions that begun with the establishment of the Foundation, in 1994;
3. The organisation of the Symposium Behind and Beyond the Brain, an activity with 12 editions so far, starting in 1996 and with the goal to gather the world-renowned experts in the areas of Neurosciences and Parapsychology, as well as other researchers supported by the Foundation.
Based on the material gathered over the twenty-five years of the Foundation's existence (written documents, films and photos), the Exhibition presents the facts and most remarkable moments in these three areas of activity, including their outcomes. The Exhibition starts with an institutional focus, remembering important moments in its internal life and paying tribute to those who, in an important way, have contributed to its development.
Having toured, for about a year, the spaces of the Medical Schools of the Portuguese Universities, among others, the traveling Exhibition “BIAL Foundation - 25 Years” is now offered, in digital format, to the larger scientific community worldwide. I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit it, and that you will appreciate the activities developed over these 25 years, finding in that appreciation another reason to keep close to the BIAL Foundation activities in the future, helping us to continue fulfilling our mission.
Daniel Bessa
Curator of the travelling Exhibition “BIAL Foundation - 25 Years"
