Celebrating openness on animal research
The global biomedical community came together on 1 July, 2021, for the first-ever 24-hour Be Open about Animal Research Day, co-ordinated by EARA, to raise awareness about research and the use of animals.
With support from over 1,000 biomedical institutions across the world from Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, Oceania to North and South America, the social media campaign (#BOARD21) was viewed more than 5 million times.
85 partner institutions provided case studies, reports and statements, on why the sector should be transparent about animal research, including 27 recorded videos published on YouTube from Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Spain, UK, and the USA.
On Instagram, there were five livestreamed Q&A sessions with researchers in Belgium, Greece, The Netherlands, Poland and Portugal answering questions on animal research.
In Spain, there was a live conference to discuss openness, with a presentation from EARA Board member Javier Guillen, Isabel Blanco of SECAL and Lluis Montoliu of COSCE.
And in Brazil, #BOARD21 featured a presentation by EARA communication officer, Ana Barros, at the launch of a new scientific journal, Biological Models Research and Technology.
#BOARD21 co-ordinator, Ana Barros, said: “The success of #BOARD21 around the globe has been amazing, with so many institutions ready to join the conversation about animal research. We’re very grateful to all those who got involved!”
Check out the initiatives all across the world:
#BOARD21 - What you need to know
Download the Get on #BOARD21 Guide here:
Who can participate:
The signatories of the national Transparency Agreements, in Europe, plus institutions in all countries where there are discussions about openness and transparency, and anyone else who would like to join the 24-hour period of activity across the globe.
Partner List:
To enrol your organisation or institution as a partner of this initiative, please complete the online form by Friday, 18 June. Being a partner means having your logo displayed in the list of organisations/institutions supporting this campaign.
Suggested Activities:
Each institution/organisation can decide what activity they would like to carry out based on their resources and approach. On the day you can share and retweet all EARA posts on social media always using the hashtag #BOARD21.
Here are some suggestions you can plan ahead of the event:
-
Transparency Thursday: A video Q&A where scientists answer questions from the public about their animal research (check examples here).
-
Let’s Talk SciComm: A video Q&A where science communicators give tips on how they share information on social media about their animal research (check examples here).
-
Run a series of print or video case studies on your website, social media, or in your newsletter showing how animal research is communicated by your organisation or institution. Examples: Why we cannot yet avoid animal testing by MDC, and We still need animal research by Max Planck Society.
-
Organise a webinar to address how your organisation/institution has been working on openness and transparency on animal research. Examples: Improving Openness in Animal Research in Israel, Hungary, Greece, Belgium, France, Portugal and Spain.
-
Produce a podcast or a series of podcasts interviewing scientists about their animal research. Examples: Lab Rat Chat sponsored by Americans for Medical Progress, GetReal!, and Animal Research@Imperial.
-
Hold a virtual lab tour for children or adults to inform them about animal research. Examples: 360° laboratory animal tours by Understanding Animal Research.
Social Media:
All activities and posts during this day should include the hashtag #BOARD21. Using the hashtag is a way to make easier for people on social media to discover all the posts about our initiative. This is because hashtags aggregate all social media content with the same hashtag.
Platforms to use include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
This is the official logo of the campaign (download here: PDF, PNG, JPG):
Languages:
The materials provided by EARA will be in English. Translations of the materials can be provided in Czech, Estonian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Spanish, and Turkish if requested. The activities can be organised either in English and/or in the national language of the country.
