What happened at #BOARD21?

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 live streamed 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 all the #BOARD21 initiatives from across the world:

The Be Open About Animal Research Day 2021 initiative (#BOARD21) was supported by 85 partners across 22 countries. To be a partner, institutions had to confirm their support by filling in the registration form, and sending a logo – many also sent in statements of support which were publicised on the day.

Partner organisations then had their logo displayed in the list of institutions (see table) and the logos of all the partners were shared on social media by continent.

Click to see the list of #BOARD21 partners by country.

During Be Open About Animal Research Day 2021 (#BOARD21), institutions in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Guatemala, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain, Sweden , UK shared case studies and articles to highlight their proactive approach to communication about the use of animals in research.

Click to see the list of case studies published on social media by country/institutions.

EARA’s #TransparencyThursday, which features regularly on our Instagram feed (and also on YouTube) is an initiative that allows the public the chance to find out exactly why scientists need to use animals to pursue their biomedical research.

During Be Open About Animal Research Day 2021 (#BOARD21), communicators and scientists from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain, UK, and the USA, answered questions about openness or their research using animals.

Click to see their video Q&A.

To celebrate Be Open About Animal Research Day 2021 (#BOARD21), institutions in Brazil and Spain organised live events, to talk about their openness and transparency, to audiences.

Click to see the list of events.

To celebrate Be Open About Animal Research Day 2021 (#BOARD21), institutions in Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the USA produced YouTube videos, and live-streamed Instagram interviews, to talk about their openness and transparency.

Click to see the list of videos published on YouTube to support #BOARD21.

Click to see the list of Instagram Live Sessions in different national languages.

To celebrate Be Open About Animal Research Day 2021 (#BOARD21), members of Pro-Test Deutschland shared their tips on how to start communicating about animal research! Listen as they share details on how Pro-Test DE works, and their advice for speaking to a wider public about biomedical research.