Tuesday
March 3rd
Thinking. Better. Together.
How do people move from senses to systems, what systems support or hinder?
Speakers lay out a rich landscape for exploration, using their expertise as transportation.
All events are free to attend but capacity is limited so please book early to secure your place.
Click here to book your IN-PERSON attendance at the Naughton Institute, Trinity College
Click here to book your ONLINE attendance
09.30am-11.30am
Thinking. Better. Together
Co-founder Creative Aging International Dominic Campbell lays the groundwork for the week
Brendan Breslin makes music together in the moment.
Shane O’Mara reimagines a cognitive operating system for democracy.
Artist and Educator Louise Foott reflects on Paradigms and Relationality
Executive Director of Royal Irish Academy Lynn Scarff keeps it all on course
Contributors
Brendan Breslin was appointed the Head of Connect for the Royal Irish Academy of Music in 2018, senior manager with responsibility over RIAM Exams, Publications, Outreach, and Teaching & Learning.
Previous to joining RIAM he worked for 14 years with the Band of An Garda Síochána (Irish Police Band), having joined in 2004, as bands person on tuba and percussion. As a conductor, Brendan has previously had the role of Musical Director with Arklow Silver Band, the Dublin Symphony Orchestra and the Lucan Concert Band. He has enjoyed a successful tenure as the Musical Director of Ardee Concert Band, most notably resulting in two Platinum Award performances in the NCBF Competitions in the UK. Brendan is the current Musical Director of the Dublin Concert Band, Irish Film and Pops Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the Irish Youth Brass Ensemble.
In June 2016 Brendan won the National Association of Brass Band Conductors competition in the UK, which has afforded him the opportunity of working with some of the main Championship brass bands in the UK, including the Fodens Band, Whitburn Brass Band, the Reg Vardy Brass Band and Carlton Main Frickley Brass Band.
As a composer and arranger, Brendan’s music has featured with orchestras, brass and concert bands such as the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Cory Brass Band, the Roberts Bakery Band, the Irish Defence Forces Bands, the Band of An Garda Síochána, as well as noted artists such as Cara O’Sullivan, Brian Kennedy and Peter Corry. His scores have featured in musical programming for RTÉ radio and television, as well as the Dublin Fringe Festival.
In February 2017 Brendan was a prize winner in the Ensemble de Cuivres Valaisan Composition Contest for his original work ‘Cruise Control’, as well as the audience award from the premiere performance of the three winning entries.
Website:
https://www.riam.ie/about/our-people/brendan-breslin
Social Media:
Dominic Campbell is leading the Creative Brain Week initiative. As Bealtaine Festival Director he steered its celebration of creativity and aging’s development over eight years. Formerly an Artistic Director of Ireland’s national celebration he transformed St Patrick’s Festival’s three shows into ninety growing production, managerial teams, financial support, engagement and impact.
Dominic went on to design and produce national celebrations marking the expansion of European Union in 2004 and Centenary celebrations for James Joyce. For “The Day Of Welcomes” delivering 12 simultaneous festivals pairing EU expansion countries with Irish towns and cities engaging 2,500 artists from 32 countries.
He mentored “celebration of ageing” festivals in Wales (Gwanwynn), Scotland (Luminate), and developed projects with partners in Australia and The Netherlands. In 2012 he established the first global conference on Creativity In Older Age opened by Irish President Michael D Higgins, replicating it in San Francisco (2018) and Kentucky (2019).
Recognized as a key cultural influencer in Ireland by The Irish Times and by First Avenue as a Key Influencer in Aging in the US, in 2016 he became an inaugural Atlantic Fellow for Equity and Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute a project between Trinity College Dublin and University of California San Francisco an ambitious worldwide program seeking social and public health solutions to reduce the scale and adverse impact of dementia. Currently developing an arts programme for the Irish Hospice Foundation as response to the pandemic and the Ageing Voices programme with Sing Ireland.
Website:
www.creativeaginginternational.com
www.gbhi.org/profiles/dominic-campbell
Social:
Bluesky: @creativebrainweek.bsky.social
Shane O’Mara is Professor of Experimental Brain Research in Trinity College Dublin, and am a Principal Investigator in, and former Director of the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience from 2009-2016.
He is a member of the academic staff of the School of Psychology and was an undergraduate and postgraduate at NUI Galway (BA, MA).
He undertook his doctoral work (DPhil) at the University of Oxford, is a Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin (FTCD) and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science (FAPS).
Shane was also elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA).
Research Focus: His research interests are the neurocognitive mechanisms of group reasoning under real-world constraints. He uses portable fNIRS and structured-naturalistic experiments to examine how status, enforced silence/refusal, time pressure, and diffusion of responsibility shape evidence accumulation, metacognition, and trust, and he designs autonomy-respecting interventions that improve accuracy and fairness without coercion. He applies this work to eliminating coercive interrogation and to advancing open, reproducible methods in human cognitive neuroethology. In parallel, his lab studies rare neuropsychiatric disorders, currently Rett syndrome, combining fNIRS with tests of naturalistic cognition. Additional strands include the neurocognition of nationalism, institutions as time-travelling cognitive communities, and the cognitive neuroscience of adaptive governance. He is also undertaking an extended writing exercise called ‘The Cognitive Republic: Building Societies That Experiment, Learn, and Evolve’where he is thinking through ideas for reinventing democracy as a living, adaptive, system drawing on cognitive neuroscience, social psychology, and sometimes evolutionary biology.
Websites:
https://people.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=smomara
https://steady.page/en/cognitive-republic/about
https://www.brainpizza.com/about
Social Media:
Louise Foott is an artist educator/ facilitator, fascinated by the dynamics of learning within artistic processes. This curiosity has guided her practice and research for many years, exploring the arts as an expressive way of knowing in a range of contexts – how the arts can support and deepen reflection and learning among 3rd level students, how the arts can enable meaning-making and connection when we are processing loss. Currently, as she navigates her way through a professional doctorate exploring imagination and thriving, her curiosity is focused on how the arts can support adolescent wellbeing, particularly within formal education. Facilitating people to experience the arts as an expressive language, a means of accessing embodied knowing and giving voice, is always at the heart of her practice.
She leads a team of artist educators – art therapists, art teachers, arts facilitators and arts activist – providing training, research and life-long learning opportunities at Masters and Certificate level. Together their goal is to role model and provide training in expressive ways of knowing and understanding, both focused inwardly on knowing ourselves and outwardly, on knowing the world.
Websites:
https://crawford.mtu.ie/staff/Louise-Foott/
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-foott-a0a28031/
https://www.instagram.com/mtu_crawford/
Lynn Scarff is the recently appointed Executive Director of the Royal Irish Academy. Previously, she was the Director of the National Museum of Ireland (May 2018 – 2025).
She studied Natural Sciences at Trinity College Dublin, specialising in zoology and natural history. Following a number of years based in Ballymun during the major regeneration project there and working as an environmental education consultant, Lynn returned to Trinity to take on a role in the initial development team of Science Gallery Dublin. Over eleven years at Science Gallery she developed a programme of compelling cultural experiences that explored the boundaries of art and science and connected with a target audience of 15 – 25 year olds.
She was appointed Director of Science Gallery in 2014 and was an integral member of the team that established the Global Science Gallery Network. Lynn’s research work focuses on non formal learning settings and the opportunities presented by museums and cultural spaces to engage young people, with a particular focus on under represented audiences. She has presented and written on these themes both in education, museum practice and communication journals globally. Her research and practice work has been funded through competitive grants awarded by Science Foundation Ireland, the Wellcome Trust in the UK and the European Commission through Horizon 2020 and Creative Europe calls. She holds an MSc in Science Communications and in 2016 was awarded a National Arts Strategies Kresge Fellowship completed over one year at Harvard, Michigan Ross and Berkeley Business Schools in the USA.
Lynn has significant expertise in programme development, strategy, brand development, marketing and communications, financial planning, fundraising, HR, operations and recruitment within an award winning art-science space with in excess of 3 million visitors in ten years.
Websites:
Social Media:
11.30am-12.30pm
Thinking Through The Senses: On The Nose
A week that moves between sensation and systems starts with an enjoyable introduction to the sense of smell. How does expertise from science and creativity generate olfactory understanding? Brain systems that makes sense from scent, wonders of wine and the perfumes of place and time. Featuring:
Chair: Mani Ramaswami Professor of Neurogenetics at Trinity
- Paul Dockeree Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Trinity
- Harriet Tindal, Director of fine wine at Tindall Wine
Contributors
Paul Dockree is a Professor in the School of Psychology and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience. He is a cognitive neuroscientist whose research focuses on attention, memory, awareness, and brain–body interactions underlying behaviour. His work uses electrophysiological methods, including analyses of oscillatory dynamics, to investigate these mechanisms across both basic and applied research. A strong clinical emphasis examines changes in cognitive functioning associated with brain injury and ageing, alongside the development of rehabilitation techniques to support recovery from cognitive disabilities.
Websites:
https://people.tcd.ie/Profile?Username=dockreep
https://www.tcd.ie/psychology/people/academic-staff/dockreep/
Social Media:
Dr Mani Ramaswami is Professor of Neurogenetics at Trinity College Dublin and Director of Trinity College Institute of Neurosciences (TCIN) His research interests include the nervous system, neural networks, computational neuroscience, molecular neuroscience. Mani serves as an editorial member and reviewer of several international reputed journals. He has authored of many research articles/books related to nervous system, neural networks, computational neuroscience, molecular neuroscience.
Website:
One of only 409 Masters of Wine in the World, 8 working in Ireland, Harriet’s focus is consistently focussed on improving the quality and diversity of wine communication globally.
As director of Fine Wine at her family wine business Tindal Wine Merchants. Harriet works closely with the sales team, expanding and sustaining the high quality and diversity within the wine portfolio, as well as that of Searsons Wine Merchants, their shop in Monkstown, Dublin.
Recognising the increasing importance of wine investment and the associated personal wine collection services, Harriet runs a fine wine broking service: Tankersley Wine Brokers (UK and Ireland). Valuation of private cellars, buying and selling wines for clients as well as investment advice are part of the service.
Whilst wine is inherently a job to Harriet, her passion and energy embodies the presentations that she hosts. Bringing life to her stories from the vineyards, peppered with the knowledge learnt through many years of study on her Master of Wine journey. As a strong communicator Harriet is in demand as a wine judge, presenter and communicator globally.
Websites:
https://www.mastersofwine.org/harriet-tindal-mw
Social Media:
12.30pm-1.00pm
Gathering Thoughts
How does understanding move from individual sensation to collective knowledge? What are the pitfalls in the process? Featuring Pradeep Narayanan practitioner of participatory methods and approaches in research and evaluation with Praxis India reflects on systems from sense making.
Contributors
Pradeep Narayanan is a practitioner of participatory methods and approaches in research and evaluation.
He works around areas of decolonisation, ethics, Participatory Research, ESG, Business and Human Rights, Sustainable Development. He has more than 25 years of experience in the journey of learning participatory development practices through association with a number of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Attempting community-led monitoring of programmes, projects and schemes through participatory action research with communities facing marginalisation. He is an Honorary Fellow, Durham University and is visiting faculty at NALSAR, Hyderabad and IICA, Manesar. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Community Development Journal, OUP. He anchors initiatives such as Sindhanai and Global North Dominance Watch. He is associated with a number of organisations and networks including the Participate initiative of IDS, Sussex and Rethinking Research Collaborative, based in the UK, Partners in Change, Praxis Institute for Participatory Practices and International Rice Research Institute. He is also a member of the Core Committee on Business and Human Rights of the National Human Rights Commission, New Delhi, Periyarist and Ambedkarite.
Website:
Social Media:
2.00pm- 4.00pm
Weaving Worlds
Inspiring case studies and informative approaches to implementation that are Thinking. Together. Each moves beyond articulating problems to activating “Better” in the world.
- Cormac Russell social explorer and author, Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago explores innovative approaches to development.
- Oonagh O’Brien Lecturer Computer Science, Post Doc Researcher Cyberpsychology considers technological use and its links with wellbeing
- Atholl Kleinhans Lecturer, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University examines education as a vehicle to drive social change in health care, introduced by Eimear McGlinchy
- Ed Collier Co Artistic Director of China Plate on theatre to create understanding
- Rene Weston of Sunshine Cinema introduces Africa’s largest solar-powered cinema network, delivering campaigns, films, and community dialogue, powered by trained youth facilitators
- Dela Wilson of Axel unpicks and re-weaves understanding to help people make sense of a changing world
Contributors
Ed co-founded China Plate in 2006 alongside Paul Warwick.
They jointly share the artistic direction of China Plate and both usually act as executive producers on their productions. They work closely with Executive Director Chloe Courtney on all aspects of leadership, management and strategy and with their producing team to support the artists making our shows as well as taking the lead on specific artist or sector development strands.
Website:
https://chinaplatetheatre.com/
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/chinaplatetheatre
Atholl Valdon Kleinhans is a Public Health PhD candidate and interdisciplinary scholar working at the intersection of sociology, medical education, and health equity. His doctoral research explores the lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ health profession students in South Africa, contributing to growing efforts to create more inclusive, socially responsive, and contextually relevant health sciences education. His work is grounded in qualitative inquiry and informed by critical perspectives on gender, power, and institutional culture.
Atholl has more than ten years of experience in higher education as both a researcher and educator. His academic interests include diversity, equity and inclusion in health professions education, curriculum transformation, and the integration of social science perspectives into medical and health sciences training. He is particularly committed to strengthening the links between public health, social justice, and health workforce development in the Global South. Atholl is also passionate about health equity for people living with Down Syndrome and is involved in multiple community project advocating for the rights of people with DS. Currently they are conducting a national study in South Africa assessing the needs of caregivers of persons with DS. They are also launching another study called
Framework for Understanding Neurocognitive Disorders via Indigenous Systems in South Africa (FUNDISA), which aims to develop a culturally appropriate framework and language for neurocognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) and Down syndrome (DS) in South Africa at the interface of Indigenous and Biomedical Knowledge Systems.
He has presented his work at international academic forums, where he contributes to global conversations on inclusive education and the transformation of health professions training, health equity and strengthening public health systems.
Websites:
https://www.atlanticfellows.org/bio/atholl-kleinhans
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Atholl-Kleinhans-3
https://purerims.smu.ac.za/en/persons/atholl-valdon-kleinhans/
Social Media:
Dr. Eimear McGlinchey is an Assistant Professor in Intellectual Disability in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, and a Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the Global Brain Health Institute, focused on identifying early biomarkers of dementia for people with Down syndrome by developing an intervention program using online cognitive training with adults with Down Syndrome.
Eimear’s background is in Psychology and her primary area of interest is in the promotion and maintenance of brain health in people with an intellectual disability, with particular focus on the area of dementia in people with Down syndrome. Eimear’s work in the area of dementia and Down syndrome includes investigating early biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease using neuroimaging, blood- based and cognitive biomarkers and is PI of the PREVENT dementia – DS project. This project is part of a collaborative international study with the Horizon 21 European Down syndrome Consortium. Dr McGlinchey is co-PI on a project that includes the voices of people with an intellectual disability in developing guidelines for post-diagnostic dementia support.
Eimear’s work is based in the Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability and is research lead with the National Intellectual Disability Memory Service. Her other areas of interest include equity and inclusion as well as accessibility and innovative dissemination.
Eimear teaches on the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the school and provides supervision to undergraduate, masters and PhD students. She is Program Director for the Ageing Health and Wellbeing in Intellectual Disability MSc, the Dementia MSc, and the Community Health MSc in the School of Nursing and Midwifery. She has a number of publications and has disseminated widely through national and international conferences.
Websites:
https://www.tcd.ie/tcaid/people/mcgline/
https://www.gbhi.org/profiles/eimear-mcglinchey
Social:
Oonagh is a researcher in cyberpsychology and lecturer in computer science. Her particular interest is in technology use and its links with wellbeing and developing awareness of technology use that supports wellbeing.
Oonagh’s work in education is aimed at redefining how we navigate the digital world. By weaving together expert insight from computer science, psychology, economics, health sciences, and the creative arts, she has led development of an educational blueprint for digital resilience in an increasingly complex world. Her Digital Wellbeing research and resultant course dives deep into the forces shaping our modern lives—from the ethics of AI and the “attention economy” to the nuances of misinformation and the attachment economy. Directly inspired by Creative Brain Week 2024, lab sessions on the course focus on cultivating creative habits that restore balance between online and offline worlds. Oonagh views this work not just as an educational curriculum, but as a vital societal intervention designed to protect cognitive health and build lasting resilience against online harms.
Websites:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Oonagh-Obrien
Social Media:
Cormac is a social explorer, an author and a much sought-after speaker. He is the Founding Director of Nurture Development and a member of the Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) Institute, at DePaul University, Chicago.
Over the last 25 years, Cormac’s work has demonstrated an enduring impact in 35 countries around the world. He has trained communities, agencies, NGOs and governments in ABCD and other community-based approaches in Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe and North America.
His most recent books are The Connected Community- Discovering the Health, Wealth, and Power of Neighborhoods (Coauthor John McKnight); Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2022 and Rekindling Democracy – A Professional’s Guide to Working in Citizen Space; Cascade Books, 2020.
Websites:
TEDx talk can be viewed here
Youth-Led Solar Cinema For Narrative Change.
Sunshine Cinema believes that stories don’t just entertain — they shape how people see themselves, their communities, and the world. That’s why they put the power of narrative change directly into the hands of young innovators across Africa. Through their Impact Distribution model, they go beyond traditional film screenings, training under-served youth to become Impact Facilitators — local media entrepreneurs who use the Sunbox (a solar-powered mobile cinema kit) to bring African films into classrooms, community halls, and villages where cinemas don’t exist.
Each screening is free and designed to be more than a viewing: it is a catalyst for dialogue, reflection, and action. Films spark conversations on urgent issues — from gender-based violence and youth unemployment to inclusive conservation, climate change, and media literacy — transforming storytelling into a tool for civic engagement and social change.
The impact doesn’t stop at the screening. Facilitators are also trained in media production, digital marketing, and freelance entrepreneurship, enabling them to build sustainable careers while amplifying African stories that challenge stereotypes, broaden representation, and inspire new possibilities.
Sunshine Cinema uses film to shift narratives from the ground up — creating spaces where communities can see themselves reflected, confront systemic issues, and imagine more equitable futures.
This is narrative change through impact distribution: film as both livelihood and catalyst for transformation.
Website:
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/sunshinecinema
Rene Weston is a film producer, trainer, writer and impact strategist based in Cape Town, South Africa. With more than 10 years’ experience at Giant Films – including as Assistant to Director Ian Gabriel on both the ‘Forgiveness’ and ‘Four Corners’ feature films – and more than four years’ experience as Programmes Director at Sunshine Cinema, Rene has developed a collaborative practice in the fields of writing, directing, alternative distribution and social impact.
With practical experience in building workshops and training youth film impact screening facilitators to host meaningful community events and dialogue, she brings a deep understanding of grassroots organising and the ability to co-create employment opportunities in the gig work economy. Beyond rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa, Rene has travelled and worked with teams in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
She holds a degree in Adult Education and serves as a consultant and facilitator on screenwriting and film skills training programmes, as well as mentoring new talent in the industry. Her recent highlights at Sunshine Cinema include developing a community screenings tour of the Emmy Award-winning ‘The Grab’ documentary in Zambia and the ‘Journey to Justice’ environmental justice documentary in Kenya under the organisation’s impact distribution model.
Website:
Social Media:
Dela Wilson, JD, MPA, is a strategic facilitator and creative technologist who develops leaders and cross-functional teams at the intersections of culture, governance, and imagination.
Based in Atlanta, GA, she is the founder of Axle Impact Studio (“aksel”), a global design and strategy consultancy that partners with governments, philanthropies, and cultural institutions across the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean to design reparative systems. She is also the writer and director of The Hope Gap XR, a multi-modal immersive storytelling ecosystem that expands our belief in possibility. With degrees earned from Spelman College, Georgetown Law, and Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Dela’s practice is equal parts rigor, memory and play—using story, immersive experience, and facilitation to help people lead with more courage, clarity, creativity and care.
She is a Global Fellow of the Atlantic Institute, Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, and formerly held fellowships with the Ash Center for Democratic Governance at Innovation at Harvard, the Center for Law and Technology Policy at Georgetown Law and USC Marshall School of Business as a Social Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
Websites:
https://www.atlanticfellows.org/bio/deloris–dela–wilson
https://www.axleimpactstudio.com/
Social Media:
4.30pm - 5.00pm
Reflection
Amelia McConville and Alejandro López Valdés invite the audience to share their thoughts on our opening sessions.
Contributors
Currently, an Assistant Professor in Neural Engineering and Brain Health affiliated to the School of Engineering and The Global Brain Health Institute. He strives to contribute to the creation of applicable and scalable methods and solutions to support brain health throughout the lifespan. His research focuses on applied neural engineering supporting, aging, sensory dysfunction and cognition.
Born in Mexico, he has a background in biomedical engineering, and specialized in neural engineering. He has industry experience in the fields of ophthalmology surgery medical device service and management, medical device design, and auditory assistive devices research and development.
He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering from ITESM in Monterrey, Mexico. Completed his Master’s of Science in Bioengineering from the University of Groningen and Trinity College Dublin through the CEMACUBE programme funded by the European Union. He holds a PhD in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, specialized in neural engineering, from Trinity College Dublin.
Before joining Trinity College Dublin as faculty, he carried out research in the area of cognitive hearing sciences and brain hearing technologies at Eriksholm Research Centre in Denmark.
Websites:
https://www.tcd.ie/research/profiles/?profile=alopezva
Social Media:
Dr Amelia McConville holds a PhD in Visual Poetics with Neurohumanities from Trinity College Dublin, where her doctoral project was funded by the Irish Research Council’s Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship, jointly supervised across the School of English & Institute of Neuroscience. She received her BA in Literature & Philosophy from Trinity College Dublin in 2017. She is the co-founder of the ART+SCIENCE SALON, a network and event series exploring the intersection of art, science, and culture. Across her research career she has worked at the intersection of science and society, and educated students of all ages from a wide range of backgrounds in literary modernism, contemporary Irish literature, and poetry studies. She currently works across European Research projects as Community Engagement Officer with the Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts & Humanities (DARIAH-EU). She is based in Berlin, where she is a 2026 Leadership Fellow at the Berlin School for Public Engagement, and interviews digital/new media artists for public events with the BODY OF WORK collective.
Website:
Social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amelia-mcconville-phd-874157138
https://twitter.com/ameliamcconv
Instagram @artplussciencesalon