Enter Title

The 2022 Mosaic Prize

2022 Mosaic Prize Winner:

José Luis Peña
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA



Diversity is essential to maximising innovation and creativity and to delivering excellence in science. The practice of inclusion refers to intentional, proactive measures contributing to promoting diversity and equity. Without these, and without the individuals actively working to create an inclusive culture, the benefits of diversity are nearly impossible to attain.
The ISN Mosaic Prize seeks to identify and acknowledge individuals in the neuroethology community for their contribution and commitment to improving practices and making the science and research environment more inclusive.
Diversity is essential to maximising innovation and creativity and to delivering excellence in science. The practice of inclusion refers to intentional, proactive measures contributing to promoting diversity and equity. Without these, and without the individuals actively working to create an inclusive culture, the benefits of diversity are nearly impossible to attain.

The ISN Mosaic Prize seeks to identify and acknowledge individuals in the neuroethology community for their contribution and commitment to improving practices and making the science and research environment more inclusive.

Leading (but not exclusive) criteria:
  • Initiating or leading positive actions or interventions to enable talented individuals of all backgrounds and personal demographics to realise their full potential in science. 
  • Acting as a role model or ally in championing inclusion. 
  • Raising awareness of workplace diversity and inclusion issues. 
  • Taking steps to eliminate or reduce incidents of harassment or discrimination against scientists and science students of all backgrounds and personal demographics.

Nomination process - Individuals can be nominated by colleagues or self-nominated. All submissions for the prize should include:
  • A completed online nomination form. Once you complete the nomination form, please save the document. 
  • A brief description (up to 500 words) of how the nominee meets one or more of the above criteria.
  • A short resumé highlighting the nominee's qualifications.
Nominations should be submitted by email to the ISN Inclusion and Diversity Committee (asilva@fcien.edu.uy) until May 31st, 2022. The IDC will then select the 2022 awardee* and the award will be announced and conferred during the ISN International Congress in Lisbon. The Awardee will be further acknowledged by presenting a short account of their vision and contribution, either during the meeting or in the subsequent ISN newsletter.

*current members of the IDC are not eligible

CALL FOR VISUAL SMALL FORMAT ARTS ACQUISITION SELECTION AND AWARD “MOSAIC Prize” for the International Society for Neuroethology

We are pleased to open a call for a Visual small format arts acquisition award for the International Society for Neuroethology (ISN)(1). This award with remuneration is to materialize the Mosaic Prize for ISN. The prize will be given by ISN to celebrate contributions to inclusion and diversity, which are central to ISN. The Inclusion and Diversity Committee (IDC)(2) of the ISN is launching for the first time the Mosaic Prize(3) and this prize will be awarded at the ISN Congress in Lisbon, July 2022(4).

About us:
Since 1986, the ISN has been engaged in promoting the study of the neural basis of natural animal behavior. Neuroethology is a relatively young science that started in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The ISN has hundreds of members from 25 countries, with 6 continents and almost 20 languages being represented.  The ISN organizes the International Congresses of Neuroethology as the main event of the Society which is held in different parts of the world.

With the Mosaic Prize the ISN wants to celebrate a journey towards diversity and to highlight its relevance. Consequently, for the First edition of the Mosaic Prize we hope to find an astonishingly beautiful and universal piece or artwork that can exemplify the diversity in our research and among our membership.

Visual small format arts acquisition award selection criteria:
The contest is intended for creators and artists from different disciplines of the visual arts, without age limits or career requirements. Works can be in any technique and/or support (paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, collage, embroidery, engraving, collage, assemblage, textile, among others) and it can have depth, layers, etc. It has to enable the work to be photographed and reproduced in that format. The work need not be unpublished, and there are no restrictions of previous participation in exhibitions. The remuneration will be USD $500.- The selected piece will be given to the Mosaic Prize Awardee and the artist will be congratulated at ISN Congress. As we expect to have more editions of the Mosaic Prize in the future, we are looking for a piece that can be the start point of a series of artworks on the theme of Diversity. We are also interested in hearing about the process of the creation of the piece to share it with our community. The selection process will be carried out by the IDC with the advice of two Argentinian artists: Patricia Sarag
üeta CONICET scientist (www.ibyme.org.ar), artist (@micralaboratory) and poet (@alascincodelatardepoesia) and Mabel audiovisual artist, performer and DJ (https://linktr.ee/estoesmabel, @estoesmabel). The selection process may include a “Zoom” interview.

The deadline for registration has been extended to June 13, 2022. The selection of the awardee will be communicated to all applicants.

Fundamental criteria for the art piece:
  • Represent diversity, understood as diversity of species, bodies, cultures, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, abilities and or any other expression of diversity. 
  • Be reproducible in photographic form. 
  • Have a maximum size of 15cm x 15cm x 3cm of depth: remember, winners must take it home in their luggage.
  • Applications should be submitted exclusively through email:
    • Email: ayelen.nally@gmail.com
    • Subject: “DIVERSITY ARTWORK”
    • Attach a maximum of 3 high quality pictures of their piece.
  • Please include the following information:
    • Name of the piece. 
    • Artist(s) name(s). 
    • Contact information for the artist(s). 
    • A short description regarding the way(s) in which the piece represents diversity (maximum 500 words).
For more information or in case you have any doubt please do not hesitate, write to us in English or Spanish, to ayelen.nally@gmail.com with the email subject “DIVERSITY ARTWORK”.

We are looking forward to receiving your art,

The Inclusion and Diversity Committee of the International Society for Neuroethology

(1) https://www.neuroethology.org/ 
      https://twitter.com/neuroethology 
      https://www.facebook.com/groups/neuroethology/ 
(1) https://www.neuroethology.org/ 
https://twitter.com/neuroethology 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/neuroethology/

(2) https://www.neuroethology.org/About/Committees
(2) https://www.neuroethology.org/About/Committees

(3) The Mosaic Prize - The Reason Why We Chose the Name

(4) https://neuroethology2020.com/

(5) http://www.neuroethology.org/InclusionandDiversity

(2) https://www.neuroethology.org/About/Committees


(2) https://www.neuroethology.org/About/Committees
THE MOSAIC PRIZE
REASONS WHY WE CHOSE THIS NAME

1)  In Biology, diversity comes from a combination of not many individual pieces coupled in as many combinations are possible (or viable). This is exactly how mosaics work. 
2)  In Neuroethology, we seek to find the neural bases of behavior, which means that we try to dismantle the complexity of the behavior and look for the basic pieces that compose it and explain it.
3)  As members of the ISN, we embrace diversity at the time we recognize ourselves as equals and unique. 
4)  Portugal, the host country of the ICN2022 in which the MOSAIC PRIZE will be launched, has a long history of mosaic art. This picture, which summarizes the spirit of the MOSAIC PRIZE, was obtained from the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Lisboa, Portugal.

We conceive the MOSAIC PRIZE as a series of unique original pieces of art inspired in these two principles essential to life: unity and diversity.  Over time, the true essence of the MOSAIC PRIZE will emerge in a global artwork with its fundamental units distributed in houses and laboratories across the world.



(2) https://www.neuroethology.org/About/Committees
(2) https://www.neuroethology.org/About/Committees