"The garden gathering 2025: in the spirit of bold expeditions and young talents"
On 26 August the summer sunset over the Vratislav Garden became the backdrop for exceptional experiences. The traditional garden gathering took place there with laureates, patrons, scientists and other friends and supporters of the Neuron Foundation.
The evening was opened by the co-founder and director of the Neuron Foundation Monika Vondráková. In her speech she highlighted the key theme of this year: the focus on young scientists starting out. She stressed how important it is for the Neuron Foundation to create opportunities for a new generation of curious students and to be their partner on their often difficult path to knowledge. This emphasis was reflected not only in the projects supported but in the organisation of the evening itself, in which promising young scientists took an enthusiastic part.
The high point was undoubtedly the announcement of the new Neuron Expeditions for 2025. As the chair of the expedition board Tomáš Tureček stressed, the standard of the projects submitted was so exceptional this year that the expedition board selected two winning teams at once.
The first team, which took up the symbolic baton, is heading as early as November to the mountains of Guatemala, where it will study digger wasps — insects living on the threshold of sociality. The question of when and why individuals decide to cooperate fascinated Charles Darwin himself. The results of the expedition may thus bring us closer to the basic principles of collective behaviour in nature.
The second expedition will be a dialogue across time. It will set off in the spring of next year and head for eastern Tibet. That landscape was documented seventy years ago by Czechoslovak filmmakers who were then the very first foreigners to enter this remote region. The current team of scientists will follow in their footsteps to map how life and the landscape in Tibet have changed since then.
More detailed information about the selected expeditions can be found HERE
The support of both projects clearly shows that the Neuron Foundation is a partner of bold scientific expeditions that open up new horizons of knowledge. So far the Neuron Foundation has funded 14 expeditions with a total of 6.8 million crowns.
The inspiring atmosphere was symbolically crowned by a screening of a documentary film about last year's Neuron Expedition, which discovered the largest underground thermal lake, Neuron, in Albania. The breathtaking visual experience was introduced in his own words by the expedition leader Marek Audy.
The Neuron Foundation's garden gathering took place on 26 August 2025 in the Vratislav Garden thanks to a partnership with the company Accredio. The pleasant evening was complemented by wines from Vinisto and for the excellent refreshments we thank MUSA catering and Bageterie Boulevard. The floral decoration was provided by Kytky od Pepy.
More photographs from the garden gathering can be found HERE
