Prezens

Overview

Prezens is a French-language meditation app published by Emergences ASBL, a Brussels non-profit founded by Caroline Lesire and Ilios Kotsou that has worked on mental health and mindfulness since 2009. The project grew out of an initiative that offered more than a thousand free daily meditations from the first COVID-19 lockdown onwards, and the app was built as its continuation, following a search for an accessible meditation tool with an engineering school professor, researchers and the association's community of instructors. The iOS version was released on 22 October 2021; the Android build carries the package name be.emergence.prezens. The app is presented as 100% solidaire: anyone who cannot afford a subscription still reaches all of the content and features, while those who can contribute pay, with in-app purchases listed from 4.79 EUR. Sessions run between 10 and 20 minutes and are grouped into themed programmes covering beginning, attention, kindness, spirituality, mindfulness, nature, relationships and family, children, and stress and resilience, alongside a different short meditation each day, private groups for practising together, and meditations placed at geolocated spots. Instructors include Matthieu Ricard and Nicole Bordeleau. The scientific committee brings together Steven Laureys, Rebecca Shankland, Marine Paucsik, Mathias Butaud and Valerie Marchand. Partners are Karuna-Shechen, Le Jardin Musical and the Chaire Paix economique, Mindfulness et Bien-etre au travail. On Google Play the app has passed 100,000 downloads.

Funding history

• 2021 grant: 57,180 EUR from the King Baudouin Foundation, recorded under Uccle, for the launch of the Prezens app
• 2024 grant: 58,000 EUR from the King Baudouin Foundation for the development of the Prezens app
• 2024 grant: 45,000 EUR from the King Baudouin Foundation for continued development of the Prezens app
• 2025 grant: 100,000 EUR from the King Baudouin Foundation for the Prezens app and the layout of the Jardins d'Emergences

Stated facts & numbers

• Publisher: Emergences ASBL
• Headquarters: Avenue Brugmann 317, 1180 Brussels (Uccle)
• Founders of Emergences: Caroline Lesire and Ilios Kotsou
• Ilios Kotsou at Prezens: Coordination and development
• iOS release: 22 October 2021
• Android package: be.emergence.prezens
• Google Play downloads: 100,000+
• Google Play rating: 4.87 from 684 reviews
• App Store rating: 4.87 from 205 ratings on the Belgian App Store
• Pricing: Free download, full content for anyone unable to subscribe, in-app purchases from 4.79 EUR
• Language: French
• Scientific committee: Steven Laureys, Rebecca Shankland, Marine Paucsik, Mathias Butaud, Valerie Marchand
• Instructors named: Matthieu Ricard, Nicole Bordeleau
• Partners: Karuna-Shechen, Le Jardin Musical, Chaire Paix economique Mindfulness et Bien-etre au travail
• Latest app version: 1.6.0, released 6 November 2024
• Contact: info@prezens.app