Edinburgh to host International Bioethics Association Congress in 2016

The UK has won a bid to host the 13th World Congress of International Bioethics Association, which will be held in Edinburgh in June 2016.

 

About IAB2016

The International Association of Bioethics World Congress is the largest gathering of bioethics thought-leaders in the world. The 13th World Congress in 2016 will explore "Individuals, Public Interests and Public Goods: What is the Contribution of Bioethics?" by bringing together international academics, practitioners and experts together in Edinburgh  from 14 – 17 June 2016.

The primacy of the individual has been increasingly open to question with medical, scientific and life sciences advances that reveal our interconnected selves at the familial, communal and global levels. From genetic research to global pandemics and from scarce health resources to climate changes that affect us all, the need to consider the proper place of appeals to public interests and public goods has never been more pressing.

IAB2016 will provide a leading platform to discuss these important questions and the role bioethics can and should play for the benefit of future generations through a broad range of activities, including:

· A dynamic academic programme exploring emerging issues is bioethics, global health, public ethics and law, and the relationship between art+ethics;

· Dedicated activities aimed at ensuring early career researchers gain the skills they need to progress their carriers and engage with bioethics and contribute to the wider community;

· Networking activities to facilitate the exchange of information and encourage the development of research and teaching in bioethics; and

· Exhibitions and public performances that explore the intersection between science, medicine, ethics and the arts.

IAB2016 will make full use of the Edinburgh International Conference Centre's multimedia capabilities with innovative presentations, and will be organised to provide each participant with the conference experience that best fits their interests and needs – allowing attendees to choose tracks dedicated solely to academic exploration, ECCR development, arts and ethics, or a combination of all.

Sponsors and Organising Committee

The Congress is sponsored by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Wellcome Trust.

The Mason Institute is leading the local organisation of IAB2016, and Edinburgh Law School's Professor Graeme Laurie (Professor of Medical Jurisprudence) chairs the IAB2016 Organising Committee.

Other members of the committee are:

· Professor Richard Ashcroft
Professor of Bioethics, School of Law, Queen Mary, University of London

· Ms Elisabeth Pope Barlow
Mason Institute Research and Development Officer, Edinburgh Law School

· Professor Deborah Bowman, Professor of Bioethics, Clinical Ethics and Medical Law, St. George's, University of London

· Dr Shawn Harmon
Lecturer in Regulation and Risk and Mason Institute Deputy Director, Edinburgh Law School

· Dr Martyn Pickersgill
Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Biomedical Ethics, University of Edinburgh

· Ms Nayha Sethi
Research Fellow and Mason Institute Deputy Director, Edinburgh Law School

· Professor Heather Widdows
John Ferguson Professor of Global Ethics, Head of Research for Philosophy, Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham;

For information on IAB2016, please visit the dedicated Congress website at www.iab2016.com and follow @IAB2016 for regular updates and all the latest news on the programme, speakers and planned activities.