UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights. Roma, Italy

In preparation for the 20th session of the International Bioethics Committee in Seoul (Korea) this June 19th to 21st, 2013, UNESCO has released a short film on the new risks of discrimination in the field of biomedicine.

The diverse themes of biobanks, access to medicinal drugs, transplant and organ trafficking, neuroscience, HIV/AIDS and nanotechnologies are considered in light of the principle of non-discrimination and non-stigmatization as enumerated in Article 11 of the 2005 Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.  The IBC will likely publish a report on these issues at the conclusion of its upcoming meeting.

The UNESCO Chair of Bioethics and Human Rights founded in 2009 at University of Europe in Rome is honored to join 10 other UNESCO chairs of bioethics in the celebration of 20 years of bioethics at UNESCO.

Click the image above to watch the video.

The Third International Workshop and Conference on Human Rights and Multiculturalism to be held in Hong Kong on December 3-5, 2013 is proceeding smoothly.  On the evening of December 2, there will also be an opening ceremony of the Bioethics Art Competition where winners will be exhibited.

There will be two evenings that is open to the public to have greater local impact, with the topic focusing on Human Rights and the Family. On the evening of December 2, there will be a public forum in Cantonese which will address the meaning and importance of family in the context of human rights by the major religious representatives in Hong Kong: Buddhists, Catholics, Confucians, Daoists, Muslims and Protestants.  Public authorities from the Hong Kong Family Council and Equal Opportunities Commission will be invited as guest of honor for the opening ceremony. The second public conference will be held on the evening of December 4, 2013, on the topics of: Human Rights and the Human Family  and Human Rights and the Relational Self.

For cultural enrichment, during the workshop the participants will get to visit Chi Lin Buddhist Temple and adjacent Rock garden After the workshop, there will be a free day with city tour of Hong Kong, visiting Tsim Sha Tsui harbour view, Museum of Art and collection, take ferry across to the busy Central business district, walk up the world’s longest outdoor escalator, visit the Catholic Cathedral, cross over the Botanical Garden to take the world’s steepest tram to the Peak to have lunch.  Then return to visit the aviary of the Hong Kong Park, take the MTR to visit the Mong Kwok market in the afternoon with lots of sightseeing and shopping opportunities.

In addition, as a part of cultural enrichment, a side trip to China has been organized one week before the workshop (November 25- December 1, 2013) visiting Nanjing, Shanghai, Huangshan, Hangzhou, and Qiandaohu.  The cost would be around €750 + visa fee.  Those who are interested please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for details.

Dominique J. Monlezun, UNESCO Chair Director for Medical Student Research, led his research team’s poster presentation at the International Neuroethics Society (INS) Annual Meeting this past October 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Monlezun´s team articulated an innovative “Neuroeconomic Personalism” at the INS meeting as a development of his recent presentation “Neuroeconomics-Virtue Model as Novel Clinical Ethics Common Ground” in Sao Paulo, Brazil, during the 8^th International Conference on Clinical Ethics and Consultation in May 2012.

The poster “Neuroeconomic Personalism: Policy Implications for Compulsory Neuroenchancement in Reproductive Choices” shows an intriguing synthesis of neurological, political and metaphysical reflection. The poster expresses reflections Monlezun has developed regarding the need to complement John Rawl´s analysis of 20^th century pluralist societies with the philosophic anthropology Karol Wojtyla.

The XXXIII Meeting of the Group of Neurobioethics held a seminar on Friday, December 14, 2012 to address the theme “Mind and Consciousness: phenomenology, neuroscience and psychotherapy” n collaboration with STOQ (Science Theology and the Ontological Quest), the Regina Apostolorum Faculty of Philosophy and the Regina Apostolorum Department of Bioethics. In his introduction to the seminar, Dr. Alberto Carrara, LC, explained that the theme is based on two texts: the first, entitled "... and Consciousness? Phenomenology, Psycho-pathology, and Neuroscience" by the first two speakers, Professor Angela Ales Bello and Professor Patricia Manganaro; the second text, “Imagination: care and creativity,” by the third speaker, Dr. Alberto Passerini. Video link of seminar

In her presentation entitled “Consciousness between Phenomenology and Sciences,” Professor Ales Bello stressed the openness of neuroscience to phenomenology, while noting the importance of maintaining the distinction between the competencies and methods of the two fields of study. The bridge between phenomenology and neuroscience is located in a deep analysis of human experiences. This approach can be situated in an anthropology that respects human duality without becoming dualistic in the reductionist sense.  In such anthropology, the human brain is not reduced to the sole source of human nature and its unique properties, but is nonetheless recognized as an authentic "base" of human nature´s expression.