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Department of WMA
Head of Department: Prof. Yoram Blachar
The purpose of the department is to strengthen and promote the Chair’s relationships with the management of the World Medical Association (WMA) and with its members around the world.
PhD on Bioethics Department
Head of Department: Prof. Ivone Duarte
The PhD in Bioethics aims at advanced training in bioethics, environment and animal ethics, and biolaw. Students who complete this cycle of studies in bioethics should be able to develop scientific research in the field of bioethics and health law and guide the work of other students in this field. Indeed, it is important to train highly qualified professionals in the field of bioethics and health law in order to promote fundamental human rights and to reinvent the ethical education of health professionals in the context of universally shared values. The PhD in Bioethics student must gather the necessary skills for understanding any area in Bioethics, Environmental and Animal Ethics and Health Law. Moreover, the student must be adequately prepared to make a regular update in these areas. The existence of a large group of PhD students in Bioethics worldwide makes it important to create an international network in this scientific area, so that synergies are promoted between high level research projects and other initiatives involving researchers from different cultures. Also, new lines of research can be promoted namely in areas of interest to low-income countries.
Department of Scientific Literature Review
Head of Department: Prof. Shai Linn
The department routinely explores and reports resources and data for corona research. The literature is searched and selected anthology is reported on 30+ categories. Among these are data from CDC, WHO, journals’ resources and publications and leading institutions that deal with bioethics. Links to publications are given. A selected anthology offers an access to the main issues that are discussed in various publications. Periodical updating is distributed by the ICB.
Head of Department: Prof. Russell D'Souza
The department of Education aims to ensure the global spread of bioethics education. This is being achieved by the continuous support and facilitation of the various bioethics units to pursue enhanced and effective local and international collaboration with the intensified professional relations with academic institutions and other partners.
Bioethics for Youth and Children Department
Head of Department: Dr. Miroslava Vasinova
Steering Committee: Dr. Alessandra Pentone, Dr. Claudio Todesco, Dr. Chantal Morosso, Dr. Daniel Fu-Chang Tsai, Dr. Daniela Keidar, Dr. Sashka Popova, Prof. Francisca Rego
The goal of the department is to bring the message of bioethics to children and youth in various educational ways. The department focused in the early years on creating an appropriate teaching method for the younger generations. Socio-cultural tradition of ethics cannot be created in the classrooms of the medical schools. The students that arrive in these classrooms carry on their backs and in their hearts their own personal history. This history consists of values that they have adopted from their earliest years in their families, social environments, in their kindergartens and elementary schools. Education activities in the advanced stage of academic studies can be efficient if and to what extent they are brought forward by proper methodology to the younger populations.
Department of International Forum of Teachers (IFT)
Head of Department: Prof. Sashka Popova
Steering Committee: Prof. Federico Gustavo Pizzetti, Prof. Daniella Keidar, Assoc. Prof. Ruth Alejandra Taborda, Prof. Dave Holmes, Mrs. Magdalena Sofía Silva Aguayo, Assoc. Prof. Amarantha Donna Ropmay, Prof. Dr. Abhijeet Shirkande, Asst. Prof. Dr Ankita Shirkande, Miss. Norma Trezzi, Dr. Miftar Zenelaj, Dr. Daniela Tiosavljevic, Assist. Prof. Cristina Richie
The International Forum of Teachers is a department within the ICB that consists of teachers and institutions from around the world who have been accepted pursuant to the requirements of the ICB’s statutes as members of the IFT. The main objective of the IFT is to form and activate, through global collaboration and dialogue, an organ that will function as a mechanism for the realization of the objectives and activities of the IFT as stated in statutes.
Department of Website
Head of Department: Prof. Daniel Fu Chang Tsai
Steering Committee: Tsung-Fu Chen, Chou, Kuei Tien, Chien-Chang Wu, Tze-Luen Lin, Kuo-Ming Lin
The ICB website provides information about the establishment of the Chair’s network, the units, the departments, activities, publications which include the Case Book series, the Newsletter, the Global Bioethics Enquiry Journal, etc. It aims for facilitating the connection, collaboration and dissemination of the Chair’s extensive work in bioethics and law.
Department of Behavioral Bioethics
Head of Department: Prof. Daniella Keidar
Innovative technology penetrates into every area of our lives and sets our social and personal agendas. It seems that the centre of gravity in social conduct is increasingly shifting to technology, to the point of sustaining its own ‘life’, pushing the individual, the human, to the margins. Man’s basic and elementary needs for human contact and unmediated social connection are being harmed, and this has dramatic short-term, long-term and cumulative consequences. The department will deal with this important connection and the reciprocal implications between bioethics and human behavior. It intends to fill and increasing gap in the area, hoping to illuminate and improve insights on the other hand and suggest courses of action for improvement in the other.
Department of Law
Head of Department: Adv. Ilan Keidar
The department is in the development stage. In the first phase, the department is supposed to support the Chair and guide it in legal aspects. At an advanced stage, the department is supposed to engage in research combining law and bioethics.
International Network of Units Department
Administrative Manager of the Network: Mrs. Shoshana Golinsky
The international network of units today comprises about 250 units. The units have been established and operate within academic institutions on the five continents. In each continent the units are organized within the framework of a continental division. The network is managed by a Governing Council member Mrs. Shoshana Golinsky. Each unit is managed by a Steering Committee of 5-15 members. The procedure of setting up a unit is simple and quick, the relevant information and documents are passed on to the applicants and joining the unit to the international network does not involve any membership fees or any financial outlay. The Chair regularly provides assistance with instruction and teaching materials, including: books, seminars, conferences and more.
Department of Bioethics and Holocaust
Head of Department: Dr. Tessa Chelouche
Steering Committee: Dr. Susan Benedict, Dr. Arthur L. Caplan, Rosa-Rios Cortés, Dr. Esteban González-López, Dr. Astrid Ley, Dr. Susan Miller
The goal of the department is to bring together an international group of students and professionals to collaborate on the development of a variety of tools of educating undergraduates, graduates and professionals in the field of healthcare regarding the continuing relevance of bioethics and the Holocaust for current issues in society pertaining to medical practice, public policy and human rights. The learning about bioethics and the Holocaust can serve to connect the past, present and future; promote justice, equality, and human dignity, and foster ethical decision-making and practice.
Department of World Bioethics Day (WBD)
Head of Department: Prof. Arora Praveen
Steering Committee: Prof. Amon Carmi, Prof. Praveen Arora, Prof. Pierre EFFA, Prof. Russell d’Souza, Prof. Moty Benyakar, Prof. Rui Nunes, Prof. M. Vasinova, Prof. Daniel Fu Chang Tsai, IFMSA representative, Dr. Princy Louis Palatty, Dr. Mary Mathew, Dr. Andrie Panayiotou, Dr. Altin Stafa, Dr. Derek D’Souza, Dr. Alessandra Pentone, Prof. Juan Jorge Michel Fariña, Dr. Shailaja Mane, Dr. Anu Sharma, Dr. Srikumar Vasudevan, Prof. Chantal Morosso, Prof. Natalia Oliva Teles, Prof. Shai Linn, Dra. María A. Tormo Domínguez, Dr. Peter Prasanth, Prof. Patrizia Borsellino
The World Bioethics Day commit and considered by Prof. Amnon Carmi, after the 11th Conference of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, Haifa (Now International Chair in Bioethics: ICB, WMA Collaborating Centre) in Naples, Italy. In the conference during the general assembly of Heads of Units, on 19th October 2015, Prof. Amnon Carmi, head of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics, Haifa, shared his dream project and proposed to celebrate one day in a year to foster the principles of Bioethics. It was suggested to celebrate the World Bioethics Day on the date which in 2005, UNESCO adopted the universal declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights that is, 19th October. It was unanimously agreed upon by the general assembly to celebrate the World Bioethics Day on 19th October every year starting from 2016. The Committee was constituted to coordinate the program among units worldwide.
The Monthly Case Department
Head of Department: Dra. Maria Tormo Dominguez
Steering Committee: Pilar Pinto, Benjamin Herreros
The department aims to disseminate the discipline of bioethics among physicians and healthcare professionals. The practice of medicine is and will continue to be increasingly complex, which is why health professionals must have sufficient knowledge of bioethics in order to approach and resolve ethical conflicts accordingly. The departments’ case studies are intended to be a simple and useful training tool to help doctors and healthcare professionals in their daily practice. They are provided with a better understanding of bioethics and how it can contribute to improved doctor-patient relationships.
Department of Bioethics and Art
Head of Department: Prof. Mary Mathew
The department had initiated the use of art in teaching bioethics successfully in faculty development programs and in teaching bioethics to medical and health science students and the department of education. Art and bioethics are sources of inspirations of each other. Not only does art expand its boundaries, transforming a scientific experiment into an artistic process, but also bioethics is entering a new level of research and discussion, reinforcing its creative potential through art. The use of art as a pedagogical tool can be an innovative approach to medical and health science education. It can facilitate reflection, reveal a meaningful story and explore experiences and/or compassion. Art – whether it is a collage, a paint or a picture, hand-drawn, crafted our of clay, expressed through dance, tableau, or music-can connect concepts in teaching and learning in ways that cannot otherwise be achieved. Using art as a teaching tool can create a head-heart-hands experience that engages students on many levels and connects them with complex concepts in meaningful ways.
Department of Bioethics and Cinema
Head of Department: Prof. Juan Jorge Farina
The aim of the department is to develop an interactive data base to share audio-visual resources for teaching bioethics. Since the beginning, cinema has promoted ethical problems. With the expansion of the film industry, these subjects have reached wider audiences, promoting interesting discussions inside and outside the academic filed. Ethical problems appear in films with a double perspective. On one side, when the films propose, in an explicit way, to take to the screen contemporary ethical discussions; on the other side, when the audiences and critics find in the work of art, the opportunity to discuss moral or ethical issues. In both cases, the result is an extraordinary experience of thought and action. The project aims to make an update on available resources both aesthetics and conceptual and to systemise them for the use in academic and social projects all over the world.
Department of International Journal: Global Bioethics Enquiry
Editor in Chief: Prof. Russel D'Souza
Global Bioethics Enquiry is a Journal of the International Chair in Bioethics (ICB) and publishes reviews, original research papers, commentaries and case studies related to all issues in the field of Bioethics. Original viewpoints and narratives as well as poems in the field of Bioethics are welcome. The journal also has a student section where articles in the field of Bioethics written by undergraduate and postgraduate students are considered. The Journal is indexed in: City factor; National Library of Australia, ResearchGate, DOAJ, Google Scholar and applied for Scopus indexation. Global Bioethics Enquiry provides the platform for well-augured, well-written and erudite articles on the ethical questions in medicine, in the developing and developed world, Bioethics as it concerns the human race, issues related to ethics and law, ethics and bioethics education, methods of teaching bioethics, bioethics in medical, nursing and allied professions education, international collaborative bioethical clinical research, mental health ethics, current bioethical debates and dilemmas, issues related to aging and current medical technologies like genomics, stem cell research and artificial intelligence. The Journal prefers articles that look at various bioethical issues considered in relation to concrete ethical, legal and policy perspectives and in terms of the fundamental concepts, principles and theories used in discussions such of problems and current issues.
Bioethical Voices Newsletter Department
Head of Department: Dr. Miroslava Vasinova & Editor in Chief: Dr. Giacomo Sado
Steering Committee: Dr. Alessandra Pentone, Dr. Claudio Todesco, Dr. Chantal Morosso,
Dr. Daniel Fu-Chang Tsai
The department of the Chair’s Newsletter and Press Office were established in 2013, after the first successful experience of a Chairs standing press office during the 9th World Conference of the Chair. From that time on, in each Chair’s Conference, the Press Office repeats a lively connection centre for its participants and an updated source of information, delivering daily press releases to the main National and International newspapers, and bioethics journalists. It also collects hundreds of short interviews of the speakers that become part of the special newsletter issues dedicated to the most relevant events and picks of the Conference. The first issue of the Chair’s Newsletter was born to gather only a part of the material, the ideas, the projects and, literally, the ‘flow of energy’ coming out of each Chair’s World Conference. The core and editorial board headed by Dr. Sado, includes Dr. Alessandra Pentone, international adviser and Dr. Klaudio Todesco, technical adviser in collaboration with several other experts.
Biolaw Department
Head of Department: Prof. Monica Correia
Biolaw is a new disciplinary area that can constitute itself as a comprehensive framework to face the biomedical challenges of modern societies. Biolaw can be defined as law mediated by ethics based on the biomedical phenomenon. Ethics represents the mediator between medicine and law, as it is not envisaged that it is possible to establish a direct bridge between “bios” and law. The emancipation of Biolaw from other fields of law finds echoes in recognition of part of the legal doctrine that understanding the complexity of modern societies’ challenges requires an articulation with other branches of knowledge. This transversality is essential when we are dealing with biomedical phenomena. Large sets of bioethical issues cross, overlap, and call together specialists from different areas of knowledge: medicine, biology, genetics, economics, anthropology, philosophy, psychology etc. In this respect, these matters deserve a multidisciplinary analysis that does not stop at law or bioethics’ boundaries. The current biomedical phenomena linked to technological advancements poses new dilemmas, to which a response could be found by breaking new ground: the Biolaw. The International Chair in Bioethics established a Biolaw Department with the overall goal of creating a global network of researchers in this field and to share experiences that might be fruitful to all countries. In accordance with the Universal Declaration of Bioethics and Human Rights (UNESCO) its specific mission would be to develop scientific and pedagogical projects in this area, proposing a set of lines of work.
Bioethics and Philosophical approach to Law Department
Head of Department: Prof. Patrizia Borsellino
Steering Committee: José Antonio Seoane Rodríguez, Lorena Forni, Federico Pizzetti, Margareth Vetis Zaganelli, Karina Mariel Elmir, Fernando Llano, Olga Tzortzatou
If we consider the developments that bioethics has undergone in different areas of the world, we must recognise that even in contexts such as those of European countries, where, unlike in the United States, bioethical issues were initially addressed primarily with regard to their moral implications, awareness of the legal implications of interventions on human and non-human life, made possible by the extraordinary progress of science, has been widespread and widely shared in recent years. Today, therefore, one cannot conceive a bioethics that is not enriched by consideration of the solutions that have already been provided by law or that can be envisaged in future legal regulation in relation to many sensitive issues. It cannot, however, be ignored that the legal regulation of bioethical issues has raised, and still raises, difficulties, which can only be addressed and resolved if, firstly, one has an apparatus of legal notions appropriate to the new scenarios that have emerged under the impetus of technological and scientific progress, and if, secondly, one is able to critically assess the regulatory interventions of law, highlighting their assumptions on the level of values, as well as their effects on the level of facts. The “Department of Bioethics and Philosophical Approach to Law” intends to contribute to reflection and debate on the various thematic areas at the heart of bioethics, with a particular focus on the end of life, the protection of health data and the application of new technologies and artificial intelligence for empowerment as well as therapeutic purposes, by examining legal solutions from the above-mentioned perspective of critical evaluation, and without ever breaking the interdisciplinary comparison.
Department of Professional Autonomy
Head of Department: Prof. Dr. Jon Borowicz
Steering Committee: Prof. Lou Marinoff, Prof. Finn Thorbjorn Hansen, Prof. Balaganapathid Devarakonda, Prof. Jose Barrientos Rastrojo, Prof. Guro Hansen-Helskog, Prof. Anders Lindseth
Responding to the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Seoul on Professional Autonomy and Clinical Independence, the Department of Professional Autonomy understands autonomous judgment as not being determined in one’s actions by authorities to which one does not consent. Consent to the institutions of one’s professional life not being something which can be readily or realistically withdrawn, consent must be perpetually negotiated and publicly expressed. If consent is not to be withdrawn, autonomy requires opportunities for dissent. Occasions and fora for the thoughtful formulation, expression, and consideration of judgment, however, are rare. Accordingly, the department’s principal activity will be the provision of a facilitated online asynchronous discourse for the cultivation and expression of otherwise repressed professional judgment. Sponsored by universities and professional associations, the discourse will be perpetual, and will have both intra- and inter-profession iterations.
Department of Palliative Care
Head of Department Prof. Francisca Rego
In contemporary societies, palliative care represents a different perspective toward facing both death and life. A different perspective of facing death due to the excessive technological character of modern medicine that has resulted in an increasing dehumanization of clinical practice and a progressive distancing of health professionals from patients and their families. Palliative care, as active and global care, requires a significant increase in the affective dimension of the patient-physician relationship to promote patient follow-up, rather than trying to overcome death. Palliative care is also a different way of looking at life. The concept includes a life with quality, life that anticipates death, and life over the long period prior to death. Hence, it is important to consider both the multi- and the transdisciplinary nature of palliative care and the consequent implications for professional training.
The Department of Research
Head of Department Prof. Natália Oliva Teles
Different modalities of collaborative research in the Research Department:
a) Research projects of specific centres or institutions, although with the general oversight of the Research Department.
b) Research projects of the Research Department that may be performed in partnership with different institutions worldwide.
Existing lines of research of the Research Department at a worldwide level:
a) The principle of beneficence and its implications and application in medical research.
b) Autonomy and dignity in medical research and practice.
c) Bioethics and human rights, forced displacement in conflict scenarios.
d) Wellness and distress in health care professionals dealing the bioethical issues in their everyday working life.
e) Gender equity.
Department of Ethics & Disabilities as Different Abilities
Head of Department Dr. Alessandra Pentone
Steering Committee: Dr. Miroslava Vasinova, Prof. Antonio Piga Rivero, Prof. Teresa Alfonso, Dr. Tiziana Rossetto, Dr. Alessandra Fabbri, Dr. Daniel Fu-Chang Tsai, Ing Lukas Kalàb, Dr. Lorenzo Bertani, Dr. Egidio Marchese, Dr Marcela Fernández Amado
The Department of Ethics & Disabilities as Different Abilities clearly expresses the need to look at disability from another perspective, not as a simple impairment or handicap, taking into account the unique different ability that each person could develop in his/her own life, experiencing, directly or indirectly, a visible or invisible physical and/ or mental disease or difficulty. This kind of “revolution” is the result of several processes, working at multiple levels, to find feasible solutions for fulfilling a healthy life with dignity, deserving to be an active and living part of society, achieving the right to be happy. Starting from the testimony and the support of those who already experienced the different steps of living with a disability and their own way of reacting and building alternative ”abilities”; collecting feelings and perceptions of their kins and people belonging and working in their environment as a source of inspiration and a reference to disability problems; considering new approaches and different keys to deal with the real world, not neglecting upcoming resources from advanced technologies, opening future wide horizons; creating a new cultural ground by educating to see disability not as a burden but as an opportunity for the individual and the society to express particular ways to overcome difficulties, stressing both the principles of autonomy and solidarity. An environment that allows all kinds of people letting them live their own life without material and mental barriers will enrich the human being and humanity as a whole, promoting physical and psychological health, enhancing the quality of life, and nurturing ethical values to be deeply rooted in our minds and souls.
Department of One Health, Bioethics, and Technological Research
Head of Department Prof. Prof. Domenico Palombo
Steering Committee: Eugenia Tiziana Berti, Rosa Gemma Ciliberti, Lazar Davidovic, Ergun Demirsoy, Manuel Dominguez Gonzales, Dario Dongo, Rui Nunes, Juan Carlos Parodi, Patrizia Perego, Ricardo Pinheiro de Souza Oliveira, Matthias Thielmann,
Advisory Board: Linda Alfano, Alessandro Bonsignore, Emanuela Drago, Antonio Rinaudo, Valeria Schiavone
The recent pandemic has made us (re)discover the intimate and delicate relationship between human beings and the planet and also our difficulty in understanding science and its complexity. According to a modern epistemological approach in the field of medicine, the complexity of a biological system can never be understood and resolved through specific approaches based on disciplinary specialization and separation of knowledge.
Only recently has it been ascertained that there is an intrinsic relationship between animal health and human health and an even more inseparable interdependence between the health of the planet and human health. Awareness of these links has prompted the definition of innovative concepts such as One-health and Planetary health that bring out how only an understanding of the interconnectedness of systems, allows one to grasp properties that do not belong to individuals but only to their interaction.
The ongoing transformations induced by scientific and technological innovation, which are accompanied by cultural ones, make inescapable the urgency of a reformulation of medical education, which while respecting the objectives of care and protection of the health of the person, is capable of in order to promote the development of a broad, investigative, critical reflexive thinking capable of noting that health care is at once human, animal and environmental. Moreover, research, development and use of technology in surgery and Medicine are in a peculiar phase in which rapid development and huge increase in innovation are totally changing the panorama of modern surgery: bioethical aspects are therefore a paramount challenge.
The most critical aspects go from AI use (algorithms, robotics, digital therapeutics, etc.) to new devices and “the monkey business” driven by the market. Moreover, another crucial aspect remains to go towards the figure of the “Expert patient” in order to develop a critical consciousness of patients and, on the other hand, to prepare in this field the next generation of surgeons. A correct involvement of scientific and popular Media, based on open collaboration with Universities, stakeholders and institutional bodies, using dedicated tools like University courses, conferences, position papers on specialized journals and information articles on popular press and many other possible initiatives will represent the main road of our Department.
Department of the Monthly Book
Head of Department Mrs. Galit Gilvard
The main goal of the Department of Monthly Book is to distribute free books in the field of bioethics to the various groups of the Chair, organizations, and individuals associated with the Chair, organizations, and individuals operating in the field of bioethics, populations of therapists, and populations of patients. The books are included in the Chair’s Website/Library. A secondary purpose of the department is to encourage the writing of books in the field of bioethics. The selection of the books for delivery:
a. The selection of books for delivery is made by the Head of the department with the approval of the Head of the Chair.
b. The delivery of the books will be subject to the authorization of the owner of the rights in the books.
c. The delivery of the books will be done free of charge and without conditions, or under the conditions set by the Head of the Chair.
d. The delivery of the books will be carried out by the secretariat of the Chair.
e. The books will be delivered once a month if possible.
Department of Health Diplomacy and Patient Rights
Head of the Department: Dr. Jasna Karacic Zanetti, Phd
The field of Health Diplomacy has gained increasing prominence in recent years, as countries recognize the importance of working together to address global health challenges. Health Diplomacy is a form of diplomacy that focuses on promoting and protecting the health of individuals, communities, and populations. The primary objective of Health Diplomacy is to build relationships and foster cooperation among countries and stakeholders to improve health outcomes globally. This includes addressing issues such as disease outbreaks, access to healthcare, and health security.
The department is focused on ensuring that patients receive the highest quality of care and have access to their rights as healthcare consumers. The main objective is to ensure that patients receive care that is safe, effective, and respectful of their needs and preferences. This includes providing information about patients' rights and responsibilities, as well as assisting patients in resolving any concerns or complaints they may have about
The department is responsible for Research to develop strategic protocols and guidelines in healthcare policy that applies directly to clinical practice.
The mission of the department is to investigate Diplomatic responses to global health challenges in recognizing patient needs.
Department of Health Diplomacy and Patient Rights
Head of the Department: Dr. Jasna Karacic Zanetti
Steering Committee: Ana Franić, Joško Miše, Neven Kočila, Ljubica Žunić, Ivan Zornada, Ida Hamilton, Anja Vručina, Dora Pejdo, Barbara Tijardović, Dina Mrčela, Dora Jelić, José Luís Alves, Bruce Gelb, Luisa Pagliara, Yacine Etienne Beral, Amit Goldman, Andre den Exter, Theodoros P. Dimopoulos, Shelly Pranić, Kanita Beba Abadal, Igor Vaslav Vital, Vincenzo Costigliola, Amina Ather. André Néron, Vladimiro Vida
The field of Health Diplomacy has gained increasing prominence in recent years, as countries recognize the importance of working together to address global health challenges. Health Diplomacy is a form of diplomacy that focuses on promoting and protecting the health of individuals, communities, and populations. The primary objective of Health Diplomacy is to build relationships and foster cooperation among countries and stakeholders to improve health outcomes globally. This includes addressing issues such as disease outbreaks, access to healthcare, and health security.
The department is focused on ensuring that patients receive the highest quality of care and have access to their rights as healthcare consumers. The main objective is to ensure that patients receive care that is safe, effective, and respectful of their needs and preferences. This includes providing information about patients’ rights and responsibilities, as well as assisting patients in resolving any concerns or complaints they may have about health.
The department is responsible for research to develop strategic protocols and guidelines in healthcare policy that applies directly to clinical practice. The mission of the department is to investigate diplomatic responses to global health challenges in recognizing patient needs.
Department of Bioethics and Artificial Intelligence
Head of Department Prof. Rui Nunes
Steering Committee: Domenico Palombo, Gerson Yoshinari, Inês Falcão Pires, Ivone Duarte, Jasna Karacic, Krishnan Mohan, Moty Benyakar, Nicolás Obiglio, and Rui Amaral Mendes
Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a huge evolution of science and technology, with undeniable benefits for humanity. There are, however, some ethical issues that must be weighed for AI to be trusted, transparent, and accountable. Namely, respect for the principles of individual autonomy, global justice, and equity, as well as the protection of the right to privacy. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the development and implementation of AI systems are carried out under strict human supervision, and technical robustness and that security standards are ensured by global governance institutions, which prevent their use contrary to fundamental human rights. Also, there is a general duty to protect the most vulnerable populations. For a trustworthy AI to be accomplished AI must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). The goals of this department include studying and analyzing these issues as well as contributing to a global governance of AI.
Department of Healthcare Management
Head of the Department: Prof Guilhermina Rego
Despite varying levels of global socio-economic development, governments around the world want to guarantee their citizens’ fundamental right to basic healthcare. Grounded in the philosophical position that healthcare is an essential element of human dignity, it is important to move beyond this theoretical principle to offer policy-makers a basis for health policies based on public accountability and social responsiveness. It must also be emphasized the importance of global cooperation, particularly in the area of global health, health promotion, and communication. To accomplish these goals, the issue of financial sustainability must also be addressed as well as robust mechanisms of economic and social regulation. New opportunities created by e-health, evidence-based data, and artificial intelligence are also fundamental issues in modern healthcare management.
Department of Echobioethics and Mental Health, Psychology, Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
Head of Department Prof. Ester Alfie
Steering Committee:
Prof. Gabriela Renault, Prof. Juan Michel Fariña, Irene Onik, Prof. Francisca Rego,
Abel Fainstein, Jose Thome, Leon Cohen Bello, Bruna Giannini Lic, Prof. Emeritus Moty Benyakar
The Department of Ecobioethics Psychology, Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychoanalysis, will be the opportunity to stimulate and channel the development of conceptual and clinical research groups, as well as the possibility of clinical projects and study groups. The concept of ecobioethics is thought of as an emergent one that postulates a paradigm shift to face the complex reality of our time. One of the purposes of the Department is to involve psychiatrists, other medical doctors, psychologists, and professionals from other disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and philosophy, for the approach of current issues that question and generate new questions to the work of psychology and psychiatry and its implication in the psyche. We will face the important issues of the different processes and experiments in the area of psychology, especially with the contemporary developments of new technologies and artificial intelligence. The special relationship of the triad psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and patient will also be treated, for the specificity of this relationship in clinical work. One of the actions will be to propose that the different units create committees on this topic that will encourage them to function in an articulated way.
Department of Communications & Public Relations
Head of the Department: Mrs Yiota Skitini - Flourentzou
Steering Committee: Mrs Yael Fish, Mrs Shoshana Golinsky
The Department of Communications & Public Relations aims to effectively and professionally organize and manage the communications and public relations of the Chair, enhancing its image and standing through and between the members of the ICB, internally, (Governing Council, Units, Departments, Divisions, etc.) and its audience, externally (general public).
Primary activities will focus on the ICB Social Media Networks, and be based on involving, activating, and engaging the specialized and professional members of the ICB in the wider promotion of the ICB. The department will focus on enabling a broader audience reach and awareness to ultimately help establish new Units globally.
Moreover, the Department aims to involve, activate, and engage a ‘team’ of specialized members - professionals on Bioethics and related fields (initially members of the Governing Council and later on unit heads), by the realization of videos and other digital materials, who will contribute to the promotion of ICB through its Social Media networks according to a pre-organized schedule, assisting to the stand and development of the Chair.
Department of Bioethical Dilemmas at the Beginning of Human Life
Head of the department: Prof. Elizabeth Ormart
Rationale: Promote, in academic and professional contexts, technological, social, and cultural progress within a society based on knowledge and respect for a) fundamental rights and equal opportunities between men and women, b) the principles of equal opportunities and universal accessibility for people with disabilities and c) the values of a culture of peace and democratic values. Understand the bioethical and legal principles of research and its application in professional activities, in the field of assisted reproduction techniques. Contribute through research and training proposals to expanding the frontiers of knowledge in Assisted Reproduction and Child Perinatal Psychology. Contribute to the substantial body of knowledge in the field of bioethics so that publications of impact can emerge nationally and internationally. Spread knowledge about the impact of assisted reproduction techniques on family diversity in order to collaborate in the prevention and promotion of family rights.
Workplan: Organization of meetings to propose postgraduate and postdoctoral thesis linked to the topic of the department. International meetings of the research team to exchange strategies and
articulation of the investigations.
European Division
Steering Committee: Chantal Patel, Domenico Palombo, Igor Milinkovic, Jadranka Buturović Ponikvar, Jasna Karacic Zanetti, Mirza Ramusović, Mónica Correia, Perihan Elif Ekmekci, and Rui Nunes