Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs) Official Launch

The Division of Ethics of Science and Technology
Sector for Social and Human Sciences
UNESCO

Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs) Official Launch

The Division of Ethics of Science and Technology is proud to announce that the Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs) has been officially launched during the 12th Session of the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) in Tokyo, Japan, on 15 December 2005.

The GEObs is a system of databases with worldwide coverage in bioethics and other areas of applied ethics in science and technology such as environmental ethics, science ethics, and technology ethics.  The following databases are now publicly available on the UNESCO website.

Database 1: Who's Who in Ethics - This database is a compilation of information regarding ethics experts around the world.

Database 2: Ethics Institutions - This database provides information on departments, institutes, centers, commissions, councils, committees, review boards, societies, associations, and other relevant entities in the area of ethics of science and technology.

Database 3: Ethics Teaching Programmes - This database contains descriptions of existing teaching programmes within the field of ethics of science and technology.

Work is currently in progress on a fourth database on ethics related legislation and guidelines, which will be implemented at a later phase.

Users will be able to explore the databases using a number of search criteria, as well as print or email relevant search results.  The GEObs will eventually be available in all the 6 official languages of English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, and Chinese.

The launch of the GEObs represents an essential milestone in the continuity of UNESCO's ethics programme.  The observatory will help with the implementation of the normative standards that have been developed in the last decade; it will provide a platform upon which new activities can be developed; and it will map ethics expertise for Member States willing to develop activities in the area of ethics.  It is intended as a portal with which existing international consensus can be more efficiently mobilized to achieve the objectives of these instruments at all levels of global society.  The data contained within the observatory will facilitate the identification of implementation gaps around the world, and thus drive and enhance the basis of future ethics related activities by Member States, UNESCO, its partners, and various interested parties.  The mapping of ethical expertise around the world will be made widely available, which will be of particular use for Member States looking to reinforce their ethics infrastructure.

However, this is only the beginning of a continuous process of building a reliable, comprehensive, and useful baseline.  The Division would like to invite and encourage all interested parties to participate in expanding the information within the GEObs, to provide feedback on the areas in which it can be improved, as well as to utilize the information within.

For this and for further information, please contact:

GEObs Secretariat
Division of Ethics of Science and Technology
Social and Human Sciences Sector
UNESCO
1, rue Miollis
75732 Paris Cedex 15
France
Phone: +33 1 45 68 37 81
Fax: +33 1 45 68 55 15
E-mail: geobs@unesco.org