Future Events • Past Events • United Nations Related Events

The Appignani Humanist Center for Bioethics organizes lecture series, conferences and panel discussions to facilitate public understanding of current bioethical issues. These are usually held in or around the United Nations headquarters in New York.

In addition, the Advisory Board experts participate in conferences and meetings relating to bioethical issues at the UN, UNESCO and other international forums.

Past Events

New Dilemmas in Medicine: Three Current Controversies in Genetics, Religion, and Big Pharma–register now !
IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics and Bioethics International, both headquartered in New York City, cordially invite you to attend a one-day conference on Friday, May 23rd 2008, from 9:30 AM to 6:45 PM. Location: 777 UN Plaza (corner of 44th Street and 1st Avenue), 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017.
Following the conference there will be a Cocktail Reception from 7 PM to 9:30 PM featuring an Argentinean Tango performance by Laura Real at a location still to be announced. For more information, click on any of the following links:
Conference Flyer
Conference Program
Panel Descriptions
Registration Form
Conference Speakers

17th World Humanist Congress 2008 - register now!

IHEU in association with member organization American Humanist Association announces the 17th World Humanist Congress to be held in Washington, DC, USA
on June 6-8, 2008. The Congress theme is E Pluribus Unum: Reclaiming Humanist Values.

On Saturday, June 7, 2008 – IHEU Appignani Center for Bioethics will present a panel entitled: Leading Bioethical Issues Today, convening prominent experts in bioethics and the medical sciences (speakers to be announced shortly).

Biotechnology, nanotechnology, reproductive health technology, and the entire gamut of ever-advancing medical sciences have not only afforded novel ways for solving old problems, but have also unveiled new areas of controversy. From face-transplants to IQ-enhancing genome manipulations, society faces plethora of choices but, unfortunately, little accompanying guidance on how to approach them.

The humanist bioethics perspective holds that careful analysis and ethical consideration can at least help frame and possibly make progress in conceptualizing and understanding many of these issues. This moral framework is informed by science and rationality, with the aim of promoting core human values such as freedom and autonomy, while recognizing that the needs of individuals and societies may often conflict, requiring resolution.

Read more about the panel and program at http://www.americanhumanist.org/conference/

Panel Discussion at the UN: The Impact of Obstetric Fistula and Economic Empowerment

The IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics and The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies presented Human Rights for the 21st Century: Rights of the Person to Technological Self-Determination - May 11-13, 2007 in New York City.

Keynote speaker: Jonathan D. Moreno Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Professor of Medical Ethics, History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Click here for Program and Speakers

At the Conference Reception at the Romanian Consulate in NYC, on May 12, 2007:
(l. to r.) Pietro Pavoni (Romanian Consul, NY), Eris Rurka (student), Ana Lita (director of the IHEU Appignani Center),
and Jonathan D. Moreno, keynote speaker.

To find out more about our Past Events go to: www.iheu.org/bioethics

Tuesday, December 11, 2007
at 777 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017

The IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics in NYC

co-sponsored by

The UN Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues
and the Advancement of Women (OSAGI)

and

The Council of Europe

invite you to attend the panel:

Intersecting Human Rights Crises:
Organ Transplantation and Organ Trafficking

Press Release for Intersecting Human Rights Crises: Organ Transplantation and Organ Trafficking

Speakers' Bios

United Nations Related Events

As a non-governmental organization with UN consultative status, IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics interacts in various ways with diverse UN bodies including the Office of the Gender Advisor of the Secretary General (OSAGI), the Human Rights Committee, Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
Read below about some recent past events:

• On February 28, 2007, Dr. Ana Lita, Director of the IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics, in collaboration with PCI-Media Impact and Femme Afrique  Solidarite (FAS) moderated a panel on "Health and Empowerment: The impact of HIV/AIDS Epidemic Worldwide and Female Genital Mutilation in African Diaspora Communities" at the United Nations under the auspices of the Division for the Advancement of Women, Commission on the Status of Women. The panel discussed the health and empowerment of women, focusing on the international HIV/AIDS epidemic, female genital mutilation (FGM) in Africa and immigrant communities living in Western nations.

• On June 6, 2006 Dr. Ana Lita, Director of the IHEU-Appignani Center for Bioethics, spoke at the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for the Advancement of Women. The meeting (top right) was chaired by Ms. Rachel Mayanja (top left), UN Assistant Secretary General and Special Advisor to UN Secretary on Gender Issues and Women's Advancement (OSAGI). Over 20 high-ranking UN officials attended the meeting. The text of her article, "New vaccines for cervical cancer and new controversies", Network, The UN Newsletter, Vol 10, No 2, 2006  is available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/network/vol.10_no2_2006.pdf