List of previous global summits
Singapore: Eigth Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
The 8th Global Summit of National Bioethics Advisory Bodies was held from 26 to 27 July 2010 in Singapore. Representatives from 33 countries and 4 regional and international organisations participated in the 8th GSNBAB. The main areas of discussion of the meeting were ethical issues in organ, tissue and cell transplantation, research ethics committees and tuberculosis (TB) control, biobanks, and synthetic biology. In order to ensure continuity between the Global Summits, it was decided to establish four Working Groups on priority issues. The participating NECs of the 8th Global Summit unanimously decided to hold the next biennial gathering in Tunis, at the end of September 2012. As permanent secretariat, ETH will continue to facilitate interaction between the NECs and organize the next Summit jointly with the hosting committee of Tunisia.
Paris: Seventh Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
The seventh Global Summit, hosted by the French National Consultative Ethics Committee for Health and Life Sciences, was held in Paris from 1-2 September 2008. The Summit consisted of sessions on ten separate topics including ethics and cultural diversity; transplantation of organs and tissue; digital health records; ethics committees and public policy. Representative from 33 participating countries made presentations on the work of their committees, followed by a plenary discussion. At the end of the Summit several participants expressed a desire to exchange ideas on a more regular basis and set up mechanisms, such as a shared database, to facilitate such exchange. Discussions led to a greater appreciation of the different challenges faced by committees on the same issue due to diversity in committee structure, cultural context and health system development.
Beijing: Sixth Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
The Sixth Global Summit was held in Beijing from 4-5 August 2006, in conjunction with the Eighth World Congress of Bioethics. The participants, from 18 different countries, participated and commented on a wide variety of ethical topics. In plenary sessions, delegates discussed neuroethics and the ethical concerns surrounding understanding and manipulating the human mind as well as the ethics of catastrophes. Deliberation in further plenary sessions focused on databases and personal health information in addition to considering topics on the horizon for national bioethics advisory bodies. Participants heard presentations from national bioethics committees from various countries; 14 countries were able to present on past or ongoing projects. Several participants stressed the value of learning from other countries about shared problems and how they have attempted to address them. Such opportunities are central to the purpose of bringing together the national bioethics committees.
Canberra: Fifth Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
The fifth summit, organized by the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC), took place on 7-9 November 2004 in Canberra, Australia, in conjunction with the World Congress of Bioethics (9-12 November 2004 in Sydney). Like the previous meetings, this summit consisted both of reports by national committees about their work as well as discussions of selected bioethics topics of broad interest. Two workshop sessions were held, and by breaking the 36 delegates into smaller groups, the participants were able to probe the aspects of each topics they found most relevant.
Brasilia: Fourth Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
At the Fourth Global Summit in Brasilia on 3-4 November 2002, the participants from 27 nations discussed a wide range of issues that have arisen in their national deliberations. In addition to a plenary discussion of the ethics and policy options surrounding human stem cell research, they held breakout sessions on the use of biological samples for research, pharmacogenetics, the patenting of DNA, the role of the media, cell and DNA databases (Summary of Brasilia Global Summit). At the close of the Global Summit, the participants adopted the Brasilia Communiqué, which expressed their common determination to advance the field and to reconvene for further exchange of views and collaboration.
London: Third Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
The third meeting of the Global Summit was held in London from 20-21 September 2000, at the invitation of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the U.K. Department of Health along with the U.S. and French national commissions. Thirty-six nations were represented (with the greatest increase coming from the newly established European national commissions), along with a dozen international organizations.
Tokyo: Second Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
Desiring to continue the process begun at the first meeting, Harold T. Shapiro, Chair of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, and Dr. Jean-Pierre Changeux, Chair of France's Comité Consultatif National d'Ethique, joined by Dr. Hiroo Imura, Chair of the Japanese Bioethics Commission, convened a two-day meeting in Tokyo that brought together Delegates and Observers from more than 30 countries and 6 international organizations. Like the first meeting, the Second International Summit was held in conjunction with a World Congress of Bioethics. At the end of the lively roundtable discussions on 3 and 4 November 1998, the participants decided to formally establish the "Global Summit of National Bioethics Commissions" as an on-going organization to foster progress on subjects of mutual interest to the national bioethics advisory bodies. They also identified a number of issues of mutual interest (Tokyo Communiqué).
San Francisco: First International Summit of National Bioethics Commissions
In summer of 1996, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission recently appointed by President Clinton asked the French National Consultative Committee on Ethics to join in inviting the other national bioethics committees to send delegates to an international summit meeting to be held in San Francisco in conjunction with the III World Congress of Bioethics at the end of November 1996. Delegates representing 18 nations, as well as observers from six international bodies, participated in this first global meeting. Some of the countries had specialized national commissions, others were represented by a professional association's ethics group, and a few by a health ministry official. The delegates, from the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe discussed their differences in scope, sponsorship, and national cultures but found many areas of common interest in bioethics, and resolved to continue their dialogue.