Unesco launches central European bioethics hub

Unesco is to fund a chair in bioethics at the Medical University of Vienna, as an addition to its suite of global centres.

Unesco funds eight chairs in bioethics at present, half of which are in South America, with an additional programme on the ethics of science located in Russia. The initiatives are intended to help university departments to promote Unesco values and assist in the implementation of its programmes.

The incumbent of the Austrian chair will be Christiane Druml, vice-rector of the Medical University of Vienna. She will focus on building capacity in ethics research and education, Unesco said, particularly to link bioethicists in the northern and southern hemispheres.