In today’s globalized world, many of the aforementioned areas of interest of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights are undergoing rapid development and change. Every day, new breakthroughs in bioengineering and regenerative medicine made the headlines. Behind the scenes, thousands of scientists are involved in innovative researches that may or may not hit the news. Ethical, religious, philosophical and juridical reflections often lag behind, unable to catch up with the mind-spinning pace of technological progress. As never before, there is a need to open up the discussion by anticipating these developments in an atmosphere of solidarity, friendship and calm.The observatory will be created to serve as a neutral biopolitical platform which systematically and rapidly provides a complete vision of the latest scientific developments and the different ethical opinions. It will provide a database and on-line forum for individuals, academic institutions, research projects, calendar of events, news and bibliographies on science and bioethics. It will also offer translation service of important texts into different languages. The observatory will also identify events of relevance in international forums and foster participation and dialogue between science and ethics.
In this way, the observatory may fulfill an important role of mediation between the two spheres of science and ethics, providing all the interested parties—scientists, public, religionists, government officials, media, and lawmakers—with the proper tools to reflect and make decisions.