The
Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has awarded the 2009 Avicenna Prize
for Ethics in Science to Professor Renzong Qiu from the People’s Republic of
China, a pioneer in the field of bioethics
Emeritus
Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy (People’s Republic of
China) and Professor and Chairperson of the Academic Committee at the Centre
for Bioethics at the Peking Union Medical College.
The
Director-General of UNESCO has awarded the 2009 UNESCO Avicenna Prize for
Ethics in Science to Professor Renzong Qiu (People’s Republic of China). The
laureate was honoured formally by the Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, Mr
Marcio Barbosa, on behalf of the Director-General, at a ceremony that took
place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 18 December 2009.
The
laureate was awarded a certificate, a gold medal commemorating his contribution
to the field of ethics, as well as a cheque of US$10,000 and delivered, as the
recipient of the prize, a keynote lecture. Several selected papers on the
Ethics of Science and Technology will be collected in a volume to be published
by UNESCO in 2010.
Professor
Qiu is a pioneer in the field of bioethics whose research in the ethics of
science and steadfast public advocacy of ethical issues related to science have
established him as a major figure both in the Chinese academic community and
worldwide.
Professor
Qiu will receive the prize, which consists of a certificate, a gold medal
commemorating his contribution to the field of ethics and a cheque for
US$10,000, at a ceremony on 18 December at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (Room
XI, 3 p.m.).
The
committee of the Avicenna Prize noted that Professor Qiu’s research in the
ethics of science and steadfast public advocacy of ethical issues related to
science have established him as a major figure not only in the Chinese academic
community but worldwide. His work on life-sustaining technology, assisted
reproduction technology, public health and cloning has been supplemented by
political initiatives in ethical policy. He has published over 20 volumes and
nearly 280 articles on ethical issues and drafted guidelines for researchers
and policy-makers.
His
illustrious career in the field of ethics has been further demonstrated by the
publication of over 20 volumes and nearly 280 articles. In addition, he has
drafted ethical guidelines which have been essential to both researchers and
policy-makers alike.
His
research in life-sustaining technology, assisted reproduction technology,
public health and cloning, have thus been supplemented by political initiatives
in ethical policy. He has been an instrumental figure in the interpretation and
implementation of universal ethical principles in the People’s Republic of
China and has been actively involved in raising awareness about ethical issues
and their implicit relationship to good governance, social welfare and human
rights.
Professor
Qiu is currently an Emeritus Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of
Philosophy (People’s Republic of China) and Professor and Chairperson of the
Academic Committee at the Centre for Bioethics at the Peking Union Medical
College. Professor Qiu currently serves as the Vice-President of the Ethics
Committee of the Ministry of Health and is also a member of the UNAIDS
Reference Group on AIDS and Human Rights.
Professor Qiu’s keynote lecture at
the award ceremony for the Avicenna Prize will be included with a selection of
his papers on the ethics of science and technology in a volume to be published
by UNESCO in 2010.
Established by UNESCO’s Executive Board on the initiative of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, the Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science rewards every two
years the activities of individuals or groups in the field of ethics in
science. The Prize is named after the 11th-century physician and humanist
philosopher Abu Ali al-Husain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina (980-1038), known in Europe
as Avicenna.
source: UNESCO