UNESCO Beirut Organizes an Ethics Teacher Training Course (ETTC)

UNESCO organized a 4 day Ethics Teacher Training Course (ETTC) in cooperation with the Saudi National Committee of Biothics (NCBE) and King Abdulaziz City of Science & Technology (KACST) Academy at the premise of KACST in Riyadh, from 6-9 February.

In the opening session, Dr. Batoul Albaz, Vice President for health sector, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and Dr. Abdullah Assiri, the Vice Chair of the National Committee of Bioethics (NCBE) welcomed the interdisciplinary team of trainers and 29 participants comprised of professors and experts engaged in bioethics education and research ethics application in all regions of KSA. Ms Seiko Sugita, Programme Specialist for Social and Human Sciences, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of Ms Costanza Farina, Director of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in the Arab States, by emphasizing the importance of the multi-stakeholder’s engagement to address emerging ethical challenges that are becoming more interdependent, especially due to Climate Change and with an increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

A series of case study discussions were facilitated by a team of International and Saudi trainers, enriching the analysis from multidisciplinary (Bioethics, Philosophy, Law and Medicine) perspectives and building on the UNESCO’s Bioethics Core Curriculum (BCC). In a dedicated session on the “Ethics for a human-centered Artificial Intelligence”, Ms Dafna Feinholz, UNESCO Chief of Section on Ethics of Science & Technology, virtually intervened to share UNESCO’s ongoing support to Member States. Dr Abdallah Adlan, Executive Director, Ethics and Compliance at the Saudi National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), further animated a reflection and debate on the dilemmas of AI. As for the simulated class communication demonstration sessions, Dr. Raniah Bakaam, Pharmacy Administration preceptor for Pharmacy Residency program at the King Abdullah Medical City, found it very useful to receive constructive criticism from experts and learn different techniques and methodologies from peer educators and experts.