The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Bioethics Academy (SNFBA), which aims to expand awareness of bioethics in Greece through participatory workshops on ethical questions with real-world relevance, is expanding significantly with major five-year support from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). New elements will delve into advanced topics in bioethics, add a train-the-trainer component to disseminate knowledge more widely, and bolster the bioethics networks in the country.
Launched in 2019 with exclusive support from SNF, the SNFBA seeks to foster a robust ecosystem of professional bioethics knowledge in Greece. Organized through a partnership between the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University and the Bioethics Chair at ETH Zürich, it is co-directed by Professors Jeffrey Kahn, the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Director of the Berman Institute, and Effy Vayena, Head of the Health Ethics and Policy Lab at ETH Zurich.
The backbone of the SNFBA is a free, two-day intensive Foundations of Bioethics Course in Athens, which has typically been held at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center. Here, up to 50 biomedical researchers, clinical researchers, biobank researchers, and professionals involved in ethics and deontology committees in Greece attend lectures on topics like biomedical research and bioethical lessons from the pandemic, followed by facilitated small-group discussion.
Mini-Conferences for alumni of this course, piloted in the SNFBA’s first phase, will be held biannually, in Athens each fall and alternating between Washington, DC, and Zurich each spring. Up to a dozen alumni will participate by competitive application in each Mini-Conference, all free of charge. New SNFBA Alumni Programs, free open to the whole alumni community, will be held in Athens three times a year and online at other times, featuring a rotating lineup of topics and speakers, and mentorship and research support. Additionally, New SNFBA Network and Consortium events, free and open to everyone from the SNFBA network, will be held twice a year in Athens and virtually throughout the year, with an aim of expanding to hold them in person in other parts of Greece.
Two new programs, both of which will require a registration fee, seek to expand the depth and breadth of exposure to bioethics topics in Greece. New two-day Advanced Topics in Bioethics Courses, open to up to 50 participants whose baseline level of bioethics knowledge is already relatively high, will be held each fall in Athens, covering a different topic every year. A new Train the Trainers Program, designed for up to 25 participants who want to add deeper bioethics content to their teaching practice, will also take place in the spring and will be repeated throughout the year virtually.
SNF believes firmly in the power of international knowledge exchange, whether it’s for established academics through the Greek Diaspora Fellowship Program, young people through a grant to AFS Intercultural Programs, or artists through an exchange between Hamburg and Hydra.