Organized in partnership with the Philosophy Section of the Ateneu Barcelonès. There will be a public debate after each screening.
24 May at 18:00: AMAR LA VIDA (WIT)
Chairperson: Marc Antoni Broggi, Surgeon and President of the Catalan Society for Bioethics.
7 June at 18:00: GATTACA
Chairperson: Miquel-Àngel Serra, Ph.D. in Biology and research manager at the Neuropharmacology Laboratory, Pompeu Fabra University.
21 June at 18:00: MI VIDA ES MÍA (WHOSE LIFE IS IT ANYWAY?)
Chairperson: Núria Terribas, Director of the Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation
Free screenings.
Iatrogenesis – the adverse effects caused by medical treatment – is often associated with professional errors or negligence. Paradoxically, one of the reasons for its increase is the rise of ‘defensive medicine', designed not to promote the well-being of patients but to protect medical professionals against possible claims. A number of professionals discuss this issue from a medical, legal and philosophical perspective.
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The Foundation sponsored one of the prizes at the BIYSC summer school
The Foundation ranks fifth in an evaluation of the leading Spanish foundations
The report "Construir Confianza 2016" (building trust), compiled by Fundación Compromiso y Transparencia, puts the Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation in fifth place in its ranking of the most transparent organizations in the family foundation category. This report evaluates the transparency and governance of Spanish foundations, based on the information published on their websites.
The foundation's position has improved over the last year following the inclusion of a section to evaluate the social, media and economic impact of its activities. However, it is not included in the top rankings because it does not publish an auditor's report, which this study deems essential, although none of the circumstances specified by the legislation in this area would require the foundation to produce audited accounts.
The winners of the third edition of the Ethics and Science Prizes explain the projects they have implemented in their schools.
"Bioethics in the classroom"
IES Elisa y Luis Villamil (Vegadeo), IES Galileo Galilei (Navia) and IES Marqués de Casariego (Tapia de Casariego). First Prize.
"Ethical implications of artificial intelligence"
IES Rosalía de Castro (Santiago de Compostela). Second Prize.
"Earth and humanity: hand in hand"
Antoni Gaudí (Sant Boi de Llobregat). Third Prize.
She is member of the Board of Trustees the Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation
Montse Busquets, a nurse and lecturer in Ethics at the School of Nursing of the University of Barcelona, is also a member of the Board of the Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation. She has been involved with nurse education since 1983. She was senior editor of the journal "Enfermería Clínica" (published by Doyma) from 1991 to 2003. She is currently a member of the Professional Ethics Committee of the College of Nurses of Barcelona and is a member of the Bioethics Committee of Catalonia, where she represents the Council of Colleges of Nurses of Catalonia.
This is the highest prize awarded by the Fundació Infermeria i Societat, and recognizes both individuals and institutions, nationally and internationally, whose work makes the development of the nursing profession possible, and who have made a decisive contribution to raising the profession's profile in the wider society.
The Foundation will participate in the working group on Ethics, Safety and Regulation
The Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation has joined the Bioinformatics Association of Barcelona (BIB), a nonprofit body that brings together more than 45 institutions, universities, companies and research centres engaged in bioinformatics.
The close links between the Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation and Bioinformatics Barcelona Association (BIB) will promote educational initiatives and the discussion and analysis of ethical issues relating to bioinformatics, a discipline that involves the management of personal data that often has implications for the health of individuals concerned, both now and in the future. As a result, it is essential that such data is used responsibly, reconciling care and research needs with safety considerations and respect for privacy.
These issues therefore need to be integrated into training, education and research processes. The BIB's working group on Ethics, Safety and Regulation, of which the Foundation is a member, is part of a wider effort towards achieving this goal.
http://bioinformaticsbarcelona.eu/
Second prize went to a school in Santiago de Compostela, and third prize was won by a primary school in Sant Boi de Llobregat
Sixteen educational projects were submitted for this year's awards, which for the first time were open to schools throughout Spain.
First prize went to the educational project, "Bioethics in the classroom", a joint initiative of three high schools in the Asturias region of northern Spain: IES Elisa y Luis Villamil (Vegadeo), IES Galileo Galilei (Navia) and IES Marqués de Casariego (Tapia de Casariego). The project aimed to address the lack of participation by young people in social discussions and decision-making, the lack of debate around essential bioethical issues, and the lack of knowledge about the services that Clinical Ethics Committees can provide. The Ethics Committee of Área Sanitaria I from Asturias coordinated the project.
Second prize was won by IES Rosalía de Castro (Santiago de Compostela) for the project "Ethical implications of artificial intelligence", by 4th year high school students. The project consists of a series of activities which give participants the opportunity to discover the latest advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics, to analyze their influence in today's society, and to debate the ethical implications of these changes.
Finally, third prize went to Escuela Antoni Gaudí (Sant Boi de Llobregat) for the project "Earth and humanity: hand in hand", by primary school students in years 3 to 6. This project focused on sustainability and ethics, starting from the idea that we cannot satisfy our needs without also considering the needs of others, and those of the generations to come.
Special mention
This year, in recognition of the high quality of submissions, the jury of the 3rd Ethics and Science Awards of the Víctor Grífols i Lucas Foundation also made special mention of three projects: Colegio La Salle (Bilbao) for the project "Awareness, drugs and medicines: understand, learn, act"; Escuela Garbí Pere Vergés (Esplugues del Llobregat) for "How can we introduce bioethics into schools?"; and IES Isidra de Guzmán (Alcalá de Henares) for "Take action! The responsibility is yours".
Videos of James Bernat Lectures about brain death and disorders of consciousness now available.
Brain Death
Disorders of Consciousness
Presentations can also be dowloaded.
The jury has announced the winners of this year's awards.
RESEARCH GRANTS:
Rosana Triviño, of the Institute of Philosophy of Spain's Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), for: "Comparative study of protocols for accessing the interruption of pregnancy in the European Union (ProtoAccess)."
Janet Delgado, of the Doctorate and Postgraduate School of the University of La Laguna, for: "Relational approaches: vulnerability and autonomy in bioethics."
Núria Oriol of Hospital Universitari Mútua, Terrassa, Sociosanitari de Vallparadís, for: "Commitment Information Document (CID) in dietary adaptations in dysphagia."
The team led by Miquel Domènech of the Department of Social Psychology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona for: "Ethics for robots: Some considerations in the design of social robots for children's hospitals."
The team led by Alejandra Fernández of Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu for "Ethics of care applied to the intensive care unit."
The team led by Francisco José Eiroa of the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology of the University of Barcelona for: "The status of patients' preferences in the practice of mental health in Catalonia."
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PRIZE:
First prize to Berta Mateos of Instituto Castelló d'Empúries for 'More than human? The ethical debate around neuro-improvement'.
Second prize to Elena Cortina of Puigcerver, Reus, for 'Paul and the Tree of Memories. Bioethics and death'.
Third prize to Pere Valls of Instituto Vilatzara, Vilassar de Mar, for Crawl & Roll.
There were a total of 18 submissions for the senior high school prize, and 51 for the research grants.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are issues that feature regularly in public debate, particularly when there is media coverage of a high profile case. The debate is generally characterized by conceptual confusion and a lack of rigour. This monograph intends to consider debate of the issues, encompassing a range of criteria and perspectives, and reflecting the diverse nature of our society. It includes international experience of countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and the views of institutions and professionals.
We will continue to be active in our social networks to recommend you to several bioethical proposals and to inform you about coming activities. Happy summer!
Victòria Camps, president of the Foundation and professor of Moral Philosophy, has published a new book. Elogio de la duda [In praise of doubt] provides a survey of the issue of doubt throughout the history of thought. The book considers philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Hume, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Russell, Rawls and many others who were wary of certainty. The author uses her analysis of these thinkers to invite the reader to question clichés and prejudices, not simply to reject them but rather as a starting point for analysis and decision-making. And she does so in an accessible manner, designed to appeal to a broad readership, but without compromising intellectual rigour or detailed argument.
Our website has a new section – the Video Gallery – that includes all the videos of the Foundation's events and lectures. The Video Gallery will contain high quality videos, in a format and resolution that are adapted to suit the user's device. The Foundation will continue to support its YouTube channel, although some videos will only be available via the Video Gallery.