National Bioethics Commission of Indonesia

Bioethics and health

2009-01-28T07:04:00.009+07:00

The Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference
Keynote speech by the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 5 November 2009

At the outset, let us praise Allah for His blessing so that we can gather here attending this very important conference, the Ninth Asian Bioethic Conference. On this occaion, I would like to convey my sincere gratitude for your presence. Your attendance in tis meeting indicates our collective efforts and serious intention to foster the resposible implementation of bioethics in Asia. Your attendance in this forum provides opportunities to revisit and review the practices of bioethics in Asia, explore lessons to be learned, and using these lessons, build on a roadmap for the way forward in our deliberations, with one ultimate goal – the Asian equiable scientific contributions i making a better world for us to live.

On this valuable occasion allow me to provide you with two international cases, which I have experienced since my ascending to the current ministerial post. Since the beginning of the year 2007, I started raising an international debate on the WHO mechanisms for sharing of human avian influenza viruses. As an organization which governs health care of the wold, WHO needs a fair, transparent and equitable mechanism. On the contratry, since avian influenza hit in Indonesia, we have been experiencing unfair, non-transparent and inequitable mechanisms in virus sharing which has been linked to vaccine prouction. Affected countries, which are usually represented by developing and poor countries, are requested to send H5N1 virus from avian influenza victims to WHO-CCs under a surveillance framework. This means developing and poor countries are requested manatory release of their viruses, but once these viruses arrive at WHO-CCs, affected countries do ot have any right about the destiny of the shared viruses. The moment when developing or poor countries need vaccines, they have to purchase them at high prices, and, one of the financial consequences is that they may need loans from other developed countries.
I have at least three points of unfair, non-transparent and inequitable WHO’s mechanisms which need to be taken as lesons learned by this conference.
1. By the time Indonesia needed urgently to procure Tamiflus (soon after the Karo cluster hit Indonesia), they were all stockpiled by the developed countries.
2. Unfairness on H5N1 sequence data information, DNA sequence for risk assesment and vaccine production was held exclusively by a number of scientists within WHO-affiliated institutions and were not freely accessible by other scientists. I have corrected this practice by making H5N1 sequene data accessible by public.
3. Several companies offered me vaccine and diagnotic kit, which were developed from the Vienamese strain of H5N1.

The existing mechanisms can lead to serious economic complications. If we still continue implementing the current mechanisms, then what will happen is that poor countries will become poorer, and the industrialized countries will become richer. This incresing gap is not favourable to the world peace and human welfare, and will contribute to the delay in the achievement of MDGs. With respect to sharing of benefits, Indonesia holds the notion that benefits for developing countries should be a structured responsibility raher than a ‘charity’ or ‘good will’ of developed countries, where vaccine manufacturers are located. This should be the mechanism in place for benefit sharing if we want to achieve a balanced developed and developing countries and cut the vicious cycle of poverty and infectous diseases in the developing countries.

There is another case with bioethical concern. Monopoly of viruses has occurred in the case of smallpox. The lead Indonesian vaccine manufacturer, BIOFARMA initiated the production of smallpox vaccine in 1962. Indonesia was declared free from smallpox by WHO on 25 April 1974. Then, the world was declared free from smallpox in May 1980. WHA resolution stated that by year 1982, the world must be freed from smallpox virus, and urged member states to destroy their smallpox with its vaccine production facilities. Based on this resolution, smallpox virus and smallpox vaccine production facilities Indonesia were destroyed in 1984. In 2005, there was WHO’s announcement that the world was threatened by ‘smallpox biological weapon’. Therefore, member states are advised to stockpile smallpox vaccines by purchasing them at high price. This is another case of unfair and inequitable international health mechanisms -- Indonesia does not have smallpox virus anymore, and has to purchase smallpox vaccine at high price.

The above two cases of unair international health mechanisms have also raised bioethical issue. By simple definition, bioethics is the study of ethical problems raised by productions, uses, and biotecnological of micro-oranism, plant and animals in agriculture, pharmaceutical industry or food production. Hence, the essentiallity of bioetics is the ethics of biotechnology or and the ethics of life sciences. Bioethics has two basic principles:
1. Reflecting the ability of positive aspects of professionalisn, and
2. Avoiding negative behaviour.

By virtue of its definition, and in view of the current biological and health challenges, bioethics has apparent broad scope. There should be a new outlook to respond to the paradigm shift for the future good practice of bioethics. Bioethics should not be looked only within the framework of scientific undertakings of scientists. Policy makers are challenged to understand the implications of bioethical conducts on the overall scientidfic and health development. With the current virus sharing practice, how can we define a public health success when that having a global capacity is less than 5% to produce human influenza vaccines, and technology access and transfer have not been made available to develping nations. This stockpile program failed to meet the challenge faced by the global influenza pandemic preparedness.

Furthermore, we are now gathering here in the period of global financial crises with some knowledge about their snowball effects, and with very little knowledge on how this will eventually negatively affect the short-term, medium term, and long-term helath development in out region.

Finally, I would like to congratulate the Indonesian Institute of Sciences for its able leadership in organizing productive discussions of this conference. This is part of the overall milestones of our efforts to make a healthy world. Global health will not be achieved whenever health inequalities exist. In one way or another, health inequalities exist due to unfair, non-tranparent and inequitable international health mechanisms, which have underlying bioethical concerns. The Asian Bioethics Association is a good avenue to revisit and review the practices of bioethics in Asia, explore lessons to be learned, and using these lessons, build on a roadmap for the way forward in our bioethics deliberations. This will be achieved through this conference.

Minister of Health of
the Republic of Indonesia

Dr. Siti Fadilah Supari, Sp.JP(K)

21 January 2009

2009-01-21T18:42:00.005+07:00

A BIOETHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON FOOD SECURITY POLICY IN INDONESIA

Dr. ANTON APRIYANTONO
Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia

Yogyakarta, 3 – 7 November 2008

It is an honor to me to deliver a lecture with a title “A BIOETHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON FOOD SECURITY POLICY IN INDONESIA”. As you are already aware, like the rest of the world, Indonesia will face new challenges in the 21st century. The foremost challenge is to feed its growing population using a relatively constant, if not shrinking, agricultural lands. This may sound like a classic problem that has been with us all along, but in this century, this challenge will be compounded by a more severe global climate change and the volatile price and availability of fuels.
Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with only the 15th largest area. A large portion of that area housed a vast rainforest, which its importance to the world's climate condition is unquestionable. This fact has put us straight into an ethical problem. The easiest way to increase agricultural productivity is by increasing the planting area. But increasing the agricultural area may sacrifice some of the rainforest, which can have a long-lasting impact on the future generation in Indonesia and the rest of the world. The global scope of the impact also reminds us of why this conference we are having now is important, because the inhabitants of the world need to collaborate to solve a problem that in the long term will affect everyone living on this planet.

Research and development in science has produced numerous breakthrough in supporting agricultural development. Other than the green revolution, science has also provided us with new technologies to unlock the secret of the genomes of every organism important in agriculture, which opens the possibility for the development of new plant varieties with improved yield and qualities. There is no doubt that we need to develop and invest in science. But science alone cannot answer all of our problems. Science may inform us that clearing several hundred hectares of rainforest for rice plantation will give us several tones of rice grain at the cost of increasing global temperature and rising sea level by several magnitudes. But science does not tell us whether we should cut the trees or keep the forest. The decision to clear the land for the rice or keeping the forest for environmental reason is an ethical decision.

That is one of the reason we cannot separate ethics from science. Without ethical considerations, application of science have the potential to cause harm to human welfare and dignity. On the other hand, discussing ethics without considering available scientific facts is rarely productive. Ethics and science must go hand in hand, and this is especially important for a democratically elected government who is constantly required to make decisions and policies in the interest of the general public.

One of the most important human rights is access to food. A sound policy on food security is required to assure that the basic right of every citizen to obtain food is fulfilled. Indonesia currently has a population of around 237 million people, with 1.3 % population growth each year. It is the task of the government as well as community together to assure food availability for all people.

The basic premise of every food security program is that there should be enough food available and that everyone should be able to access it. The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture attempts to reach this target through the following approaches: First, strengthening the food supply by optimizing available resources in a sustainable manner; Second, improving the food distribution system to ensure food availability for all people across times and regions; Third, encouraging more diversity and balance in food an nutrition consumption; and Fourth, preventing and resolving food scarcity.

The implementation of these policies addresses multiple factors to ensure its success. In order to improve production, the total area of cultivated land, whether it is irrigated or rain-fed, needs to be expanded with careful considerations regarding the environmental impact. Existing land needs to be conserved, and prevented from being converted into real estates or other agriculturally non-productive uses. Some lands will need to be rehabilitated to normalize its productivity. Water supply will also need to be managed through environmental conservation of water supplying area like rivers and other water sources, while existing irrigation channels will need to be maintained and improved.

On the agronomic side, productivity is increased by developing improved varieties and more efficient cultural practices. New technologies and better farming practices are constantly introduced by strengthening extension systems and promoting collaboration between farmers. Investments in agricultural and food sectors are also encouraged. These need a set of sound and comprehensive policies.

One important consideration in creating agricultural policies is that at the end of the day, those policies will have an impact on the lives of human beings, who do not only need physical fulfillment, but also psychological fulfillments. To be effective, those policies will also need participations of the general public. Policies that hurt the mental well-being of the people or ones they find disagreeable with their cultural or religious values will most likely fail. Some of those values that are proven wrong can be amended by public education. But some values, like religion, are considered to be set in stones, and people will adhere to them until the end of their lives. In this case, compromises will need to be made. This is why a discourse in bioethics is important, in order to accommodate all points of view and to find a consensus solution that works for the common good. Although agriculture may simply be viewed as a food production system, its application and impact is not without controversies.

As an example, a relatively recent phenomenon in Indonesia is shifting consumption pattern toward rice as the staple food. People from many regions in Indonesia traditionally consumed a more diverse diet because their environment is not always suitable for growing rice or the supply of rice is not always available all year round. The changing preference for rice has caused a decline in the cultivation of other food crops and putting an enormous pressure on the national rice production and distribution system. As a result, when there is a slight disturbance on the system, many regions with little or no rice-growing capability are under threat from high price of rice and even starvation, because alternative food crops have been neglected or abandoned due to the low demand associated with them.

This problem illustrates the impact of individual preferences on their own food security. Is it ethical to deny people from following their own preference even when it can potentially harm them in the long run? The answer can vary depending on where we are, but in Indonesia we choose the path of public education because we believe that people can make the right choice when they are fully informed on the consequences.

The above example also illustrates that development of agricultural systems will need to observe local custom and belief observance. Customs and norms are often built from ancient experiments which resulted in a tradition adapted to local conditions. Careless intervention of these cultural norms and values not only hurt the feeling and dignity of the people, but can sometimes lead to disastrous consequences from the application of ill-adapted technologies. Similarly, changing local diets and farming practices to fit an over-generalized national policy can potentially harm the food security of that region. Thus, new policies should respect and carefully consider local customs and religious values.

Another inherent problem in creating agricultural policies for food security is the contradiction between improving farmer's income and maintaining low food prices for the general public, in which a large portion still lives under the poverty line. As a consequence, improving farmer's income should not be achieved by increasing the prices of agricultural products, but by other means such as by increasing land holding size through cooperative farming or by improving agricultural productivity.

Increasing productivity, however, does not always guarantee a higher profit for farmers, as it is often accompanied by decreased prices. Therefore once increased productivity is achieved, the govern-ment needs to intervene market to prevent price of agricultural products from falling below the commercial threshold during the harvest season. Conversely, price should not increase too much when available food stock is low, when even farmers themselves become a consumer since their own stock is already depleted and the next harvest is yet to come. This role of the government should be done in such a way that regulates and maintains the national food supply to ensure food availability all year round at a reasonable price.

One of the driving forces behind the increased productivity is improved crop varieties developed by classical breeding and genetic engineering. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) have been under a lot of public scrutiny lately, mostly because many views that these organisms have no precedent in nature and therefore may carry some unknown risks that can harm humans and the environment in general. Such concern is valid, and the government needs to address this problem to ensure public safety while at the same time prevents irrational resistance of a potentially useful technology.

To have a productive and rational debate on the issue, concerns that could be solved by scientific studies need to be separated from those involving legal, philosophical, and moral concerns. Scientific questions such as whether transgenic corn would produce allergic reaction or not can usually be answered in a clear cut manner using a correct scientific experiment. Current method of food safety tests and environmental safety tests for GMO before any commercial release of GMO in Indonesia are the result of well-formulated scientific questions regarding the potential risks of genetically modified organisms. On the other hand, there may not be a ‘correct’ answer to questions related to legal, philosophical, and moral dimension of GMO. Answers to those questions may result from a consensus or a decision by those holding the authority over the issue.

Some concerns regarding GMO, albeit valid, apply equally to organisms obtained from nature or selected through conventional breeding. Natural herbicide-tolerant mutants can also transfer their genes to wild relatives, yet few people seemed concerned if those so called ‘natural’ organisms were released without proper environmental and food safety tests. This shows that there is an underlying fear toward a new technology rather than a serious concern toward environmental safety. Attributing universal risk only toward GMO gives a wrong impression toward genetic modifications, making it appears as a dangerous and malevolent technology. In a way, GMO that passed those safety tests may actually be safer than their natural counterparts, where safety tests are not as rigorously enforced when they are released.

Similar concerns were shown over the use of synthetic chemicals, from fertilizers to food additives, on agricultural products. As in the case of GMO, it should be demonstrated that no hazard will occur on the environment and human health if those chemicals are used. In other word, our attention should be focused on the safety part, rather than the adjectives synthetic versus natural.

Another important component in Indonesian agriculture is the extensive use of livestock. Livestock are kept to supply the need for animal proteins and raw materials for clothing and other necessities. They are also an integral part of our traditional farming system and a necessary component of many traditional and religious rites. But they also become the object of needless sufferings, from inhumane rearing system, transportation activities, to slaughtering practices. Efforts are continuously made to eliminate these misconducts. Moreover, even our traditional and religious teachings emphasized the need to speed up the slaughtering process and encourage the use of the sharpest blade to prevent prolonged suffering of the animals.

Respect and compassion toward other living things should not be confined to animal livestock, but also extend toward all living things in our ecosystem.

After all, our life depends not only on our livestock and plants that we cultivate, but also on other living things not directly connected with our lives. This is because nature is a complex web of interdependent systems. Disruption of one system can affect other systems and eventually return to haunt us. We have learned how careless introduction of rabbits and cane toad to Australia had caused ecological disaster; therefore most countries now have quarantine procedures and strict rules regarding introduced species.
However, we seem less concerned about the other side of the coin: which is the loss of native species due to extinction caused by human activities. Numerous species have perished due to habitat encroachment or environmental damage and pollution caused by human activities. Some of them may produce unknown exotic compounds that cure diseases. Some may disrupt the life cycle of our agricultural pests. Some may not matter to us, because their place in the food chain is not connected to ours. But even that can be misleading. Snakes normally found in rice fields may amount to nothing but nuisance to us, only when we have a great mice infestation on our field that we realize how useful they are. In other words, there are a lot of things that we miss or lost simply because our present knowledge has not understood impact of their presence. We can only hope that we do not grasp their significance when it is already too late.

That is one of the reasons why we take serious steps in conserving nature and maintain biodiversity. Some of the biodiversities can be preserved by our ongoing germplasm collection and conservation program, while others can only be saved by preserving their habitat from human encroachment. It is a very difficult task because sometimes we have to confront people with a more urgent need of feeding their family. Educating them on this issue can be challenging, because the negative effects of their actions are often uncertain, too abstract, or can only be felt in the distant future. It is clear that such program needs to be implemented along with a population control program, which is carried out by encouraging families to have two children or less.

At last but not least, finally, I would like to underline that the development of national policies on agriculture will not be free from controversies; therefore it must be based on solid scientific groundwork and bioethics. The issues can be complex, therefore active discussions by various stakeholders need to be encouraged to achieve a consensus that works for the common good.

7 January 2008

2009-01-08T07:20:00.006+07:00

Bioethics in Science and Technology Development In Indonesia

Bioethical issues have become an increasing focus of publics attention since recent years, with debate continuing to rage over issues including genetic modification, ainmal/human cloning, and even ‘designer babies’. The Asian Bioethics Association (ABA) Constitution (2002) on Article 2 stated that “Bioethics is an interdisciplinary study of philosophical, ethical, social, legal, economic, medical, therapeutic, ethnological, religious, environmental, and their ralated issues arising from biological sciences and technologies, and their applications in human society and biosphere.” Most important is that the principles of bioethics must be agreed by all scientists, community, people and individual concerned, because bioethics is expected to be used as guideline for scientists in performing research, development, and application of science and technology.

Inclusion of human responsibility to other living organisms and protection of environment, biosphere and biodiversity has made the UDBHR (Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights) a comprehensive bioethics document, since it concerns not only with human beings but also with other forms of living organisms. The UDBHR includes also 15 principles of bioethics related to: (1) Human Dignity and Human Rights; (2) Benefit and Harm; (3) Autonomy and Individual Responsibility; (4) Consent; (5) Persons without the capacity to consent; (6) Respect for Human Vulnerability and Personal Integrity; (7) Privacy and Confidentiality; (8) Equality, Justice and Equality; (9) Non Discrimination and Non Stigmatization; (10) Respect for Cultural Diversity and Pluralism; (11) Solidarity and Cooperation; (12) Social Reponsibility and Health; (13) Sharing of Benefits; (14) Protecting Future Generations; (15) Protection of the Environment, the Biosphere and Biodiversity.

Three major issues on medical biotrechnology are stem cell experiment, human cloning technology and organ transplantation, which have been discussed intensively by researchers and also the public media. Embryonic Stem Cell (ESC) experiment, for example, is a much debated issue in biosciences research. Some people argue that ESC experiment has the potential to treat disease and relieve suffering, to justify research across a whole range of possible sources of stem cells including embryo. Moslems, for instance, believe that soul wil be entered to fetus only after 120 days old. They suggest that fetus younger than 120 days could not be regarded as human beings. Following this belief, there appears to be acceptable to use fetus in those range of ages for medical research purposes. Fortunately, researchers show that in the future, it will be possible to re-program Adult Stem Cells (ASC) with the full potential of ESC, without morally contestable need to create an embryo.

Bioethical Issues on Animal Biotechnology
The main issue of animal biotechnology is asociated with experiments to make Genetically Modified (GM) Organisms, which should also comply with bioethics principles. An interesting illustration is the use of bovine somatotrophin (bST) hormone on cattle for stimulating their milk production. The hormone bST is produced by recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology in Escherichia coli, and was in fact the first GM product to be used in animal agriculture. By injecting cows with bST every two weeks, farmers can expect an average increae in milk yield of 12-15%; and although slight changes in nutrient content can be produced, their overall concentrations in bulked milk are probably unaffected. However, because higher metabolic demands may lead to increased rate of illness, there is an increased risk that the welfare of injected cattle will be diminished. The treatment also leads to an increased in milk concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is a potent mitogen. If the increased milk concentration on IGF-1 was physiologically significant and if it were to remain biologically active at the level of the gut mucosa, it might pose a public health threat to people consuming the milk or dairy products. On the other hand, is it ethical to make GM cattle which are endangering their own wefare?

Bioethical Issues in ood and Agriculture
The Food trap is the other evidence to support the importance of bioethical issues in biosciences research. The food trap points out to the trap of being net importing country for agricultural products, like Indonesia. Indonesia is the second largest sugar importing country and also for wheat, grandparent stock of chicken, and milk. Because of its dependence to international markets, Indonesian food systems faced some problems such as availability and sustainability of the local or indigenous agricultural products. Moreover, the issue of transgenic food in agricultural products has also arisen in this country.

Indonesian Standpoints on Some Bioethical Issues
Indonesia’s perspective of bioethical issues has been examined by the Indonesian National Bioethics Commision (INBC), established on the 17 September 2004 by a Joint Declaration between the State Minster of Research and Technology, Minister of Health and Minister of Agriculture. The INBC has concluded that stem cells research, development and its application in Indonesia are important to be encouraged. Setting up bioethical policies and regulations are essential, by observing the universal bioethics principles and intenationally acceptable rules as the guide for Indonesia’s policies development.

The second main issue concerns with Genetic Resources, subtances found in every living organism including animals, plants, microbes whether they are terrestrial or marine based. These genetic resources regulate specific nature and mortality of these organisms, and can be transmitted to their decendants, and also a part of the biodiversity known as germplasms.

There are five issues of bioethical on genetic resources including accessibility and utility of the resources, traditional knowledge, biodiversity, biosphere and environment. Therefore, managing the genetic resources of Indonesia has to be based on national interests and regulated according to national regulations. International conventions or declarations, such as the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), the Manilla Declaration Concerning Utilization of Biological Resources, and the UNESCO Declarations, such as Universal Declaration on Human Genome and Human Rights (UDHGHR), International Declaration on Human Genetic Data (IDHGD), and also Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UBHR), are already ratified or acknowledged.

The case of transgenic Bt Cotton is one example of GM crop practices in Indonesia The introduction of Bt Cotton to the farmes, however, has threatened local variety of common seeds in South Sulawesi. Unfortunately, no accurate information of the risk of Bt Cotton has been disseminated to the farmers. Learning from the GM crops problems, INBC highly recommends to ensure the protection of local variety seeds and to ensure the safety and availability of transgenic seeds. It is reommended to develop science and technology to increase the availability of agricultural products as well as to meet food safety requirement. There is also a need to ensure the protection of local or indigenous variety of agricultural products or food.

A key strategy for sucessful implementation of bioethics principles is to strengthen national capacity and to improve cooperation between scientists and scientific institution, as well as between the scientific community and the industrial community, under the guidance and coordinaton from the government. This type of three parties’ collaboration is well known as the ‘triple helix of ABG’ (academicians, business sectors, and government bodies). Harmonization and integration of bioethics principles into research, development, and application o S&T activities would ensure the achievement of sustainable human development.

Harmony with Nature is a must!
If we did wrong, then Nature would be destroyed
In order to sustain Nature, it must be treated in an appropriate manner,
in order words, we have to live in harmony with Nature.
It can be done, by using good ethical guidelines.

Yogyakarta, 3 November 2008
State Minister for Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia,
Kusmayanto Kadiman

25 December 2008

2008-12-25T09:37:00.011+07:00

Season's greetings. Best wishes for a happy, healthy and productive New Year 2009.

Indonesian National Bioethics Commission (Komisi Bioetika Nasional)

Replace with the rest of it or fulltext.

18 December 2008

2008-12-11T09:55:00.005+07:00

Prof Sahin Aksoy: the first session of the ABC9

2008-12-05T09:40:00.002+07:00

Bioethics in Asia: Healthy and Productive Life with Nature

Sahin AKSOY MD, Ph.D.

Professor, Chair, Department of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine
Harran University Faculty of Medicine, Sanliurfa, TURKEY
sahinaksoy@yahoo.com

Asian Bioethics, as an alternative or different approach to Bioethics has been long discussed and a significant amount of literature and information has gathered with the contribution of Asian Bioethics Association, its respectful members and EUBIOS Journal of Asian and International Bioethics. Today it is apparent that there is an Asian perspective on not only Bioethical issues but also almost every social, political and scientific issue.

Asia is a huge continent consisting of countries and communities from different social, ethnic, traditional and religious backgrounds. There are brown, yellow and white races. There are modern, urban, rural and traditional societies. There are Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Confucians, Taoists and Christians. These are the ones I remember at first instance. Despite all these differences there is something common in contrast with Western way of thinking, is being communitarian. In Western way of thinking, which had turned an agent of moral imperialism for a long time, ‘individualism’ and its following concept ‘autonomy’ is fundamental motto.

The full paper is available here.

ABC9: the two best student prizes

2008-11-25T07:06:00.022+07:00

During the last Asian Bioethics Conference, not many of the participants were aware that student presenters were judged for their presentations. The two best student prizes are "BIOETHICS GOES TO SCHOOL: module design for high school students in Indonesia" by Sherly Kurnia Dewi from Atma Jaya Indonesia Catholic University, Indonesia and "Survey Research and Ethics" by Noriko Kataoka from Kumamoto University, Japan.

The abstracts of their presentations follow.

"Bioethics goes to school:
module design for high school students in Indonesia"

Sherly Kurnia Dewi (third year student),
Biotechnology Faculty, Atma Jaya Indonesia Catholic University,
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman 51 Jakarta 12930 Indonesia,
Email: sherly.kurnia@mhs.atmajaya.ac.id

Elizabeth Citra Wening Prasanti (fourth year student),
English Department Faculty of Education, Atma Jaya Indonesia Catholic University,
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman 51 Jakarta 12930 Indonesia,
Email: elizabeth.citra@mhs.atmajaya.ac.id

Abstract

Advancing technology often create dilemma when faced with religion and folk culture. The technology sometimes also can harm the environment. Bioethics is a multidisciplinary knowledge to moderate these problems. Bioethics contains not only biology but also sociology, anthropology, economy, religion, environmental issues, psychology, and philosophy. If someone has studied bioethics for a long time, they can use bioethics to solve problem in a better way, thus it is important for us to study bioethics from an early age. In Indonesia, bioethics is taught in university. In high schools, bioethics is taught in integration with biology. The objective of this module is to teach applied bioethics to high school students. This module has four subjects: basic bioethics, environmental and biodiversity bioethics, design baby experiment issue, and euthanasia. To make the learning exciting, this module contains games, drama, and case study. The design module would be tested to high school students on July.
Keywords: bioethics teaching, high school students

and

"Survey Research and Ethics"

Noriko Kataoka
Kumamoto University
gray_little_man@hotmail.com

Abstract

Faced with evermore advancing medical technologies, bioethicists are asked to provide insights but the difficulty faced by bioethicists is that there is a wide gap between ethics, which tends to appreciate universal values more, as a discipline and the real situation, in which values appear to be in a constant flux. However, values are not so much changing over time but what is changing is the emphasis placed on each value. This presentation suggests incorporating survey research into the discipline of ethics as its method. This will allow for adjusting abstract top-down approaches and concrete bottom-up approaches to formulate effective approaches to current bioethical issues. I will first present results from a survey conducted on attitudes towards end-of-life care in Kumamoto, Japan as an example. Then, I will argue how such attitude survey contributes to the field of ethics as a new method.

ABC9: Trip to Borobudur temple, 6 November 2008

2008-11-16T17:33:00.038+07:00

Sunday, 16 November: program (actual) and abstracts

2008-11-16T12:27:00.009+07:00

Dear All,

The final program (actual) and the abstract book are available on the ABA home page, along with the new board members and previous ABA conference files. Click.

The ABC2009 will be held 26-29 April 2009 in Tehran, Iran. All are welcome.

Thanks to all for coming,
best wishes
Darryl and Amru,
on behalf of all the organizers and ABA

The participants list is available to download, from here.

Saturday, 15 November

2008-11-15T09:57:00.021+07:00

The official closing statement by the Organizer contains details which are not necessarily well-recorded, because it was delivered late in the afternoon of the last day. Five days for a conference must be tiring for the participants. The statement was delivered by Prof Siswanto, Vice-Rector, UIN Sunan Kalijaga. In full it is presented below.

CLOSING REMARKS OF THE NINTH ASIAN BIOETHICS CONFERENCE
by Prof. Dr. H. Siswanto Masruri, M.A.
Vice Rector for Partnership of the State Islamic University Sunan Kalijaga
Yogyakarta, November 7, 2008

Honorable Prof. Umar A. Jenie, M.Sc., PhD., Chairman of the National Bioethics Commission (KBN)/Chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI),
Honorable Dr. Darryl Macer, Regional Adviser in Social and Human Sciences in Asia Pacific, UNESCO, Bangkok,
Honorable Dr. Jayapaul Azariah, President of the Asian Bioethics Association,
Distinguished participants and observers,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

Assalamu’alaikum wr. wb.,

First of all, let us raise our hands in prayer in expressing our thanks to our God, Allah SWT for bestowing his rahmat and taufik to all of us, and allowing us to meet on this beautiful evening at this Center for Continuing Education of UIN Sunan Kalijaga, attending the closing ceremony of the Ninth Bioethics Conference. Secondly, allow me to apologize for the absence of the Rector, who is now on duty to Semarang.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The French philosopher and statesman, Andre Malraux, predicted that the twenty-first century would be a religious century. Without necessasarily sharing his apocalyptic vision, I would surely agree that few factors could be more important in shaping the future of mankind. Religion has been somewhat pushed aside in the first part of the twentieth century by the ascendancy of humanism, so-called rationalism, science, and the great secular ideologies. But religion is rapidly recovering the place it held in centuries past, recognized as one of the great motive forces in human history.

That is why, related to this conference - although we have ethical diversities or ethical pluralism, as political philosopher Terry Nardin wrote, “Not everyone is committed to a pluralistic world, but everybody must live in one”, I recognize that religion should be the main source of ethics in the world. The attempt to reunite ethics from a renewed awareness of the religious significance of history is noble and necessary, but it is also fraught with the dangers of dogmatism, intolerance and absolutism. The exercise of religious conviction in the temporal sphere can – and has – led to the most merciless fanatism. In order to avoid these dangers, the process of moral and ethical reasoning must be articulated, and a profound appreciation of the boundaries between religious judgment and political one must be cultivated.

Ladies and gentlemen,
According to the theme of the ABC-9, “Bioethics in Asia: Healthy and Productive Life in Harmony with Nature”, let me quote Ismail Faruqi’s statement:
The nature of the cosmos is teleological, that is, purposive, serving a purpose of its Creator, and doing so of design. The world has not been created in vain, or in sport. It is not the work of a change, a happenstance. It was created in perfect condition. Everything that exists does so in a measure proper to it and fulfils a certain universal purpose. The world is indeed a “cosmos, an orderly creation, not a chaos”.

Ladies and gentlemen,
After months of active preparations and four days of intense and wearying conference in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding, the conference has come to an end. As a host of the conference, I would like to thank Dr. Darryl Macer, the Regional Adviser in Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO (Bangkok), Dr. Jayapaul Azariah, President of the Asian Bioethics Association, Prof. Umar A. Jenie, M.Sc., PhD., Chairman of the National Bioethics Commission (KBN)/Chairman of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) who have trusted UIN Sunan Kalijaga to organize this conference. I also thank some key persons of the ABC-9 committee, Pak Amru, Pak Rohadi, Pak Agus, Pak Munawar, all members of the committee, and all participants for making the conference go smoothly and successfully.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Finally, I would like to apologize to all participants of our limited services in food, accommodation, transportation, etc. This is of course because of our limited fascilities, capacities, and human resources. Al ‘afwu minkum, ilalliqa’ fi sanah atiyah, see you next year in Tehran, Iran, syukran jazilan and thank you very much.
Wassalamu’alaikum wr. wb.

Thursday, 13 November

2008-11-13T06:53:00.007+07:00

From our record of the proceeding of the conference, please find excerpt from the welcoming remarks during the Opening Session of the ABC9 by Prof Umar A. Jenie:

The National Bioethics Commission (KBN) welcomes you all to the Hall of the State Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga to attend the Opening Ceremony of 9th Asian Bioethics Conference (ABC-9).

The ABC-9 is organized jointly by the National Bioethics Commission (KBN), The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), The State Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga, The Asian Bioethics Association (ABA), and the Regional Office in SHS Asia Pacific UNESCO. It is also supported by the State Ministry of Research and Technology, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

Indonesia is an archipelago country; the only maritime continent in the world comprises 18,000 islands, and coastal length of 108,000 km, known as cultural diversity country. There are more than 100 tribes living in Indonesian archipelago. Indonesia is also known as a mega-biodiversity country. In short, Indonesia is multi-cultural, multi-ethnical, multi biological-richness country.

Yogyakarta is situated around 600 km southeast of Jakarta. It was a Capital City of Sultanate of Mataram (known as Islamic Mataram) during 17th – early 20th Century, and it was also a Capital City of Indonesia during Revolution Era. Here we can find ancient mosques and Sultan palaces. Besides Islamic culture, within the city, there are so many Churches and Seminaries, Protestant and Catholic as well.

About 30 km east of Yogyakarta, we can see a beautiful 8th Century Hindus Temple called Prambanan Temple. It was built during the reign of King Raka-i Pikatan of the Mataram Hindus Kingdom.

Northwest of Yogyakarta (40 km away), there is a famous big and beautiful 9th Century Buddhist Temple, Borobudur Temple. This Temple was built during the reign of Queen Pramodhawardhani of the Buddhist Shaylendra Kingdom.•

Sunday, 9 November

2008-11-09T05:20:00.007+07:00

Sunday 9 November, morning at the venue Hotel UIN Yogyakarta.
All is quiet. Everybody has gone back home. Sayonara. Goodbye. Thank you. Terima kasih.
Amru

International to domestic

2008-10-29T19:57:00.012+07:00

Most of you coming with flights from overseas will go through Jakarta or rather the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport of Jakarta. Then from Jakarta, you catch the domestic flight to Yogyakarta. This is mostly true even though Adi Sucipto Airport of Yogyakarta is an international airport on its own, meaning with its immigration clearance gate. It just so happens that only a few flights to Indonesia land directly in Yogyakarta. In this case, at the Jakarta airport, you have to find your way from “Arrival” (international) to “Departure” (domestic). If you are familiar with international airports elsewhere, you will have in your mind that you will have some difficulty getting there (“Departure” (domestic)).

In Jakarta, if you will be flying to Yogyakarta with Garuda Indonesia, the Terminal for you to embark to start your journey to Yogyakarta (“Departure” domestic), is “next door”, some 100 meters away from Terminal II D or E “Arrival” (international), same building, on the second floor. Sounds complicated? Maybe it is only because the way it is explained here. Anyway if you have two hours or more for the transit, then you should be OK. Don't forget to bring along your luggage, won’t you?

If you let us buy beforehand the e-ticket for this domestic leg of your journey, don’t worry if the actual ticket is not in your hand. But that will be another story ...

All set to go

2008-10-29T19:26:00.015+07:00

All set to go. The Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference will take 5 (five) working days, with 25 sessions and 95 papers and 3 (three) keynote speeches by 3 (three) Ministers of the Republic of Indonesia: (1) State Minister for Research and Technology, (2) Minister of Health, and (3) Minister of Agriculture. All in plenary.Discussion topics are among others: “enhancement and neuroethics”, “public health ethics”, “organ transplant ethics”, “environmental ethics”, “ethics of energy technologies”, “ethics and disasters”, "Islamic bioethics”, and “bioethics education”.

The papers reflect the theme of the conference. In the words of Nir Eyal, an Assistant Professor in Global Health and Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School Division of Medical Ethics: “... the conference looks most intriguing – many perspectives that never reach the Harvard Medical School ! I would very much like to attend, if I can: unfortunately, I am out of travel budget for the year. ...”.

The ABC9 Organizer would like to thank all the national and international participants for submitting their valuable works and sharing their knowledge and experience. It is an honour and privilege for us to host you in Yogyakarta. We hope that you enjoy your stay here, and leave Yogyakarta and Indonesia with sweet memories. Thank you very much.

ABC-9 is organized jointly by the National Bioethics Commission (KBN), The Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), The State Islamic University of Sunan Kalijaga, The Asian Bioethics Association (ABA), and the Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific (RUSHSAP) of UNESCO Bangkok. It is also supported by the State Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

International bioethics education network

2008-10-29T10:08:00.012+07:00

The international bioethics education network was started in 1993.

The initial network was created by Darryl Macer at Eubios Ethics Institute (www.eubios.info) in 1993 in Japan and New Zealand, with surveys and research on the extent of bioethics across the world. The network continues under his coordination at UNESCO Bangkok, Thailand, http://www.unescobkk.org/rushsap.

Since 2008 it is officially an IAB network.
The goals of the network are
1) Promotion of bioethics education at all levels
2) Promote public discussion of bioethics

We welcome feedback. A balanced approach to these issues is needed, as education should prepare citizens for difficult moral dilemmas that they may face in their life. In recent times new approaches such as community engagement, use of museums exhibitions on bioethics, and other means to promote public discourse have been developed.

Members - the network welcomes individuals with an interest in all approaches to promote the discussion of bioethics. If your school or institution wishes to be linked on the site please send the name and details.

Action - There are community, school and university trials of methods for bioethics education in many countries. Some of the institutions and individuals involved are also members of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific School of Ethics (http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=4913).

Members of this network have produced and shared teaching materials for bioethics education in different countries, for school and university classes. There are various types of classes the materials have been used in. Materials can be downloaded in a growing number of languages from http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=2508.

Empirical research on the effectiveness of teaching bioethics at different ages and places is encouraged, and the results linked to policy. A regional bioethics education action plan was developed in Asia and the Pacific. This network is global.

There is a related yahoo network for students also.

ABC9 Information Sheet

2008-10-12T15:53:00.022+07:00

Information Sheet for the Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
3-7 November 2008

We welcome you to the Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-7 November 2008.

Presentations

Please email a copy of your presentation both in PowerPoint and MSWord (if you have it) to Amru Hydari Nazif, Organizer of the Conference at kbnindonesia@gmail.com by Wednesday, 29 October 2008.
We have facilities for projection using PC.
Please remember that the maximum talk time is 15 minutes, followed by discussion.
In addition to the LCD projector we will also have an overhead projector.
If you have any other requirements, please let us know.
You can send us an electronic copy, and any other relevant papers, which we might copy for general distribution at the Conference.
We will compile an electronic set of papers and presentations for participants to copy on to their own USB key drive or CD.

Secretariat

There will be a Secretariat to facilitate the organization of the Conference. There will be limited computer access to the Internet in the meeting room.

Language

The working language of the Conference will be English.

From Yogyakarta Adisucipto Airport to Hotel

After you have retrieved your luggage, exit the arrival hall, where you will be met by staff of the Secratariat. Should there be no one to meet you, it would be a good idea to change US $10 to rupiahs (about Rp 100.000). This will more than cover your taxi to the hotel (either Hotel UIN or Grand Quality Hotel).
The fare from the airport should be around Rp 30.000.

From the Grand Quality Hotel to the venue at the Hotel UIN

On Sunday 2 November afternoon, there will be available a mini-bus or van to take you to the venue at the Hotel UIN, for re-registration.
Please gather in the lobby of the GQ Hotel at 3 pm where a staff member of the Secretariat will be waiting with the mini van to transport you to the venue.
If you have any problems, you can call the Hotel UIN at (0274) – 4332482

Weather

In November, the weather in Yogyakarta will be hot and humid at the start of the rainy season (30 degrees C); so an umbrella would be advised.

Food

Please let us know soon if you have any dietary requirements so we can plan meals accordingly.

Jakarta-Yogyakarta, a one-hour flight

2008-10-03T16:16:00.019+07:00

The Garuda flights Jakarta-Yogyakarta, on 2nd November 2008 are:

1 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 06:10 - 07:10; GA 202

2 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 07:45 - 08:45; GA 204
3 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 09:30 - 10:30; GA 206
4 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 11:30 - 12:30; GA 208
5 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 13:20 - 14:20; GA 210
6 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 14:55 - 15:55; GA 212
7 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 16:40 - 17:40; GA 214
8 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 18:20 - 19:20; GA 216
9 Jakarta-Jogyakarta: 19:20 - 20:20; GA 218

Indonesia: Visa-on arrival

2008-10-03T15:56:00.012+07:00

There are only a limited number of countries whose nationals are granted visa-on-arrival upon entering Indonesia.

Click

ABA Constitution

2008-09-18T11:05:00.013+07:00

Constitution of the Asian Bioethics Association, adopted on 25 November 2002, can be read here.

ABA Board of Directors

2008-09-18T09:35:00.006+07:00

Asian Bioethics Association (ABA)

President
Jayapaul Azariah

Vice President for China
Yanguang Wang

Vice President for India
Abhik Gupta

Vice President for Japan
Atsushi Asai

Vice President for West Asia
Aamir Jafarey

Vice-President for South Asia (East of India, excluding other named regions)
Soraj Hongladarom

Vice President for Asian Ethnic and Religious Minorities
Alireza Bagheri

Vice President for Korea
Un Jong Pak

Secretary
Darryl Macer (Thailand/New Zealand)

Immediate Past President
Song Sang-yong (Republic of Korea)

SHS: Bioethics

2008-09-16T21:41:00.015+07:00

In an era of rapid globalization, UNESCO's Regional Unit for Social and Human Science in the Asia-Pacific (RUSHSAP) aims to develop and promote social policies which uphold peace, human rights, democratic governance and tolerance. To achieve this goal, social policy activities must provide opportunities and empowerment for all, particularly during this period of major social, political, economic and cultural change. The overall objective is to create a grass-roots, mass movement throughout the Asia-Pacific region which shares this aim and helps bring it to fulfilment.

RUSHSAP's mission and programmes reflect all aspects of social concern, including poverty alleviation, migration, management of water resources, governance, youth, dissemination of information, the ethics of science and technology, bioethics, human security, and research and training.

SHS: Bioethics

Get to know your host

2008-09-15T18:18:00.022+07:00

The Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference (ABC9) is an event of the Asian Bioethics Association. As host Indonesia is now in the middle of doing all sorts of coordinating works. Professor Umar A. Jenie -- in Indonesia he is better known as the LIPI (the Indonesian Institute of Sciences) chief -- is at the top of the ABC9 Organizing Committee. He is currently the Chairman of the Indonesian National Bioethics Commission. To know him better please find below an old newspaper clipping, describing the 'new' LIPI chief, with his thought on science development in Indonesia.

LIPI to refocus on natural sciences as it gets new chief
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Sat, 09/28/2002 12:00 AM

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government installed Umar Anggara Jenie, a natural science researcher, as the new chief of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) to replace historian Taufik Abdullah, signaling a return to its founding ideals as an institution with more concern for exact sciences.

Umar, a senior researcher at the Inter University Center for Biotechnology at the University of Gadjah Mada, was sworn in on Friday as LIPI's new chief by State Minister of Research and Technology M. Hatta Rajasa.

In his speech, Hatta expected Umar to lead LIPI to reposition itself as a basic research institution, but yet establish strong linkages with other research institutions and industries.

"In this era of global competition, LIPI needs to turn itself into a basic research institution, yet it has to be able to build strong connections with other institutions and industries to benefit the country," Hatta told reporters after the inauguration.

He said that the country's industries had not yet benefitted from LIPI's research.
Hatta said, for example, that LIPI should boost its cooperation with the Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) as an application research institution to follow up LIPI's various inventions, so that the inventions would benefit the country's development.

"I don't want any overlapping duties among research institutions in this country," he said.

Umar agreed with Hatta, saying that LIPI's repositioning would be one of the important things to do although funds for LIPI were limited.
"We'll continue the effort to reposition our post in basic research, in which our research could be further developed by research institutions for the sake of industries and the general public," he said.

He promised to encourage multidisciplinary researchers to benefit the general public, and to develop cooperation among research institutions.
"We need to create a conducive situation to conduct research," he said.
For example, in biotechnology research, biotechnology researchers should be guided by bioethics, which could be formed by sociologists, culture experts and others, he said.

He also supported natural scientists to be focal points as social scientists were in criticizing government policies, or giving opinions on natural science-related problems in the country.

LIPI employs more than 1,000 scientists and researchers.

Umar, born in Yogyakarta on Aug. 22, 1950, is also a senior lecturer at the School of Pharmaceuticals in the University of Gadjah Mada, and the university's deputy rector for research and community services.

Obtaining his first degree from the School of Pharmaceuticals, Umar earned his masters degree in chemistry at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He later obtained a doctorate degree in chemistry at the Australian National University and was granted the professor award in medicinal chemistry at the University of Gadjah Mada.

Registration Form

2008-09-10T11:53:00.012+07:00

Registration form for The Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference of the Asian Bioethics Association in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-7 November 2008."Bioethics in Asia: healthy and productive life in harmony with nature". Registration Form

Travel formality: entering Indonesia

2008-09-03T09:20:00.012+07:00

Immigration procedure requires foreigners to have visa to enter Indonesia. More on this below.

Travel formality
All visitors travelling to Indonesia must be in possession of a passport valid for at least six months from the date of arrival and have proof of onward passage.
Visas are not required for nationals of:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Ice land, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom (Great Britain), United States of America, United Emirate Arab and Venezuela.

Yogyakarta: the destination

2008-09-03T08:41:00.026+07:00

Yogyakarta or Jogjakarta: the difference in the spelling can be confusing. It has to do with a long history of the name that is not too important in modern-day Indonesia. The official name is Yogyakarta. ...

Yogyakarta Special Region is officially one of Indonesia's 32 provinces.

Yogyakarta is one of the foremost cultural centers of Java. This region is located at the foot of the active Merapi volcano.

Yogyakarta was in the 16th and 17th centuries the seat of the mighty Javanese empire of Mataram from which present day Yogyakarta has the best inherited of traditions.

The city itself has a special charm, which seldom fails to captivate the visitor.

More info, here.

Registration fee and accommodation

2008-08-04T09:34:00.117+07:00

The Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-7 November 2008

Registration fee
The registration fee for the Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-7 November 2008:

for member of the Asian Bioethics Association or student participant USD 50; and
for non-member USD 100

VenueThe Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference, 3-7 November 2008 ABC9 will be held at Hotel University Sunan Kalijaga, Yogyakarta. This hotel compound, a former Training Center of the University, is strategically located in Yogyakarta, 10 minutes from the International airport Adisucipto, 15 minutes from the railway station and bus terminal.

Hotel University Sunan Kalijaga is suited for meetings and conferences. It has 2 (two) meeting rooms with a capacity of 300 people and 8 (eight) meeting rooms for 20-50 people; Internet service, restaurant, fitness center, with 24-hour service.

Accommodation

Reservation is to be made early through the Organizer, at the latest by mid-October 2008.

1. Hotel University Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta:

Room types:

VIP (7 rooms) Rp 300.000/night
Deluxe (7 rooms) Rp 250.000/night
Standard rooms (64 rooms) Rp 185.000/night

The postal address is:
Hotel University Sunan Kalijaga
Jalan Anggrek 137 D
Sambilegi Kidul, Maguwoharjo, Sleman
Yogyakarta
Indonesia
fax 6221-0274 4332482

2. Grand Quality Hotel Yogyakarta
http://www.grandqualityjogja.com/

The room rates, terms and condition apply, are:

Executive Rp 747.000 (USD 82) /night
Deluxe Rp 585.000 (USD 64)/night

inclusive of services and prevailing government tax.
The current exchange rate is Rp 9.200 per 1 USD.

Reservation is to be made early through the Organizer, at the latest by mid-October 2008.

Transportation to and from the this hotel to the venue of the conference will be provided by the Organizer.

3. Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta Resort & Spa

Recently completed the first phase of a renovation -- all guestrooms and suites remodeled.

New guest rooms
The hotel now offers a wide array of guestrooms with a perfect combination of modern design and traditional Javanese style. Our newly refurbished guest rooms are now full of upgrades and amenities with Sweet Sleeper Bed, multi national plug, slippers, bathrobes, flat screen & LCD televisions, coffee and tea maker,, complimentary mineral water, hair dryer, bathroom with bathtub and shower combination, and each room has its own balcony.
New facilities and public areasFrom the lobby, food and beverage outlets, to swimming pools are elegantly remodeled and characterized by combination of modern comfort and traditional element of Javanese. This new look is aimed to give warmth welcome and reflect comfortable spaces where guests can connect with one another through socialization and networking by our new designed facilities such as new restaurants, bar, club lounge, karaoke, pendopos & gazebos, express check in & check out, separate group check in, spa, private access swimming pools, etc. which some of them are still undergoing to be launched soon.
Room Rate:
Grand Room US$ 90, nett,- per night
Club Room US$ 102, nett, per night
The above rates are:
Non-commissionable and a net rate, inclusive of prevailing government tax and service charge
Free scheduled shuttle to Malioboro
Free transfer Airport – Hotel OR Hotel – Airport for FIT
Free use of indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, fitness centre, sauna, Jacuzzi and whirlpool.

Conference of the Asian Bioethics Association in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-7 November 2008

2008-07-02T10:50:00.000+07:00

Call for papers, research findings, discussion papers, and other contributions dealing with topics in bioethics and related disciplines are welcomed. The Ninth Asian Bioethics Conference of the Asian Bioethics Association in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 3-7 November 2008.

Bioethics in Asia: healthy and productive life in harmony with nature

Call for papers

Research findings, discussion papers, and other contributions dealing with topics in bioethics and related disciplines are welcomed. Papers are invited on, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Asian Bioethics

- Bioethics Education

- Can virtues be taught?

- Cross-cultural Bioethics

- Islamic Bioethics

- Environmental Ethics

- Biomedical and Biosciences Ethics

- Ethical Issues in Disaster Research and Management

- Ethnic Conflicts and Peaceful Co-existence

- Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research

- Ethical Issues on Organ Transplantation

- Ethics and Intellectual Property

- Public Health Ethics

- Science and Society

- Technology and Culture

- Ethics of Emerging Technologies/Nanoethics

- Neuroethics

Preliminary deadline for receipt of abstracts for papers (200 words max) and proposed sessions (with lists of speakers and titles) is 3 September 2008, to E-mail: amru96@cbn.net.id and/or kent001@lipi.go.id.

This event will be organized by the ABA and Indonesian National Bioethics Commission, with the cooperation of UNESCO, WHO, and FAO. The local cooperating bodies and agencies will include industries, universities, and NGOs. Updated information will be placed on abc-9th.blogspot.com.