Image

Since it was founded, the Institut Pasteur has focused on developing basic and applied knowledge in life sciences and working to improve health. Aware of the issues surrounding scientific progress, the Institut Pasteur promotes excellence, integrity and responsibility in research. Through its various ethics committees, the institute strives to fulfill its public interest missions in accordance with key ethical principles and values that provide science with essential guidance.

The application of principles relating to ethics, integrity and professional conduct forms a key part of the Pasteur 2030 Strategic Plan, whose aim is to help meet the scientific and societal challenges we currently face.

Aware of the questions raised by the implementation of the Institut Pasteur's ethics policy, the Ethics Unit and all the Institut Pasteur Ethics Committees are offering staff a unique and unprecedented opportunity to meet at the very first Ethics Committees Forum.

This event, open to all employees, will take place on campus on Thursday October 9. Here, you will meet internal and external colleagues from France and overseas who share your commitment to research at the Institut Pasteur. The forum will be opened by an inaugural lecture followed by two round tables and a question and answer session to compare the experiences of campus teams, including those of scientists, with those of committee members.

The event will be held in a hybrid format (in person and remotely via Teams).

Please could those wishing to attend in the Duclaux lecture theater register here for logistical reasons

Those wishing to take part remotely, please click here to access the forum

Here is the program for the first Ethics Committees Forum on October 9:

• 2-2.15pm: Welcome, key messages on the ethics policy and the committees set up to implement it
   

• 2.15-3pm: Inaugural lecture given by Claude Kirchner, President of the French National Digital Ethics Committee
  
  This lecture will illustrate the fact that a committee-based approach to a quality ethics policy addressing major issues is very much in the spirit of the times, using the example of a new national pilot committee for digital ethics (AI, big data, etc.).
   

• 3-3.50pm: First round table, "Can society trust science? Why committees?"
  
  The committees share the common challenge of acting as guarantors to ensure that Institut Pasteur commitments are actually met. Ethical research practices are expected to maintain society's trust in science. This round table will provide an opportunity for each committee to explicitly set out the commitments it promotes at the Institut Pasteur, how these bonds of trust are forged with the public from its perspective, and how this translates as e.g. committee composition or procedures. 
   

• 3.50-4.10pm: Break
   

• 4.10-5pm: Second round table on "What happens on a committee? Why take part?"
  
  A committee consists of individuals working for the common good. However, various situations may arise that risk misunderstandings among the committee's target audience. This round table seeks to provide a tangible overview of how committees work, how they address issues relating to ethics, integrity and professional conduct, and why members, who are often scientists working within or outside the Institut Pasteur, choose to join them. This may also lead to a discussion of the dual role played by certain members, who may also be assessed by ethics committees or issued with opinions by committees. 
   

• 5-5.25pm: Question and answer session to "Compare scientists' and committees' experiences"
  
  This seeks to encourage direct discussions and share different perspectives through a question and answer session with attendees (some of whom are committee members and others who do not sit on committees).
   

• 5.25pm-5.30pm: Conclusion and next steps
   
• 5.30pm: Cocktail reception

Image

If you have any questions, please email ethics@pasteur.fr