Pakistani bioethicist Zabta Khan Shinwari winner of UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science

Published on June 29, 2015 by admin    ·(TOTAL VIEWS 2,007)      No Comments

The winner of the 2015 UNESCO Avicenna Prize of Ethics in Science is Pakistani Professor of Biotechnology and bioethicist, Mr Zabta Khan Shinwari.

The Prize, which includes a Diploma, a UNESCO Avicenna Gold Medal and a cheque of US$10,000, will be awarded at an official ceremony that will be organized this year at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 30 September. On this occasion, Professor Shinwari, as the recipient of the Prize, will deliver a keynote Avicenna lecture, which will take place at 5 p.m. (Room II) during a joint public meeting of two UNESCO’s advisory scientific bodies – the World Commission on Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST) and the International Bioethics Committee (IBC), both of which will be meeting in Paris for their annual sessions at the same time.

Professor Zabta Khan Shinwari was designated the laureate of the Prize by the Director-General of UNESCO Ms Irina Bokova upon the recommendation of an independent International Jury of scholars and ethicists, including Ms Marie-Helene Parizeau (Canada), Jury’s chairperson and vice chairperson of COMEST, Mr Luka Omladič (Slovenia), Rapporteur of COMEST, and Ms Hebe Vessuri (Venezuela), also member of COMEST.

The Jury stressed that Professor Shinwari could be a role model in the area of ethics of science because he combines an outstanding personal commitment to ethically responsible research and responsible science with high academic standards of scientific research, education and management.

Today, Professor Zabta Khan Shinwari is fellow and current Secretary-General of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, as well as Chair of the Biotechnology Department of the Quaid-i-Azam University of Islamabad. He has a PhD in Plant Sciences from the Kyoto University which he obtained in 1994 and several post doctoral degrees in Agricultural Biotechnology from several prestigious Japanese Institutions. The Jury of the Prize underlined that his international scientific career exemplifies how scientific development has advanced in recent times. Mr Zabta Khan Sshinwari has been able to leverage his scientific and academic work in the East to make an important impact in his country while building strong and significant collaborations with the West. Over three decades of his academic career, Professor Shinwari has worked for the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, the National Agricultural Research Centre, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Pakistan, and several research organizations. From 2004 to 2006, he was Vice-Chancellor and President of the Kohat University of Science & Technology (KUST) and succeeded in establishing University of Science & Technology, Bannu. He is also founder of KUST Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS). Professor Shinwari also worked as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the private research institution Qarshi Research International and was Vice Chancellor and founder of Qarshi University- Lahore.

Professor Shinwari has steadfastly promoted the participation of indigenous peoples and women in the construction of science and in the sharing of its benefits and has worked to empower local communities to use their natural resources and biodiversity in a sustainable manner to achieve an environmentally sound economic development.

The Jury also underlined that Professor Shinwari has addressed sensitive ethical issues in a complex context of globalization. He has made an exceptional contribution to the ethics of science through his deep engagement in research ethics education at the national and regional levels. Furthermore, the Prize recognizes his work with a view to build capacities and to raise awareness of scientists, policy-makers, practitioners and the general public on issues of bioethics, biosafety, biosecurity and on dual-use concerns in biotechnology in order to address effectively security risks, alleviate the chances of potential abuse of biotechnology and promote a safe and secure scientific culture.

Established in 2003 by the Executive Board of UNESCO at its 166th session on the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science, awarded every two years, is intended to reward the activities of individuals and groups in the field of ethics in science.

By thus promoting ethical reflection on issues raised by advances in science and technology, it is expected to help significantly to increase international awareness and highlight the importance of ethics in science.

The Prize owes its name to the renowned 11th-century physician and philosopher of Persian origin known in Europe as Avicenna (980-1038). A healer and a humanist, Avicenna developed an exemplary holistic approach that captures the essence of ethics in science and has thus come to serve as a source of inspiration for the promotion of this concern, which is of central importance to UNESCO. (UNP)