2nd International Forum on Biosecurity

Second International Forum on Biosecurity
Budapest, Hungary
March 30-April 2, 2008

From March 30 to April 2, 2008, more than 80 people from 31 countries and 6 international organizations took part in the Second International Forum on Biosecurity in Budapest, Hungary. The Forum was cosponsored by the InterAcademy Panel on International Issues (IAP), the InterAcademy Medical Panel (IAMP), the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS), the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB), the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) and organized by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the National Academies of the United States.

The Second International Forum on Biosecurity reflected growing awareness that rapid developments in the life sciences and biomedical research, while offering great benefits, also pose the risk that the knowledge, tools, and techniques that enable these advances might be misused to cause deliberate harm. Any effort to address this “dual use” dilemma must ultimately be international, since life sciences research is a genuinely global enterprise. The Forum, brought together organizations and individuals active in the field of biosecurity to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the international scientific community in fostering policies that promote both continuing scientific progress and greater international security. More specifically, the meeting assessed the challenges and opportunities to:

• Build a culture of responsibility within the science community regarding biosecurity through education and awareness raising, codes of conduct and other mechanisms;

• Identify standards and practices for research oversight through review of proposals, conduct of research, publication, and communication and the range of approaches to achieving their widespread adoption;

• Provide scientific advice to governments and international organizations and develop the role of the science community in global governance.

A National Academies summary report of the Forum discussions, including the recommendations of its working groups will be produced in early summer.

The Forum was made possible by generous support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Cosponsors IAP, IUMS, and IUBMB provided additional support for the travel of participants from developing countries.