Introduction :
The concept of solidarity has gained currency in bioethics in recent years; times of economic crises and major changes in how healthcare systems are organised render it ever more timely. At this multidisciplinary symposium, experts from a range of academic disciplines as well as policy fields will discuss the application of solidarity in connection to a range of current ethical, legal and social challenges posed by new medical research and technologies, where a solidarity-based framework could help unlock entrenched discussions and move policy making forward. Case studies to be examined include research biobanking; biosecurity; and health inequalities. In order to inform both ongoing conceptual debates in bioethics as well as develop new solutions for research and public health governance, each section of the symposium will be devoted to conceptual as well as empirical and/or policy-based work. Experts bringing in a more theoretical perspective will engage with those who work on empirical and social issues and in policy making; particular attention will be paid to European and international aspects.
The meeting aims to further develop work that commenced in the context of a Fellowship funded by The Nuffield Foundation and the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in 2011, and culminated in the publication of a Report commissioned by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics (Prainsack B & Buyx A. Solidarity. Reflections on an emerging concept in bioethics. Full text available at: http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/solidarity-0). While this Report, for the first time, offers a systematic analysis of solidarity in bioethics and some key elements of a systematic solidarity framework, it can be no more than a beginning of what we hope will be a long-term focus on, and work programme around, solidarity in the larger bioethics community and related disciplines.