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Workshop on Ethics in University Settings in Khartoum, Sudan
On 26-27 March 2018, UNESCO (the Cairo and Khartoum offices) in cooperation with the University of Khartoum (UoK), UNESCO Chair for Bioethics, organized a Workshop on Ethics in University Settings. The Workshop took place in the Khartoum University and attracted about 40 scholars and functionaries, including some Deans of Faculties and Heads of Research Institutes at the UoK. It was honored by H.E. Haider Mohamed Dafallah, the President of Judiciary in Sudan, H.E Prof. Sumia Abukashawa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Prof. Ahmed Mohamed Suleiman, Vice Chancellor at the University of Khartoum. The Workshop aimed to:
Raise awareness about ethical dimensions in university settings, including academic and research ethics and the ethics linked to university role in community service;
Introduce the University of Khartoum’s code of ethics, including its four supplementary documents covering code of conduct, research ethics committee, academic integrity office and intellectual property;
Make a National Consultation on the Arab Charter of Ethics of Science and Technology, which is currently under development (*).
Opening the Workshop, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Sudan, Dr. Sumaia Abukashawa described the importance of the ethical dimension of all academic work, including scientific research, and called all universities in Sudan to follow the University of Khartoum in developing a Code of Ethics. The University of Khartoum’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ahmed Mohamed Suleiman welcomed the participants and thanked UNESCO for its support to this workshop. Ms. Jana El-Baba, speaking on behalf of Dr. Ghaith Fariz, Director of the UNESCO Regional Bureau in Cairo, thanked the University of Khartoum for collaboration, and congratulated its management for the initiative to develop its own Code of Ethics. She reflected on the synergy between such effort and the UNESCO-supported Arab Charter of Ethics of Science and Technology.
©UNESCO: Workshop on Ethics in University Settings in Khartoum, Sudan, 25/03/2018
All participants commended the efforts concerning the elaboration of the University of Khartoum’s Code of Ethics, as well as the Arab Charter of Ethics of Science and Technology. Comments and feedback were collected for further integration in texts of two draft documents.
(*) The Arab Charter of Ethics of Science and Technology is a joint initiative of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States / Cairo office, the League of Arab States, and a number of regional partners. The elaboration of the Charter stems from the need to frame, support, protect and guide science and technology in the region to become pillars and powerful drivers of sustainable human development.
