The Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics (CILE) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) will host the World Congress of Bioethics in the summer of 2024. The conference will be hosted in partnership with the World Innovation the World Innovative Summit for Health (WISH), Qatar Foundation’s global health initiative. 

The biennial congress has been named as the largest gathering of bioethics thought-leaders in the world, and was awarded to CILE, part of HBKU’s College of Islamic Studies (CIS), by the International Association of Bioethics (IAB). The 2024 edition marks the first time the World Congress of Bioethics will be hosted in the Middle East and the Gulf region more specifically. 

In a public address, the IAB welcomed the opportunity to build bridges across cultures, foster mutual learning among bioethicists from around the world, and in the process, fulfill its mission to be an international association. 

The formal announcement has been made at the 16th World Congress of Bioethics held at the University of Basel, Switzerland in July. Dr. Mohamed Ghaly, a professor of Islam and biomedical ethics at CILE, took part in the congress, providing his latest insights with a focus on the intersection of Islamic ethics and biomedical sciences.

Revealing WISH’s support for the event, Mrs. Sultana N. Afdhal, CEO of WISH, said: “CILE have quickly established themselves as leaders in the field of Islamic bioethics. At WISH, we’ve greatly valued the opportunity to work with the talented team at CILE on research projects over recent years, and to use our summit to encourage global health experts to consider bioethics from an Islamic perspective. We very much look forward to supporting all efforts to host a successful World Congress of Bioethics in 2024.” 

For IAB, the biennial congress is one of the platforms to facilitate networking and the exchange of ideas and resources among those in bioethics and related fields in different parts of the world. 

In hosting the Bioethics World Congress, CILE continues its strong track record of bringing together researchers from other countries to participate in HBKU’s academic events.

In his closing statement, Dr. Mohamed Ghaly, Professor at CILE, said: “HBKU’s hosting of the 2024 congress signals a significant move towards a truly international exchange that engages voices from outside the Western and secular bioethical discourse. My sincere thanks to my colleagues at HBKU and WISH, who supported this opportunity. With their continued collaboration, CILE will plan for an exceptional congress in Doha that brings together a range of ethical perspectives.”