This panel will discuss how the recently-adopted UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology can help build bridges within the European neuroethics community and beyond. Co-organized by SINe and RHUNE networks, the objective of the discussion and associated collaborations is to build bridges between regional and national communities, with the UNESCO Guidelines providing a framework for identifying commonalities and differences and developing shared visions for the future.
- Bert Heinrichs (organiser, in-person)
- Elisabetta Sirgiovanni (organiser, in-person)
- Saskia Nagel (in-person)
- Marcello Ienca (in-person)
Agenda
- Short inputs / 20 mins
- Panel discussion / 40 mins
Attend
IMT School for Advanced Studies
Sagrestia Room
Thursday, April 16, 2026
14:00-15:00 CEST
Time check »
Neuroethics 2026
Building Bridges and Cultivating Community
This session is part of the Neuroethics 2026 conference organized by INS and SINe, and hosted by the IMT School for Advanced Studies. Register for the conference to attend in-person at IMT School for Advanced Studies in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy, or to participate virtually.
Description
This panel will discuss how the recently adopted UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology can help build bridges within the European Neuroethics Community and beyond.
As neurotechnologies advance rapidly—ranging from the refinement of older methods such as ECT to entirely new approaches such as digital brain twins—questions of privacy, autonomy, equity, safety, and global justice have become increasingly urgent. The UNESCO Recommendation represents an ambitious normative framework for addressing these brain-related ethical and legal challenges. Yet, its implementation will require coordination across diverse settings, each with its own regulatory infrastructures, sociopolitical realities, and public attitudes toward neurotechnology.
This is precisely the moment to convene a discussion on how different stakeholders interpret and operationalize the Recommendation and whether this discussion might facilitate a community building process within the European Neuroethics Community and beyond.
This session will be co-organized by the Italian SINe association and the German network RHUNE aims at strengthening existing connections and exploring new forms of cooperation. Above all, the objective is to build bridges between regional and national communities, with the UNESCO Guidelines providing a framework for identifying commonalities and differences and developing shared visions for the future. This approach is driven by the conviction that implementation in practice is a challenge that can only be overcome by working together, across regional and national boundaries and, of course, across disciplinary fields, as well as through cooperation between academia, industry, politics, and society.
The panel will comprise of short inputs from two invited speakers as well as representatives from the Italian SINe association and the German RHUNE network, followed by a panel discussion. Together, they will explore opportunities for strengthening cooperation in Europe and beyond and discuss the UNESCO guidelines as a normative framework.
Recording
A recording of this session will be made available to registered attendees.