Held on the margins of the ninth session of the Working Group for Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), this event will explore key considerations in designing a science and technology advisory mechanism for the Convention.
The event will draw on the experience of comparable bodies to show the benefits of science and technology review mechanisms, highlight their value and inform and support ongoing design processes under the BWC.
Organized as part of UNIDIR’s Science and Technology Watchtower project, and in collaboration with the BWC Implementation Support Unit and its joint series of Technical Briefs on emerging technologies and the Biological Weapons Convention, this event will focus particularly on questions surrounding the identification of topics within a scientific advisory body, the dynamics of consensus in such bodies, as well as questions surrounding their composition.
Speakers
- Dr Andrea Leisewitz, Director of Integrity, Safety and Ethics in Research, Universidad San Sebastián.
- Madeleine Hamel, Project Lead, Science and Technology, United Nations University Centre for Policy Research.
- Anne-Sophie Stevance, Policy Director, International Science Council.
- Ljupčo Gjorgjinski, BioResilience, North Macedonia.
Moderated by Dr James Revill, Head of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme, UNIDIR.
When and where
Thursday, 20 August 2026 | 13:15 – 14:45 CEST | Building A, Room IX, Palais des Nations, Geneva and online.
Check your local time here.
RSVP
For in-person attendance, please register here.
For online attendance, please register here.
Participants
The sessions are open to State representatives, civil society, academics and industry experts working on or interested in science and technology issues pertaining to the Biological Weapons Convention.
Further information
For any questions, please contact Clarisse Bertherat at clarisse.bertherat@un.org or Federico Mantellassi at federico.mantellassi@un.org.
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