AFRICAN-ASIAN INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON PUBLIC HEALTHCARE BIOETHICS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH: HONOURING 100 YEARS OF NELSON MANDELA LEGACY

i. Introduction

Building on the legacy of Nelson Mandela, and in the spirit of the Asia-Africa Summit held in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia; the Forum is a joint initiative of the following institutions in Africa and Asia: DST-NRF Centre in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CIKS), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa; Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS); Forum for Former African Heads of Stste and Government, formally known as Africa Forum; Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE), eThekwini Municipality; Medical Laboratory Association of Nepal (MELAN); the UNESCO Youth Peace Ambassadors; International Programme of Eubios Ethics Institute, New Zealand, Japan and Thailand; and American University of Sovereign Nations, Arizona (USA), Japan and Thailand.  

Africa and Asia have the largest number of children and youth vulnerable to the social injustices including poverty, inequality, conflicts, unemployment, environmental degradation, climate change and human rights abuse.  Nelson Mandela articulated his views about children, youth, family, and home in various national and international platforms including initiating action to mitigate against the plight of children and youth, nationally and globally.  He also emphasized the importance for youth to have a sense of cultural identity and moral value systems, which guide behaviour and attitudes in challenging situations.  The Forum will bring together youth and those working with youth to discuss public healthcare bioethical challenges, including community-based solutions pertaining children and youth in Africa and Asia.

ii. Conceptualising Bioethics:  Africa-Asia Context

Bioethics, in the African context, is premised on the pursuit of sustainable livelihood and love of life.  This coincides with the Asian perspective of bioethics as the love of life.   In the African perspective this is reflected in the Ubuntu values and the symbiotic relationship of humans and other support systems of life.  This implies in both African and Asian philosophies the relationship between bioethics, ecosystems and livelihood are strongly related to overall wellbeing.  The development of policy frameworks in Africa and Asia has not given sufficient recognition on the linkage between bioethics, ecosystems, livelihood and wellbeing.  It is on the basis of this acknowledgement, an initiative has been taken to organise an Africa-Asia Forum on Public Healthcare Bioethics for Children and Youth in both continents. 

This initiative on Africa-Asia Bioethics Forum is inspired by two major aspects in the relationship between the two continents.  The first is the Asia-Africa Summit held in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia resulting into a strong movement of non-aligned countries.  The initiative is also inspired by the wise and indefatigable leadership of Nelson Mandela who once said at a luncheon hosted by United Nations in 2002: "History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children."  He also shared his passionate views on the importance of family, when he said in a letter to his wife Winnie Mandela, written on Robben Island, 22 June 1969: "From experience I have found that a family photo is everything in prison and you must have it right from the beginning".  This highlights the perspective of the family as an African indigenous institution in bioethics. 

As we convene this Africa-Asia Forum on Public Healthcare Bioethics for Children and Youth we are also celebrating the 100 years of Nelson Mandela’s legacy and consolidating the relationship between Africa and Asia built on the spirit of the Bandung Asia-Africa Summit (1955).   The underlying theme of this Bioethics Forum is the wellbeing is Children and Youth.  Africa and Asia have the largest number of children and youth vulnerable to the social injustices including poverty, inequality, conflicts, unemployment, environmental degradation, climate change and human rights abuse.  Moreover, more than 10 million children die each year from preventable causes.

Nelson Mandela articulated the importance for youth to have a sense of cultural identity and moral value systems, which guide behaviour and attitudes in challenging situations.  He voiced his views about children, youth, family, and home in various national and international platforms including initiating action to mitigate against the plight of children and youth, nationally and globally. He expressed his pride in culture in the following words:

“Their background, you know, influences most men. I grew up in a country village until I was twenty-three, when I then left the village for Johannesburg […] I came to Johannesburg and learned…to absorb Western standards of living and so on. But …my opinions were already formed from the countryside and…you’ll therefore appreciate my enormous respect for my own culture…indigenous culture…” (Mandela, 2010:9).   

He also emphasised that: 

“Western civilization has not entirely rubbed off my African background and I have not forgotten the days of my childhood when we used to gather round community elders to listen to their wealth of wisdom and experience. That was the custom of our forefathers and the traditional school in which we were brought up (Mandela, 2010:23).”

The challenge for both Africa and Asia, is that in spite of their rich biodiversity and diverse indigenous knowledge systems they have not been able to optimise these resources to mitigate the challenges of poverty, unemployment, food insecurity and malnutrition facing children and youth.   For instance, Africa has 60% of arable land and the largest proportion of youth in the world, yet Africa has not been able to effectively improve the quality of life of children and youth.  

iii. Background

The above historical and conceptual perspectives of bioethics and the Africa-Asia relationship provided the basis for initiating the Forum.  Building on the legacy of Nelson Mandela, and in the spirit of the Asia-Africa Summit held in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia, the DST-NRF Centre in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (CIKS), University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South Africa has joined the Forum for Former African Heads of State and Government, formally known as Africa Forum; Medical Laboratory Association of Nepal (MELAN); the Youth Peace Ambassadors International programme of Eubios Ethics Institute, New Zealand, Japan and Thailand; and American University of Sovereign Nations, Arizona (USA), Japan and Thailand, to motivate youth to find their identity and to instil in them a bioethics (love of life) to unshackle the constraints of structured paternalism and abuse that is endemic.

In 2013 these partners worked together to establish a new global decolonised space for learning, American University of Sovereign Nations (AUSN) which brings students and faculty together from over 40 countries around the world.  On 1-3 March 2018, an International Training workshop on Bioethics and Global Public Health was jointly organized in Kathmandu, Nepal, by the American University of Sovereign Nations (AUSN), USA; Youth’s UNESCO Club (Nepal), Eubios Ethics Institute, CIKS, UKZN, South Africa, and the Medical Laboratory Association of Nepal (MELAN). The majority of the participants were from Asian countries with some representation from Africa, the Americas and Pacific. One of the major outcomes of this international workshop in its promotion of bioethics for global public health was the recommendation to organize an Africa-Asia Forum on Bioethics (love of life) for Children and Youth in honour of Nelson Mandela’s legacy in promoting justice and human rights for children and youth. 

The initiative for the Forum is supported by other African countries, especially Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania as a response and support to the South Africa’s government decision to dedicate the year 2018 for celebrating Nelson Mandela’s legacy. The former South Africa’s State President would have turned 100 years old this year. The support for the Forum gathered momentum at the Intensive Bioethics, Sustainability, Peace and Global Public Health Training Workshop held in Thailand (5-7 March 2017) organized by Chulalongkorn University, AUSN, Eubios Ethics Institute, the CIKS, UKZN, South Africa, and the International Peace and Development Ethics Centre, Thailand.  The Forum also has the enthusiastic support of the All Indian Bioethics Association, the Bangladesh Bioethics Society and the Asian Bioethics Association, along with Youth Peace Ambassadors International and United Nations Academic Impact. Asian countries have through the non-alignment movement and other forms on international solidarity, supported the African National Congress (ANC) and other liberation movements in Africa against colonialism and apartheid. 
 

iv. Objective

The Forum will bring together youth and those working with youth to share knowledge and experience on how Africa and Asia can interface Indigenous Knowledge (IKS) and other knowledge systems to mobilise and harness the potential of their youth and mitigate the challenges facing the wellbeing of children and youth to build sustainable ethical global communities. 

v. Forum Symposia

• Bioethics, Children, Youth and Public Healthcare in Africa and Asia
• Bioethics and Human Rights for Children and Youth
• Impact of Corruption on Bioethics for Children and Youth Wellbeing
• Integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Public Healthcare, Environmental Preservation and Bioethics for children and youth Wellbeing
• African and Asian Philosophies and Religions on Children and Youth Wellbeing
• South-South Cooperation on Bioethics and Global Public Health for and by Children and Youth in Africa and Asia
• Bioethics of Climate Change and Adaptation for Children and Youth Wellbeing
• Bioethics in Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable Agricultural Development

vi. Expected Outcomes of the International Forum

• Launch of a Nelson Mandela Africa-Asia Bioethics Platform for Children and Youth
• Social Media Network of Youth Peace Ambassadors to Promote Love of Life (Bioethics)
• Enhanced South-South Cooperation on Bioethics and Global Public Health for and by Children and Youth in Africa and Asia
• Report of Forum Proceedings
• Africa-Asia Multi-country Research Teams on Applied Bioethics for Children and Youth
• Integration of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Public Healthcare, Environmental Preservation and Bioethics for children and youth
• Declaration on Bioethics and the Love of Life by Global Youth

Abstract Submission Guidelines  

Interested stakeholders will be required to prepare abstracts for full papers or poster presentations on any of the subthemes under the three abovementioned thematic areas:

Abstract Guidelines:  Maximum Length 200 – 300 words.  It should provide a brief overview of the selected Forum sub-theme in relation to love of life in public healthcare for children and youth in Africa and Asia.  The element of community-based knowledge and value systems should be clearly expounded in the abstract. 

Important Dates

• Notification of selected papers and participants: 29 June 2018
• Submission of final papers and preparation of travel logistics: 27 July 2018

 Registration Fees

For forum registration details contact: