The Center for Studies of Bioethics (CSB) was founded in 2012 by Vojin Rakić, Research Professor at the Institute for Social Sciences, Director of CSB, Head of the European Division of the UNESCO Chair for Bioethics, Head of the Serbian Unit of the UNESCO Chair for Bioethics, and Chair of the Cambridge Working Group for Bioethics Education in Serbia. CSB is located in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Today the institute consists of several hundreds of associates. Some of the most famous bioethicists who are Associate Members of CSB include Peter Singer, John Harris, Arthur Caplan, Erik Parens and Ingmar Persson.
The purpose of the Center for the Study of Bioethics is the stimulation of scientific debate on a variety of issues bioethics deals with. CSB envisions to be global in scope. It has a significant number of outstanding associate members from outside the region. It is not supposed to promote specific standpoints, but to stimulate a free exchange of ideas. This philosophical inclusiveness of the Center leads its members to search for solutions to their differences, identifying thereby also specters for potential consensus.
Apart from stimulating and engaging in scientific discussions, the Center for the Study of Bioethics also endeavors to be involved in a broader public debate on issues with a bioethical background. Examples include the social inclusion of people who suffer from rare diseases, disaster bioethics, genetic counseling.
The latter two issues are addressed within the framework of two EU projects CSB is involved in. One of the reasons why CSB is paying attention to the issue of rare diseases is that a number of CSB researchers is active in the framework of the project “Bioethical Aspects: Morally Acceptable Within the Biotechnologically and Socially Possible”. This project is being realized within the scope of a broader project that is funded by the Serbian Ministry of Education and Science: “Rare Diseases: Molecular Pathophysiology, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Modalities, and Social, Ethical, and Legal Aspects”.
CSB researchers are being involved in a number of other public debates as well.