NOVEMBER 2011: DECISIONS OF THE BOARD OF THE IAB
The IAB board has decided that only a two-year membership of the IAB will be possible.
The board also has decided that those whose abstracts are accepted for oral presentation or for a poster with an oral presentation have to be a two-year member of the IAB. Otherwise it will not be possible to present an abstract or a poster.
Institutional membership does not allow one to present a paper or a poster.
The fees for the two-year membership vary according to income, and can be found on the website of the IAB. The membership automatically ends after two years if not renewed.
The Board of the IAB argues as follows:
1. The World Congress is the biennial meeting of the International Association of Bioethics (IAB). It exists because of the IAB.
2. The IAB Congress is primarily a meeting of the Association’s members. Non-members are expected to join the association if they wish to present their work. This is common practice with many conferences when they are linked with associations or learned societies. Each speaker is provided with the environment and opportunity to speak at the IAB Congress in addition to the benefits of attending the conference itself. The benefits linked to attendance follow from paying the normal conference fee. By presenting your work you are joining a community and membership of the IAB is a formal sign of that fact.
3. This rule provides for modest support for the Association, but it is important to see that the IAB is a not-for-profit organisation and each IAB Congress is run to break even and not to make a profit.
4. In addition to being able to present work at the Congress membership of the IAB brings various benefits. It provides the opportunity to meet and discuss your ideas with a community of international colleagues working on similar issues. You can present your work at each Congress, join one or more of the IAB networks and participate in their events. Membership also brings the opportunity to stand and vote in elections for the Board and attend the general meeting that is held at each Congress. You also receive reductions on subscriptions to journals such as Bioethics/Developing World Bioethics, Public Health Ethics etc.