Science & Technology with Safety INTRODUTION Modern society has been coming upon new questions in view of the development of biomedical science and technology and of the agricultural biotechnology on a daily basis, demanding more and more the application of control measures in the area and an ethical reflection on the topic. The production of genetically modified crops with altered nutritional or agronomic characteristics is already part and parcel of the current world scientific reality. Experimentation in human beings, genetic manipulation and the regulation of the use of recombinant DNA technology raise questions that need to be widely discussed between science and society. The public debate on biotechnology shows that concerns and anxieties about the possibility of new technological hazards still exist. The establishment of information channels among the scientific community, the governmental control agencies, the media and the society is fundamental in order to allow full access to accurate information without analytical distortions, so as to contribute to correct risk assessment. Biosafety is establishing itself as a multidisciplinary science turned towards the preservation of life in the planet and transcending the control actions of such hazards which may result from modern biotechnology. The new challenges posed by emerging diseases, adequation of public health laboratories, new legal provisions for clinical tests laboratories and hospital treatment units facilities, the need for programmes of waste management in the health sector and industries, the control of the menace imposed by bioterrorism, all that, constitute part of the sphere of action of this largely comprehensive emerging science. Considering those new challenges, the National Biosafety Association (Associação Nacional de Biossegurança - ANBIO), has been created on March 5, 1999; it is a non-profit scientific society, which aims at disseminating Biosafety as science in Brazil acting in the capacity building of human resources and in scientific communication in the field of Biosafety and its interfaces with Life Sciences, Agronomic Sciences, Bioethics and Biolaw. EXECUTIVE BOARD Dra. Leila Macedo Oda - President Dra. Leda Cristina Mendonça - Vice President Anderson Mendonça Teixeira de Castro - Financial Director Dr. José Geraldo Eugênio de França - Scientific Director Antônio Felipe Ferreira Carneiro - Communication Director Dr. Paulo Venicius Macedo - Legal Director Dra. Patrícia Sotto Major Sommer - 1st Secretary Dra. Lucia Helena O. de Souza - 2nd Secretary SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Dr. Akira Homma Dr. Antônio Paes de Carvalho Dr. Carlos Medicis Morel Dr. Edmundo Kanan Marques Dr. Ernesto Paterniani Dr. Luiz Antonio Barreto de Castro Dr. Jonathan Richmond Dr. Julian Kinderlerer AUDIT COMMITTEE Dra. Ednilza de Farias Dias Dra. Marilda de Souza Gonçalves Guttemberg Delfino de Souza HISTORY The Biosafety's consolidation process starts with the formalization of the Biosafety Law (Law 8974 of 1995), with the aim to control the possible hazards of the Recombinant DNA technology. The Biosafety's Law implementation motivated the discussion of other hazards inherent to the scientific and laboratory activities that were not related to the modern biotechnology, but which should equally deserve the establishment of monitoring and control mechanisms. The world-wide alternatives for inclusion of the modern biotechnology in sectors such as health, agriculture and environment are more and more on the agenda - the adoption of the new practices and of the new legal provisions into our daily routine is therefore a challenge for our country. Concurrently, the challenge imposed by the adequation of the laboratory facilities and health care services to accomplish the new demands of the sector in view of the emergence and resurgence of diseases and menaces such as bioterrorism points towards the need for revising and updating the Biosafety procedures and norms within this segment The non-existence of mechanisms enabling the rendering of scientific information to the Brazilian society has led to a growing movement of non-governmental organizations, consumer representative bodies and the media in an attempt to decodify the technoscientificism into a terminology easy to be understood by the general society. In view of such transformations, which do require the permanent interface between science and society, the ANBio - Associação Nacional de Biossegurança (ANBio - National Biosafety Association] was launched as a proposition, which bye-laws were published on March 5, 1999, and made official during the I Brazilian Congress of Biosafety and the I Latin American Symposium on Transgenic Products held in Rio de Janeiro, that occurred from the 26 to 29 September of that year. Ever since, ANBio is contributing towards consolidation of Biosafety as a science in Brazil and, nowadays, counts on approximately 400 membership. Placing emphasis on the paramount activity of enhancing the public perception of the new biotechnology under the focus of Biosafety, ANBio held 14 events within this short period of its existence, amongst which two Congresses, whereby the third Congress is currently at an organisational stage and is foreseen to be held on the 24 September of 2003, when the 50 years of the discovery of the structure of the DNA will be commemorated. In addition to that, ANBio publishes its Newspaper, which is presently in its second year, a weekly Newsletter, a Web Site, and is developing an unprecedented project with the support of CNPq (The Brazilian National Scientific and Technological Development Council), entitled Art and Science to the Society, which includes the preparation of an interactive CD-Rom with the title Constructing the City of Science, with a game playing/didactic content, and of a theatre play which will focus on how some new discovers in science can frighten the society. INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS The purpose as defined in ANBio´s bye-laws is that of consolidating actions directed towards the technical and scientific development of Biosafety in Brazil, making viable a "locus" for discussion and diffusion of information on the subject for the different segments of the Brazilian society ANBio has been establishing co-operation partnerships with related institutions abroad, such as American Biological Safety Association - ABSA, the European Biosafety Association- EBSA and has been collaborating in the foundation of the Japanese Biosafety Association. ANBio is the first Latin American scientific entity to be recognised by those entities and invited to participate in the Biosafety International Working Group in which related institutions in the world take part. ANBio has been following in international fora the discussions on the regulation and standardisation of Biosafety, current themes such as the Convention on Biodiversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Conventions on Chemical and Biological Weapons, the norms of the Codex alimentarius for safety and labelling, and the evaluation of foods produced by modern biotechnology, amongst others. ANBio participates in the Latin American Technological Development Network (REVYDET) which has been holding its events concurrently with ANBio Congresses in Brazil. Further ANBio, as an international co-operation partner, has been invited by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) to be the focal point in Latin America for dissemination of Biosafety information of products resulting from modern biotechnology, distributing free of charge leaflets and CD-ROM on the topic for those interested in the subject. PURPOSES The National Biosafety Association (ANBio) established in 1999 is non-profit association with the purpose of promoting Biosafety as a scientific subject. Its membership is composed of highly qualified professionals from the scientific milieu, belonging to public and private institutions, who work in the field of Biosafety and related lines such as Bioethics and Biolaw. The purposes of ANBio are: to disseminate the knowledge relating to Biosafety and practices thereof as a scientific subject; to congregate specialists in order to promote a discussion and information forum on all topics relating to Biosafety and related subjects; to provide advisory services to members and entities interested in Biosafety; to contribute towards perfecting the biosafety conditions of scientific institutions, in order to meet the needs of research and learning centres in Brazil; to encourage the continuous improvement of staff through the promotion of scientific events, courses and exchange of national and foreign researchers; to carry out technical evaluations at institutions directed towards activities in Biosafety, reviewing facilities, equipment and legal requisites, according to what provides Law 8974/95 and other pertaining legislation; to qualify and instruct professionals in charge of implementing Biosafety practices in the institutions in order to fulfil the legal requirements provided in Brazilian and international legislation. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY ANBio Since its foundation ANBio has been acting as the only institution in Brazil, that is exclusively turned towards Biosafety capacity building of human resources and the dissemination of information on the subject. Since then it seeks to identify co-operation partnerships in Brazil and abroad in order to promote courses, symposia and training in the most varied segments of Biosafety, where a real gap exists in Brazil. For systematisation and diffusion of Biosafety information, ANBio has a bimonthly newspaper with a printing of 25,000 copies which is freely distributed to universities, research centres, clinical tests laboratories, public health laboratories, professional councils and all other interested parties. In addition to the newspaper which is also made available on the web site www.anbio.org.br, ANBio has launched this year (2002) an on line Newsletter, freely available on a weekly basis for all those interested, containing a synthesis of the issues related to Biosafety which came out during the week. In the capacity building of human resources in Biosafety ANBio has been carrying out specific training, counting on the co-operation partnership from Brazilian and international development bodies, rendering possible to offer scholarships and gratuities for professionals from the public sector in the said courses. 1999 June Biosafety Course on laboratory facilities and procedures. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 1 and 2 Participants: 26 Scholarships: 10 ANBio launches its web site: www.anbio.org.br   July ANBio signs an agreement with United Nations Enviromnental Programme - UNEP.   August Biosafety Course on laboratory facilities and procedures. Venue: : Salvador Date: 16 and 17 Participants: 32 Scholarships: 23 ANBio signs an agreement with Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.   September I Brazilian Congress on Biosafety I Latin America Symposium of Transgenic Products. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 26 to 29 Participants: 247 Scholarships: 83 ANBio signs an agreement with FINEP, CNPq and CAPES. 2000 March Biosafety Course for R & D Managers and Technicians. Venue: Brasilia Date: 20 to 22 Participants: 56 Scholarships: 45   May Latin American Workshop: Translating Biosafety of Transgenic Products to the media. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 25 to 26 Participants: 56 Scholarships: 16   Biosafety Course on Transgenic Products Attorneys. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 25 to 26 Participants: 44 Scholarships: 9   Meeting of REVYDET. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 25 to 27 Participants: 20 Scholarships: 10   June CNPq invites ANBio to develop a project on capacity building on biosafety within the country. The aim of the project is to launch pos graduation biosafety courses in Brazilian Universities.   September I North - Northest meeting on Biosafety and transgenic products. Course on Biosafety Audit of Transgenic Products Biosafety Course for Health Workers. enue: Recife Date: 27 to 29 participants: 121 Scholarships: seven   December I Carioca Forum of TransgenicProducts. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 1 ANBio´s Newsletter is lauched. 2001 April I Potiguar forum on Biosafety and technology development. Venue: Natal Date: 26 Participants: 100 Scholarships: 60   May Symposium on legal implications of biosafety to the development of biotechnology in Brazil. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: 14 to 25 Participants: 80 Scholarships: 30   July Analytical methods for identification of GMOs. Venue: Rio de Janeiro Date: : 16 to 18 Participants: 108 Scholarships:15   September Analytical Methods for identification of GMOs. Venue: São Paulo Date: 3 to 6 Participants: 80 Scholarships:20   II Brazilian Congress on Biosafety and II Latin-American Symposium on Transgenic Products. Venue: Salvador Date: 26 to 28 Participants: 350 Scholarships:20 2002 EVENTS SCHEDULE MaY Workshop on Enzymes for the Food Industry. Date: 6 Venue: Brasilia   Course Technology and Risk Management to Managers and Executive Board Date: 23 and 24 Venue: São Paulo   June I Biosafety Symposium of Biotechnological Processes Applied to Nutrition. Date: 13 and 14 Venue: São Paulo   August Theoretical and Practical Course on Detection of GMOs in Food and Development of an Interlaboratorial Screening for Lab Certification. Date: 12 to 16 Venue: Recife   September Seminar: Understanding the Language of Biotechnology - Cloning, Transgenic, Therapy with Steam Cells - What are These? Date: 16 to 18 Venue: Rio de Janeiro CORPORATE AND INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS instituto evandro chagas cargill transgênica biotecnologia azepack di blasi advogados aventis monsanto syngenta OUR WORK IN BRAZIL IS SUPPORTED BY CNPq UFRJ EMBRAPA FIOCRUZ FAPERJ FINEP Instituto Adolph Lutz Revista de Biotecnologia Fundação Dalmo Giacometti CAPES AVIPE UFMG UFBA UFCE UFPB UFPE UFRN UniverCidade UFPEL SENAC LACEN-ES ABNT FIEMG Sociedade Brasileira de Genética Secretaria de Estado e Desenvolvimento Social do Pará Sociedade Brasileira de Microbiologia Governo da Bahia Banco do Nordeste Bahiatursa Universidade Federal da Bahia Prefeitura de Recife Prefeitura de Salvador OUR WORK ABROAD IS SUPPORTED BY American Biological Safety Association - ABSA European Biosafety Association - EBSA Center for Disease control and Prevention - CDC African Center for Technology Studies - ACTS/Kenya Programas das Nações Unidas para o Meio Ambiente - UNEP/Kenya Sheffield Institute of Biotechnology, Laws and Ethics - Sible/UK International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Aplications - ISAAA Rede Iberoamericana de Desenvolvimento Tecnológico - REVYDET/Argentina ©2001 ANBio - Associação Nacional de Biossegurança. All rights reserved.