Neuroscientist Lucia Machová Urdzíková is a member of the UNESCO Expert Group

Our neuroscientist and also deputy head of the Department of Neuroregeneration, Lucia Machová Urdzíková, is a member of an expert group within UNESCO whose aim is to create a strategic document for the future use of neurotechnologies and the application of related ethical principles.

Following the decision taken by the 194 Member States of UNESCO during the 42nd session of the General Conference held in November 2023, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has convened a multidisciplinary group of 24 high-level experts, also called the “Ad Hoc Expert Group” (AHEG), to prepare a first draft of the Recommendation on the Ethics of Neurotechnology. Thus, at the end of April, the First Meeting of the AHEG, of which Lucia Machová Urdzíková is a member, took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Today, neurotechnology offers tangible possibilities for enhancing people’s well-being – it brings invaluable promises to alleviate human suffering when it comes to memory or movement loss, as well as in the case of mental health diseases. Globally, 1 in 8 people suffer from a mental disorder, and 1 in 3 people are affected by a neurological condition.

However, neurotechnologies also raise massive risks and concerns that must be addressed by the international community. The future Recommendation is intended to be rooted in universal Human Rights and fundamental freedoms, aiming to keep the trajectory of neurotechnology to be used to promote the welfare of society. The final text of the Recommendation will be presented for adoption in November 2025 at the 43rd session of the General Conference.

More information can be found in the official press release (open in a new window).