Identifying and mitigating biological risks by developing biosafety and biosecurity strategies will form the agenda for an upcoming international conference in Amman.

The third Biosafety and Biosecurity International Conference (BBIC) 2011 will be held from 13-15 September 2011 at El Hassan Science City (EHSC).

“We are delighted to welcome you to El Hassan Science City for the third BBIC conference. We share your drive to apply technology and innovation to health and security challenges,” said Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of El Hassan Science City and the Royal Scientific Society.

“The life sciences, above all research disciplines, offer us the opportunity to work in harmony with our natural and built environment so that the fundamental challenges to the lives of our people are identified and understood.”

“We all have an obligation to the people of our region, whether as scientists or public representatives, to keep them safe from harm and to ensure their wellbeing at all times,” she continued.

“Your focus on affordable biosafety and biosecurity will do much to spawn sustainable programs with the potential to improve many lives. Perhaps more importantly, you will do much to change a mindset that holds scientific intervention to be far removed from our citizens’ everyday needs,” Princess Sumaya concluded.

Princess Sumaya stressed on the ability of technology and innovation to provide the tools needed to secure people against the ongoing existential challenges of our region.

The participants in the conference entitled: “Healthier and More Secure Communities in Middle East & North Africa” will discuss the risks behind using and over-exploiting biotechnology in order to come up with new strategies as well as determine the right methodologies to deal with these threats.

The conference will discuss several biosafety-related issues imposed by the environmental revolution and its implications on the infrastructure of communities.

It will include other matters such as human capacity building, policy and legal issues, environmental issues threatening human, animal and plant life, as well as national biosafety preparedness and planning.

Organized by El Hassan Science City, in cooperation with the International Council for the Life Sciences (ICLS), the conference brings in over 200 participants from more than 29 countries, including life sciences and biosafety experts.