Insights from the Global South for the Revision of the KFPE Guide

Wuelser G, Edwards P (2025)
Lighthouse Programmes in Sustainability Research and Innovation
Swiss Academies Reports 20 (4)

DOI: doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15599260

The Swiss Animal Welfare Act permits the use of animals for certain scientific purposes; at the same time, however, it requires that the dignity of animals be respected and their welfare protected. For researchers, reconciling these various societal interests can be challenging. The ethical guidelines for animal experiments (2025) are designed to clarify the margin of discretion left by the legislation and to encourage researchers to reflect on the handling of animals in their experiments. The decisive factors for updating the previous version from 2005 were new scientific knowledge and research methods on the one hand, as well as changes in the legal framework on the other.

Some of the most pressing challenges worldwide, from global pandemics to the climate and environmental crisis, require efforts at the interface of science, policy, and diplomacy. To this end, skills development for scientists engaged with science for policy and diplomacy is increasingly important, yet relevant educational offers in Switzerland and worldwide remain limited. The Swiss Young Network for Science Policy and Diplomacy, in collaboration with the Geneva Science-Policy Interface and the Franxini Project of Reatch, considered educational offers in science for policy and diplomacy available for early-career academics, including courses, workshops, and webinars in Switzerland, across Europe, and beyond.