More than 120 people gathered in Biel on 8th May 2018 for a national symposium on the theme of « The search for origin today – current concerns and expectations ».
The people attending the symposium were predominantly professionals in the field of research into origins at cantonal and federal level, but also included people who have been adopted, adoption services as well as adoptive families.
The symposium discussed the change in the Swiss law that widens the possibilities of research into origins, as well as the illegal adoptions in Sri Lanka in the 1980’s. The symposium focused on two subject matters:
• the new technologies of reproduction (medically assisted procreation (MAP) and maternal surrogacy) that bring new challenges in terms of access and of identity rights.
• the new information technologies and social networks that change the means of undertaking the research for origin.
During the discussions the importance of accompanying people in search of their origins with an eventual therapeutic follow-up has been recognised. It has also emphasised the major role of the adoptive families in allowing the adopted child to ask questions about his or her origin and to begin a search if desired.
The symposium proceedings are available in French and German.