The 16th annual International Conference on Clinical Ethics and Consultation (ICCEC) was held at the Asara Wine Estate in Stellenbosch between November 30th and December 3rd, 2021. The hybrid conference attended by 70 delegates in person and approximately 250 registered online, went ahead after its postponement in April 2020 due to Covid-19. Physical attendance this time was curtailed by the November announcement in South Africa of the Omicron variant and subsequent travel bans imposed by several countries.

The welcome address was delivered by Prof Jimmy Volmink, the former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, after a brief introduction by Prof Keymanthri Moodley, Director of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law and host of ICCEC 2021. As the chair of the ICCEC organising committee, Prof Sharon Kling welcomed all the delegates and described the challenging journey in hosting this conference during the pandemic.