Since the very earliest of times, man has been a technological animal. He has used his ingenuity to innovate and create tools that have made his existence easier. For this reason, we cannot say that the presence of the technology we know today is an innovative fact; nevertheless, never has technology had the kind of hegemony that it has in our times. This technological preponderance represents an evolutionary stage that we could label the technological era.

Let's start from the point of view that the value of technology does not lie in the fact that it offers us more, rather it is about opening doors to a better world. It is necessary therefore, to consider some ethical parameters that analyse the situation of man immersed in this new environment, and to propose some coordinates for action based on the new demands generated by the technological context. And that is the meaning of the word technoethics.
It is also necessary to find a point of balance between the visions, traditionally opposed to one another, of what has come to be called the two cultures : the culture of scientists/technologists and the culture of men and women “of arts”.
In the midst of these disquisitions, in 1998 the company Epson created the Epson Foundation – Institute of Technoethics , with the aim of promoting debate and finding, in its daily work, ideas that could bridge these two points of view. The institute brings together multi-disciplinary study groups where engineers work with philosophers; and its congresses, conferences, courses, research projects and publications bear the stamp of accurate, ethical reflection.
Amongst its various contributions, we would like to highlight two: firstly, the essay by the philosopher Josep M. Esquirol, the foundation's director, “El respeto a la mirada atenta. Una ética para la era de la ciencia y la tecnología” (Gedisa, 2007), about respect as a fundamental trait of an ethics for a technological society; and, secondly, Mercatec, or The Secondary Education Technology Fair , which is a science fair for technology projects created by secondary school pupils. All the projects at the fair are exhibited as equally important and the aim of the fair is not to single out any individual work above any other, rather it is to offer the recognition of other people, giving credit for work well done. Mercatec is an egalitarian space; it is about taking pleasure in finished work, sharing between teachers, a space where students talk to the public, explaining how they planned their project and how they carried it out, what needs they have met and what they have contributed, technologically-speaking, to a better world.
The Epson Foundation-Institute of Technoethics celebrates its 10 th anniversary this year, working so that men and women and technology can move forward side-by-side into a joint future.

You can find out more about the foundation and Mercatec's activities at www.fundacion-epson.es, and www.fundacion-epson.es/mercatec respectively.