Who could have imagined 12 years ago, that the global ethic idea would develop into a world-renowned programme with a comprehensive agenda for intercultural understanding and dialogue and for the communication of ethical values? Who could have imagined then, that a small but highly efficient team centred around Hans Küng would be able, not only to pursue comprehensive fundamental research in these questions, but also to develop diverse instruments for the further elaboration and propagation of ethical standards and consciousness, awakening enthusiastic interest on the part of leading representatives of the political, economic, religious, and cultural spheres.
 

All this was possible only because, already quite early, the scholarly foundations were laid in Prof. Küng’s theological works written in the 1960’s and 1970’s and in his publications in subsequent years, which expanded the theological perspective to include the world religions. This phase of his work brought the global ethic theme increasingly into focus. Thanks to the generous initiative of Count Karl Konrad von der Groeben, the Global Ethic Foundation was established in 1995. Since then, the scholarly elaboration of global ethic themes has been pushed forward by comprehensive studies devoted to the world religions and to the diverse ethical aspects of culture, politics, the economy, and society. At the same time, instruments for the propagation of global ethic ideas have also been developed and, in the future, the dissemination of global ethic ideas in the media, in particular via the Internet, will play an increasingly important role in the operations of the Foundation.
 

With all this, we have made major steps forward in the course of 2007. The following report aims to give an overview of our diverse successful activities.

The Global Ethic Foundation as host to five former heads of government

In the days preceding his lecture, Helmut Schmidt together with the former heads of government Carlsson (Sweden), Fraser (Australia), Majali (Jordan) and Vranitzky (Austria) took part in a meeting in Tübingen of the high-ranking Expert Group of the InterAction Council (IAC). The Expert Group, which includes Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Jewish and Muslim religious scholars, met from the 5th to the 8th of May at the invitation of the Global Ethic Foundation to discuss the topic “World religions as a factor in world politics”. On the part of the Foundation, Professors Küng and Kuschel served as experts for Christianity and Dr. Schlensog for Hinduism. The InterAction Council is a working group made up of former heads of state and government. Prof. Küng is an associate member of the group; he took part in the annual assembly of the IAC in Vienna from May 21 to 23.

Prof Küng as member of the board of the “Global Humanitarian Forum”

The President of the Foundation was called by former UN General Secretary Kofi Annan to membership in the Board of the “Global Humanitarian Forum”, an institution, which he founded in cooperation with the Swiss Foreign Ministry. Prof. Küng participated in the opening meeting in Geneva on 17 October 2007

Global Ethic International

Expansion in Latin America

With much energy and utmost efficiency, partners of the Foundation in Brazil, Columbia, and Mexico have organised lecture tours for Prof. Küng in their respective countries and have founded or are in the process of founding their own national global ethic foundations. In all these countries, the global ethic idea has evoked significant interest in politics and in the economy, in academic circles and among diverse representatives of other sectors of society. Prof. Küng’s lectures attracted thousands of hearers.

 
• Brazil: Thanks to the intensive engagement of Prof. Paolo Soethe, Curitiba), Prof. Küng, in the course of his tour from 19 to 28 October, was able to hold lectures in various cities and in various state and religious institutions, among them a lecture to the members of the Brazilian Parliament in the capital city of Brasilia. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Federal University in Juiz de Fora. First steps have been taken toward the establishment of a Brazilian Global Ethic Foundation.
 

• Columbia: Thanks to the engagement of Carlos Paz, lawyer and project promoter in Bogotá, a Global Ethic Foundation has been established in Columbia. In the course of his tour (17–24 March), Prof. Küng held a series of lectures in Spanish at two universities in Bogotá, which were broadcast to other universities in the country and were discussed in scholarly colloquia. In addition, Carlos Paz has undertaken to spread the global ethic idea in Chile.
 

• Mexico: Already in 2006, the businessman and philanthropist Gerardo Martinez Cristerna with his wife Maria Martinez Cristerna had established a Global Ethic Foundation. In the course of his lecture tour (24–30 March) accompanied by Dr. Schlensog, Prof. Küng was able to give further impulses to the activities of the Mexican Foundation.

Expansion in Central Europe
 

• Hungary: Thanks to the initiative and engagement of Gábor Glückmann, a Hungarian residing in Tübingen, a Hungarian Global Ethic Foundation was founded in Budapest. With a Christian and Islamic congress in November in Budapest, the Foundation made its public debut. The Hungarian Foundation now has its own Internet website (www.vilagetosz.hu) and has made possible the publication of the booklet World Religions – Universal Peace – Global Ethic in Hungarian.
 

• Croatia: Under the leadership of the economics expert Josip Baotic, a Croatian Global Ethic Foundation is in the process of formation. At the 11th Croatian Forum organised by Baotic in Zagreb on 8 November, Prof. Küng gave two lectures in connection with the publication of a Croatian version of his book A Global ethic for global politics and economics. He also had a conversation with President Stepan Mesic. In Split he was awarded the prize of the Croatian Academic Society as the “extraordinary personality of dialogue in 2006” and was named an honorary member of the society.
 

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: In Sarajevo, a group of young Christian and Muslim theologians under the leadership of Alen Kristic meet to discuss the global ethic themes. Several fundamental texts have already been translated into the language of the land. At an academic inter-religious meeting (31 May to 3 June), Dr. Martin Bauschke, representative of the Global Ethic Foundation in Berlin, held three lectures. Plans are under way to found a Global Ethic Association.

Dialogue between Jews, Christians, and Muslims: Contacts in the Near East

In a time of growing mistrust towards Muslims and an ongoing explosive situation in the Near East, the Global Ethic Foundation is especially concerned to foster the dialogue between Jews, Christians, and Muslims and to call attention to what these three religions share in common in the ethical sphere.
 

As a valuable new basis for this dialogue, Prof. Karl-Josef Kuschel, Vice-President of the Foundation, has published a comprehensive new book, Juden, Christen, Muslime. Herkunft und Zukunft (Jews, Christians, Muslims: Past and Future, Düsseldorf: Patmos, 2007). Therein, the author proposes a new approach to theological reflection based on the interconnections between the three Abrahamic religions. This book promises to become a standard work for the three-way dialogue.
 
In December 2007, Prof. Küng’s lecture tour to Cairo and Damascus (30 Nov. – 6 Dec.) proved to be an event of considerable religious-political significance. Particularly important for the spread of the global ethic idea in the Arab world was his lecture and the ensuing high-ranking colloquium at the American University in Cairo, which were backed up by a television appearance and diverse press interviews. The occasion for these events was the publication of a collection of Prof. Küng’s essays in Arabic by the Cairo publisher Dar al-Shorouk and of a special Near East version in English of his book Islam by the American University Press in Cairo.
 

At the invitation of the Goethe Institute in Damascus and of the Syrian publisher Dar al-Fikr, Prof. Küng spoke in Damascus to an audience of religious representatives, students and general public. The programme included a dialogue with the prominent Syrian religious scholar Dr. Said Ramadan Al-Buti.
 

In the Grand Mosque of the Oman Sultanate, Prof. Küng again held a lecture on December 30.
 

Inspired by a public appeal of Karim Aga Kahn IV, the religious head of the Isma’ili Muslims, urging the need for shared ethical standards uniting the cultures, contact was made in spring 2007 with the widely renowned and world-wide active Aga Khan Foundation. In a preliminary conversation with Prof. Küng and Dr. Schlensog at the Foundation’s centre in Gouvieux near Paris, the possibilities for cooperation in the educational sphere were discussed, with special attention to the Global Ethic Foundation’s Internet learning platform “A Global Ethic Now”, which is currently under construction. When the project has been realized, Dr. Schlensog will make a presentation to experts of the Aga Khan Foundation in the hope of obtaining support for the translation into other languages besides German and English.

Further international activities

Prof. Küng likewise held lectures in Istanbul (at the invitation of the city’s administration), in Montreal and Ottawa in Canada, and in Yosemite in California, where the Templeton Foundation sponsored a conference on brain research. He also spoke in several cities in Switzerland.
 

Prof. Karl-Josef Kuschel, Vice-President of the Foundation, was appointed vicechairman of the German – East Asian Scientific Forum of the University of Tübingen. Together with the universities in Stuttgart and Hohenheim, this Forum organises scientific exchange and cooperation with partners in China, Korea, and Japan. Prof. Kuschel gave the opening lecture at the German – Japanese Symposium held at the University of Tübingen in 2007. In addition, he lectured in various cities in Germany and gave a guest lecture at the University of Salzburg at the opening of the “Bachl Lecture Series”.
 

Dr. Stephan Schlensog held talks at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics of the Jesuit Santa Clara University in California with an eye to future cooperation. Preceding these talks, he had accompanied Prof. Küng on his trip to Mexico. Dr. Schlensog again held numerous lectures in Germany and Switzerland. Alongside his organisational and administrative tasks as Secretary General of the Foundation, Dr. Schlensog has been working intensively on the realisation of the Internet project “A Global Ethic Now” and has completed the collection of educational materials under the title “Global Ethic in the Schools” (see below).
 

Dr. Günther Gebhardt, in addition to his various lectures in Germany, was particularly active in the propagation of the global ethic idea in France. In connection with the presentations of the French version of the Exhibition “World Religions – Universal Peace – Global Ethic”, he held lectures in Aix-en-Provence, Mulhouse, and Strasbourg. He continues his work as personal assistant to Prof. Küng.

Dr. Martin Bauschke, representative of the Foundation in Berlin and the new federal states, took part in several initiatives for inter-religious dialogue, held numerous lectures in Germany, and intensified contacts with schools in Berlin. He initiated talks in Sarajevo with a view toward further global ethic activities there.

Global Ethic and the economy

A globalised economy requires a global ethical framework in order to develop for the wellbeing of all human beings. From the beginning, this conviction has been the guiding principle of the work of the Foundation with business enterprises and leading personalities of the economic sphere. Under the leadership of Prof. Josef Wieland, an expert in economic ethics from the University of Constance, a close-knit working group composed of economic experts and members of the Foundation has been working on a Declaration for a Global Economic Ethic intended to serve as the basis for future cooperation with economic enterprises to promote intercultural and ethical competence on the part of decision-makers and their co-workers. The increasing engagement of the Foundation in the economic sphere is supported by the Karl Schlecht Foundation.

Global Ethic in educational work and the schools

From the beginning, educational work – alongside basic research and international cooperation – has been a major concern of the Global Ethic Foundation, with special attention being given to the general public and to school education. The team members hold frequent lectures and often participate in programmes of teacher training. Over the years, with the cooperation of teachers with practical experience, a multitude of pedagogical materials have been developed.
 

An extensive collection of such teaching materials reflecting the current state-of-theart has been put together by Dr. Schlensog and Walter Lange, a high school teacher, under the title Weltethos in der Schule (Global ethics in the school). Counting some 290 pages, this collection presents texts, worksheets, and teaching units, developed by teachers and tested in the practice, dealing with different aspects of the global ethics themes and designed to be used in conjunction with the diverse media offered by the Foundation. This collection can be purchased at the Internet Shop of the Foundation.
 

In Berlin, Dr. Martin Bauschke has started a school initiative, in the framework of which presentations and teaching projects dealing with global ethic themes are being offered in selected schools.

Publicity and the media

To help publicise the programme and activities of the Foundation, an attractive new booklet about the Foundation has been published in December. In colour and in a handy format, this booklet can be obtained from the Foundation.
 

The Internet presentation of the Foundation (www.weltethos.org) has been updated and enlarged, particularly the German pages, but increasingly also the French pages. The English version has undergone a thorough revision. The Internet Shop, with its extensive range of easy to order books, media, and didactic material, attracts more and more customers, not only private persons but also schools and other educational institutions. The book section offers all the literature published within the Foundation. Shipping within Germany is free.
 
The interactive Internet learning platform “A Global Ethic Now”, on which Dr. Schlensog and Julia Willke, M.A., have been working, has made considerable progress and should be available for use in German and English in autumn 2008.
 
For the graphic presentation and technical implementation of the Foundation’s Internet presence over the years, special thanks goes to the Medienstudio Christoph Lang in Rottenburg.
 

Prof. Küng and other members of the Foundation’s team are frequently asked for contributions to the press and the media. Particularly influential were four television programmes broadcast by Swiss Television SF, DRS, and 3sat in the series “Sternstunde Religion”, in which Prof. Küng conducted individual, hour and a half conversations about global ethic with four prominent personalities, Protestant Bishop Dr. Margot Kässmann (Hannover), former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Daniel Vasella, CEO of the Novartis pharmaceutical concern, and the former Swiss Bundesrat (Confederation Minister) Adolf Ogi.

The Exhibition “World Religions – Universal Peace – Global Ethic”

The booklet for the exposition is now available in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia. The travelling exhibition in its diverse versions has been shown this year not only in diverse European countries but also in Columbia, Mexico and Brazil.

• In Germany, it has been shown in Castrop-Rauxel, Datteln, Taucha, Cologne (at the Protestant Kirchentag), Baiersbronn, Essen, Emmelshausen, Leverkusen, Bretten, and Schleswig. The German version was also shown in Bolzano in Italy. The smaller poster version has been shown in many places, particularly in schools.

• In Switzerland, the exhibition was shown in Dietlikon (ZH), Lausanne and Burier (La Tour-de-Peilz, VD).

• In France, it was shown in Aix-en-Provence, Mulhouse, and Strasbourg.

• In Great Britain, coordinated by Rev. Alan Race (Leicester), it was shown in Sheffield and Oxford. 

Global Ethics Foundations in various countries

The Global Ethic Foundation Switzerland, whose president is likewise Prof. Küng, stands in close contact with the German Foundation and time and again supports activities in the international sphere. Especially helpful were the strategy discussions initiated by the Advisory Board of the Swiss Foundation, in particular by Vice- President Heinz Müller, to clarify the medium- to long-term perspectives of the Foundation’s work. Once again it was made clear, that all planning depends upon the continuing financial backing of the Foundation and that its ongoing work can only be guaranteed by an expansion of its financial basis. As a result of various consultations involving external experts, Dr. Diana Segantini was named international representative with special responsibility for fundraising.
 

Once again, the activities of the Swiss Foundation in 2007 were concentrated in the French language area. The school competition dealing with the global ethic theme under the title “Main dans la main” (www.mdlm.ch) proved a resounding success, as was shown at the awards’ presentation in Lausanne on 25 May. Nine of the 32 entries submitted – all of them quite creative – were honoured with monetary prizes. In all, over 1000 students of all age groups and school types participated in the competition. Consideration is being given to organising a second competition for the school year 2008/2009. With the departure of former Executive Secretary Guido Baumann for Thailand in August 2007, the Lassalle-Haus in Bad Schönbrunn near Zug, under the direction of Dr. Christian Rutishauser, has assumed the functions of the business office for the Swiss Global Ethic Foundation.
 

Repeating its successful lecture series at the University of Vienna in the years 2005 and 2006, the Global Ethic Initiative Austria (www.weltethos.at) has again initiated and helped organise a lecture series, this time at the Technical University of Vienna from 8 October 2006 to 28 January 2007, under the theme “Ethic and Technology”. Among the 14 lecturers were Prof. Anton Pelinka, President of the Austrian Initiative, Mag. Edith Riether, General Secretary of the Initiative, and six other members of the Initiative. The book containing the talks of the first lecture series (2005/06) under the title Weltethos – Weltfrieden – Weltreligionen (Global Ethic – Universal Peace – World Religions) as edited by Prof. Erwin Bader, was published in 2007. In the course of the year, various members of the Initiative held lectures on global ethic themes, particularly in educational institutions. Thanks to the engagement of the Board member, Mag. Dr. Michael Weiss, the Initiative’s website has been given a new and more attractive profile. Included is a ten-minute film about the Global Ethic Initiative Austria, which was financed by the national Ministry of Education. There are plans to make this film available as a DVD.
 

Independently of the Global Ethic Initiative, the “Innsbruck Forum for Scientific Research on the Global Ethic Project” under the direction of Prof. Dr. Helmut Reinalter has organised in Vienna on 20 October a symposium under the title “The Idea of Global Ethic in the Perspective of Natural Science”. The book containing the contributions to the preceding symposium under the title Ethik im Zeitalter der Globalisierung (Ethics in an Age of Globalisation) was published in Vienna in 2007. In addition, the Forum organised the showing of the exhibition “World Religions – Universal Peace – Global Ethic” at the European Academy in Bolzano, South Tyrol, from 12 to 24 November.
 

Likewise, the Global Ethic Foundation in the Czech Republic, under the direction of Dr. Karel Floss, continued its efforts to promote the global ethic idea. At his initiative, there appeared, at year’s end, a Czech translation of Hans Küng’s book Credo (Prague: Vysehrad).

Awards

On 18 May 2007, in Cologne, Prof. Küng accepted the Culture Prize of the German Free Masons. On 26 October he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Federal University Juiz de Fora in Brazil. On 9 November, he received the prize of the Croatian Academic Society as the “outstanding personality of dialogue in 2006”.

New publications and translations

– Hans Küng, Umstrittene Wahrheit. Erinnerungen (München: Piper).

– Karl–Josef Kuschel, Juden, Christen, Muslime. Herkunft und Zukunft (Düsseldorf: Patmos).

– Hans Küng’s trilogy Judentum, Christentum, Islam has now been published in an inexpensive, bound special edition by Piper in Munich.

– Hans Küng’s book Der Islam has now appeared in English translation by Oneworld in Oxford and in a special Near Eastern version by the American University Press in Cairo.

– Hans Küng’s Der Anfang aller Dinge. Naturwissenschaft und Religion has now appeared in English (The Beginning of All Things. Science and Religion, Grand Rapids, USA: Eerdmans ), Portuguese (Petropolis, Brazil: Editora Vozea), Russian (Moscow: BBI St. Andreas) and Spanish (Madrid: Trotta).

– Hans Küng’s Spurensuche. Die Weltreligionen auf dem Weg has appeared in Chinese (Peking: SDX).

– Hans Küng’s Weltethos für Weltpolitik und Weltwirtschaft has appeared in a two volume Croatian translation (Zagreb: INTERCOM).

– Hans Küng’s Credo has appeared in a Czech translation (Prague: Vysehrad).

– Stephan Schlensog, Ed., Denkanstöße zum Glauben (München: Piper)

– Stephan Schlensog and Walter Lange, Ed., Weltethos in der Schule. Unterrichtsmaterialien (Tübingen: Global Ethic Foundation).

– Markus Weingardt, Religion Macht Frieden. Das Friedenspotential von Religionen in politischen Gewaltkonflikten (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer).

– Martin Bauschke, Jesus im Koran. Ein Schlüssel zum Dialog zwischen Christen und Muslimen, a new special edition (Erftstadt: Hohe–Verlag).

– The Declaration toward a Global Ethic is now available in Catalan and Turkish and, in 15 different languages, it can now be downloaded as a PDF–document from the website of the Global Ethic Foundation (www.weltethos.org).

– The booklet Weltreligionen – Weltfrieden – Weltethos has now been published in a Hungarian version.
 

In addition, in the course of 2007, members of the Foundation’s team contributed articles on the global ethic theme to various journals, collections and other publications.

Our Team in Tübingen

In 2006 as in the past, all of the diverse activities of the Global Ethic Foundation could only be carried out thanks to the immense engagement of the entire team. In spring, our long-time Chief Secretary Inge Baumann retired; her successor Ute Wanner very quickly mastered the manifold tasks of the Foundation’s secretariat. Foundation Assistant Anette Stuber-Rousselle, M.A., is principally responsible for the preparation of the extensive book and lecture manuscripts and for keeping the multi-lingual bibliography up to date. Julia Willke, M.A., works primarily on the Internet learning programme and assists Dr. Schlensog in his diverse tasks. Dr. Markus Weingardt continues to be responsible for book-keeping. Valuable practical work is done by our student assistants, Ulf Günnewig (till summer 2006), Stephan Klinkenberg and Ivan Lacic (since autumn 2007), and by our high-school student aid Katja Flatters. The media studio Lang is responsible for the technical support of the Internet website and for various tasks involving graphic design. Mr and Mrs Lang are also responsible for the exhibition logistics, for the management of the warehouse, and for the shipping of orders placed in the Internet Shop – over a thousand in this year.
 

The Global Ethic Foundation expresses its thanks to its Advisory Boards in Germany and Switzerland for their continuing support of the work and for their valuable initiatives. The Foundation likewise takes this opportunity to thank all of its friends and supporters for their valuable contributions so indispensable for the Foundation. Particular gratitude goes to Prof. h.c. Reinhold Würth and Prof. h.c. Karl Schlecht, for their regular support of the Foundation with sizeable contributions over the years. Nevertheless, even the smallest contribution constitutes a great help for the work of our Foundation. 

Tübingen, January 2008
Dr. Günther Gebhardt