Measured against a human lifetime or against the tradition-rich history of many a social institution, three years are a very short time. The Global Ethic Foundation is indeed still quite young. Following its foundation by Count K. K. von der Groeben and its approval by the Tübingen Regierungspraesidium, the Global Ethic Foundation for Intercultural and Interreligious Research, Education and Encounter was officially inaugurated in a public celebration held on 23 October, 1995 at the University of Tübingen. At this celebration, Prof. Dr. Hans Küng delivered a tone-setting lecture on »Global Ethic and Education«. As defined in the bylaws of 18 September 1995, the tasks of the Foundation are ordered to the following areas:

• promoting and carrying out intercultural and interreligious research

• promoting and carrying out intercultural and interreligious educational work

• promoting and supporting intercultural and interreligious encounter as required by the tasks of research and education

From the beginning, the Foundation met with overwhelmingly positive interest both in the public at large and in the community of experts. Thus after only three years of existence it has been able to develop a broad spectrum of initiatives, activities and projects.
 

In the initial phase of development, the principal task was to create the infrastructure needed to efficiently carry out the tasks and activities of the Foundation. This meant setting up a place of work and equipping it with the needed means of communication. This achieved, the next task was to create a structure of leadership and to put together a creative and productive working team.
 

Leadership and Taskforce
 
In addition to Professor Dr. Hans Küng and Prof. Dr. Karl-Josef Kuschel as President and Vice President of the Global Ethic Foundation – like the founder Count von der Groeben they donate their services to the organisation –, the Foundation employs on a full or part-time basis: the following: a managing director (Dipl. Theol. Stephan Schlensog), two secretaries (Inge Baumann and Anette Stuber-Rousselle, M.A.), two research associates (Dipl. Theol & Dipl. Biol. Michel Hofmann and Dipl. Theol & Pol. Johannes Frühbauer) and a research assistant (stud. phil. Martin Zillinger). In autumn 1998 a position for a project coordinator (Dr. theol. Günther Gebhardt) was added to the team. To carry out various projects and especially for its educational work, e.g. lecturing, additional free-lance collaborators are engaged as needed. In public, the Foundation is often represented by Count and Countess von der Groeben.
 

Board of Advisors
 
On June 17, 1997, a Board of Advisors was created for the Foundation. The principal tasks of this board are:

• advising the Board of Directors;

• promoting an exchange of ideas between the Foundation and the spheres of scholarship and practice;

• focusing attention on developments relevant to the Foundation.

The advisory activity of this board concentrates on the pursuit of the goals of the Foundation and the various tasks subordinated to this end; in particular it deals with financial administration, personal politics, »social marketing«, media contacts and international cooperation. The members of the Board of Advisors are nominated for five years by the Board of Directors; their service is honorary. The present members are: Dr. Wolfgang Freudenberg, Dr. Uwe Jens Jasper, Prof. Dr. Norbert Kloten, Dr. Horst Köhler, Prof. Dr. Peter Littmann, Dr. Klaus Rehmann, Reinhold Würth.
 

Global Ethic Foundation of Switzerland

Thanks to a generous grant from Ms Martita Jöhr-Rohr, it proved possible, already in the first year of the Foundation's existence, to create an additional foundation, the Global Ethic Foundation of Switzerland. Its board of directors includes Hans Küng, Martita Jöhr-Rohr, Dr. Josef Studinka and Heinz Müller. The principal task of the Global Ethic Foundation of Switzerland is the financial support of international projects. For the television series on the major world religions produced in collaboration with the SWR, the Swiss Foundation financed a major portion of the travel and material costs and, in particular, the photo documentation for the illustrated book being published to accompany the series. In addition, the Global Ethic Foundation of Switzerland covered the high costs of the conference »Global Ethic and Chinese Tradition« which was held in Beijing in 1997. Likewise financed by the Swiss foundation is the recently inaugurated Swiss prize competition for teaching materials dealing with the global ethic topic.

 
Global Ethic Foundation of Prague
  
In the near future, a Global Ethic Foundation for the Czech Republic will be inaugurated with its seat in Prague. Its organizer and contact person is the Czech senator Dr. Karel Floss.
 

2. Promoting and Carrying out Intercultural and Interreligious Research
 

Publications
 
At the root of the Foundation's work is an ongoing basic research in theology and religious studies aimed at promoting intercultural and interreligious understanding. Among the major publications of the last three years are:
 

H. Küng, A Global Ethic for Global Politics and Economics, London (SCM Press) 1997; New York (Oxford University Press) 1998. The aim of this book is to offer concrete impulses for the application of global ethic ideas in the practical areas of politics and economics.
 

H. Küng - K.-J. Kuschel (eds.), Wissenschaft und Weltethos, Munich (Piper) 1998. This is a collection of 19 well-founded articles reflecting upon the global ethic idea from the perspective of its implications and applicability in diverse scholarly disciplines. An appendix contains the first comprehensive bibliography (drawn up by Michel Hofmann) of publications dealing with the national and international discussion of the global ethic topic.
 

K.-J. Kuschel, Vom Streit zum Wettstreit der Religionen, Lessing und die Herausforderung des Islam, Dusseldorf (Patmos) 1998. This work focuses on Gotthold Ephraim Lessing's theological and cultural occupation with Islam and his vision for a peaceful cohabitation and collaboration among Jews, Christians and Muslims.
 

H. Küng – H. Schmidt (eds.), A Global Ethic and Global Responsibilities. Two Declarations, London (SCM Press) 1998. This paperback documents the proposal made by the InterAction Council to the United Nations, calling for a Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities, a proposal inspired in large part by the global ethic idea. Noteworthy, among others, are the contributions of H. Küng and J. Frühbauer as well as the preface of Lord Yehudi Menuhin and the synoptic comparison with the text of the Global Ethic Declaration document, showing the close relationship between the two projects.

In addition to supporting original scholarship, the Foundation provides grants for translating and printing already existing literature dealing with the global ethic topic in order to make these publications available outside the German language area, in particular in Middle and Eastern Europe and in East Asia. Already published or in the course of publication are the following editions:
 

Global Responsibility: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian, American, Dutch, Korean, Czech, Brasilian, Hungarian, Arabic, Georgian, Russian;
 

Declaration Toward a Global Ethic: Englisch, French, Spanish, Finnish, Turkish, Japanese, Chinese, Czech;
 

Yes to A Global Ethic: English, American, Finnish;

A Global Ethic for Global Politics and Economics : English, American, Brasilian;
 

Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities: English (in addition the Declaration itself has been published as a pamphlet in Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malaysian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish);
 

Abraham. A Symbol of Hope for Jews, Chritians and Muslims: Czech, English, Italian, Spanish.

Research Projects
 
Alongside the research done by its own personnel, the Foundation supports the work of external scholars insofar as it serves to deepen or to propagate the global ethic themes. To this end, a research fund has been set up, from which doctoral scholarships are financed, research projects are commissioned, research visits are made possible and colloquies of experts and congresses are funded. Till now, the following projects have received support:
 

• the publication of a comprehensive study, surveying the Buddhist Christian dialogue on a world-wide scale: Michael von Brück – Whalen Lai, Buddhismus und Christentum. Geschichte, Konfrontation, Dialog. Mit einem Vorwort von Hans Küng. Munich (C.H. Beck) 1997;

 • an interreligious book project in England: Under the direction of Rev. Marcus Braybrooke and Peggy Morgan, representatives of diverse religions present the contribution of their respective traditions in terms of the Global Ethic Declaration. The book is designed for use in schools and is didactically conceived. It appeared in fall 1998 under the title Testing the Global Ethic. Voices from the Religions on Moral Values.

 
• studies on the Global Ethic and Indian Traditions: An important element of the scholarly work of this project is to investigate the roots of and the support for the global ethic idea in the diverse religious traditions of India. With the collaboration of the indologist and religious studies scholar Dr. Mechtild Pecik, a concrete project has been conceived, in which Dr. Pecik will study the contribution of the classical Indian religious traditions to a global ethic. The goal of this project is to produce a collection of source texts with commentary, ordered according to the Chicago Global Ethic Declaration, thus illustrating the contribution of the Indian traditions to a global ethic;
 

• a dissertation project studying the origins of the Global Ethic Declaration. The author is Christel Hasselmann M.A. of the University of Hannover.

For the on-going projects of the Foundation personnel, an annual book fund is set aside, to finance the acquisition of relevant literature.
Within the scope of the Foundation's work, the long-range projects continue to be pursued. Notable among these are the third volume of Professor Küng's trilogy on the religious situation of our times, which deals with Islam, and Professor Kuschel's projected Biblical Theology of the World Religions.
 

Conferences and Symposia
 
Scientific congresses and colloquia represent one of the main pillars of scholarly work. Thus members of the Foundation's team take part frequently in scholarly conferences in Germany and elsewhere, be it as lecturers or simply as participants in the interest of exchanging ideas and experience and advancing their own ongoing education. Of special importance are the conferences which the Foundation itself plans (determination of the theme), programs (development of the conception, selection of participants) and organizes (financial arrangements, choice of location, organisational planning).
Thus, within the short time of its existence, the Global Ethic Foundation, can look back proudly on a whole series of internationally notable and successfully carried out conferences and scholarly symposia:
 

Abrahamite Religions and Global Ethic: a symposium with representatives from Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Germany, organized jointly with the Catholic Academy of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, 2–4 June, 1997.
 

Global Ethic: A guideline for Economy and Politics: an international student congress with participants from some 25 countries together with representatives from politics, economics and scholarship. This congress was held under the patronage of former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and the UNESCO and took place from 1–5 June, 1997, in the conference center of the University of Tübingen in Blaubeuren. The inspiration and organization of the congress was the work of the Student Initiative for a Global Ethic, Tübingen, under the leadership of Benita von Behr and Martin Zillinger in close cooperation with the AIESEC [Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Économiques et Commerciales], Tübingen–Reutlingen. A ninety page English booklet documents the work of this congress. In preparation is a scholarly multiauthor work, containing not only the congress contributions but also additional articles dealing with the topic.

 
First Conference on Global Ethic and Traditional Chinese Ethic: an academic symposium from 10 to 12 September, 1997, in the Da Jue Tempel in Bejing. Taking part were 24 religious and academic personalities, coming from Bejing, Shanghai, Xian, Wuhan, Guang Zhou, Shen Zhen, Hai Kou and Hong Kong, and representing ethical and religious traditions (Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist or Christian) and political, legal, economic, historical, philosophical or humanistic studies.

 
First Conference on Global Ethic and Traditional Indian Ethic: a conference in collaboration with Swami Agnivesh of New Delhi. Over 50 scholars and activists from different parts of Inda met at the India International Centre in New Delhi from 23–24 November, 1997, at a consultation sponsored by the Dharma Pathishtan, with the goal of formulating an Indian answer to the Declaration on a Global Ethic of the Chicago Parliament of Religions and the Universal Declaration of Human Obligations as proposed by the InterAction Council.

 
The conferences in China and India produced declarations dealing with the global ethic idea in the perspective of their respective traditions. They are documented in the book on the Human Obligations Declaration.

 
The islamic reaction to the Global Ethic Declaration will be reflected in a scholarly collective publication and in an international conference to be held in Washington in 1999. This project, Global Ethic and Islamic Tradition, which is supported by the Foundation, was initiated and is being organized by Riffat Hassan, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Louisville/USA.
 

Global Ethic in School and Education: a scholarly symposium with experts from the field of religious pedagogy held on 11 July, 1998, in Tübingen on the occasion of the prize awards in the Foundation sponsored competition for teaching models and educational projects dealing with the global ethic theme.

As the above mentioned congresses in China and India show, the engagement of the Foundation in foreign lands is of special importance: here it is a matter of planning and organizing congresses dealing with the global ethic theme and of bringing together representatives of the respective cultures and religions. In the nature of the case, such work requires exeptional engagement, both financial and conceptual. It begins with the often protracted and difficult process of making initial contacts. Then follows the search for suitable coordinators in the region and the selection of qualified and competent participants. Finally comes the definitive organization and the carrying out of the conference itself.
 
Happily, the Foundation has succeeded in making the necessary contacts first in the People's Republic of China and then in India. There it has carried out initial conferences, as pilot projects, so to speak for future conferences elsewhere. For China and India it is planned to hold follow up conferences in the course of the next years. Envisaged is a broader internationalization of the list of participants.
 

As the corresponding publications indicate, the results of the research work briefly described above are manifold. To achieve for them the broadest possible effectiveness, the Foundation has developed a many-faceted spectrum of educational activities, which, depending on the group of persons addressed, takes a wide variety of forms. The research results documented in the numerous publications addressing the global ethic themes can, thanks to the close intermeshing of scholarly research and effective publication, be carried over without friction into the concrete, many-faceted educational work. Thus a major effort is dedicated to creating an attractive and didactically effective presentation, for both the publications themselves and for the more directly educational activities of the team.
 

Basic Information
 
free copies – in large numbers on request – of the 16 page pamphlet containing the text of the Global Ethic Declaration of the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago (1993) are sent to all interested persons in Germany and around the world. This pamphlet with the Global Ethic Declaration likewise serves as a point of reference in schools, public lectures and other educational activities. Till now some 100,000 copies of the booklet in diverse languages have been produced and distributed. Alongside the present editions in German, English, Italian, Croatian, further editions in French, Spanish and Czech are in the course of preparation.
 

Distribution of Literature and Working Materials
 
In addition to the booklet described above, copies of basic publications (in particular the book edition of the Global Ethic Declaration with commentary and the programatic book »Global Responsibility«) are distributed free of charge to individual educational institutions, initiative groups and school libraries. Furthermore, the Foundation's working team has put together an extensive file of working materials with text collections, didactic materials and concrete teaching samples for educational work in the thematic areas of global ethic and religion / politics / economy / education. In the course of time, several hundred copies of these working material files have been distributed at cost to educational multiplicators. Reprints of relevant articles from the journal »Publik Forum« have attracted notable attention and evoked considerable demand. Thus, both the Pamphlet »Globalisierung« and the Documentation »Find Your World«, the latter describing an interreligious youth camp project, have been printed and distributed in several thousand copies.
 

Internet Homepage
 
Since the beginning of 1997, the Foundation utilizes the internet to publicize its goals and activities and to propagate the Global Ethic Declaration.
 

Following the initial creation of the web-site some two years ago, in October 1998, a general revision of the Foundation's web-pages was undertaken. Under the management of Stephan Schlensog, a completely new concept was developed. At the center of this concept is not merely the presentation of the Foundation in the internet, but also its role as a provider of information and working materials. Visitors to the internet pages can now obtain manifold information about the global ethic themes. Particularly attractive and thoroughly informative is the visual presentation of the list of publications. Furthermore, diverse working and teaching materials are put on offer. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, it is possible not only to direct attention to such material, but also to enable users around the world to down-load such material directly into their PC, where it can be further processed or printed out. All this contributes enormously to the propagation of the global ethic idea at the grass-roots and in the public at large. Thus, in the future, the expansion and constant up-dating of the internet offering will continue to enjoy highest priority. In the next stage of development, the English version will be up-dated and enhanced. In 1999, additional versions of the home-page in other languages will be added.
 

Circle of Friends
 
In response to repeated requests for closer contact or membership in the Foundation, the idea originated to create a »Circle of Friends« of the Foundation. Persons belonging to this circle regularly receive information about the activities of the Foundation and they help support it with their yearly contributions. This circle of friends is taken care of by Mr. Volker Hollmann.
 

School and Youth Work
 
During the last two years, at the center of efforts in the area of school and education, stood the »Competition for Teaching Programs and Projects«. With this prize competition, the Foundation sought to inspire model initiatives in schools (courses in religion, ethics and philosophy or other disciplines and special study groups), in adult education and in community work. The basis for this competition was the Global Ethic Declaration from Chicago. Participants had to send in a explanation of their conception and a detailed documentation of the practical carrying through of the project. Roughly 700 inquiries about the conditions of participation were received by the Foundation. In the end, 52 projects from a broad band of educational settings were submitted. The spectrum extended from primary school, through general and professional secondary schools, on to the university level.
 
A jury was appointed, composed of nine prominent university professors from throughout Germany and representing the fields of general pedagogy, religious pedagogy and adult education. To coordinate and carry out the work of the jury, Professors Dr. Karl Ernst Nipkow and Dr. Albert Biesinger – both from the University of Tübingen – were persuaded to accept the joint chairmanship. By May 1998, sixteen prize-winners had been selected, each project being awarded the sum of DM 2000 plus material prizes. The official awarding of the prizes took place in Tübingen in a public ceremony within the framework of a scholarly symposium »Global Ethic in School and Education«, which was held on 11 July, 1998. This competition proved, that the global ethic theme is suited to all school types and grades and thus recommends itself for incorporation into official curricula. It is planned for 1999 to make the prize-winning contributions available to the broader public by publishing their documentation, either within a single work or separately according to school type and level.
 
At the end of 1998, a selection of teaching models and materials for primary and secondary schools was put together in collaboration between the Foundation and the Landesinstitut für Erziehung und Unterricht (LEU) of Baden-Württemberg.
 
With the beginning of the school year 1998/99, an educational competition was initiated in Switzerland, modeled after the successful competition in Germany. Partner in this venture is the newly constituted Swiss Foundation for Education and Development. A jury composed of seven persons under the chairmanship of Professor Dr. Klaus Wegenast (University of Bern) has been constituted. Consideration is being given to sponsoring a similar action in Austria upon completion of the Swiss competition. In view of the continuing positive reactions to the competition in Germany, it is likewise under consideration to institute an ongoing competition with a pedagogy prize regularly awarded by the Foundation. A further initiative is directed to German schools in foreign lands as an additional important target group for school oriented activities.
 
Among the various school projects, which often are the result of the personal initiative of individual teachers, and which are supported by the Foundation by providing basic materials, one project deserves special mention, the Project »Good Neighbors«, initiated and pursued by the educator Walter Lange at the Willy-Brandt-Gesamtschule in Castrop Rauxel. This project aims at generating trust building measures between the representatives of different religions and cultures at this school, in particular between Christians and Muslims. To this end, students from different cultures and religious communities are brought together in dialogue. Effort is also made to overcome communication problems between parents and students and to bring together as well the parents among themselves. With this goal in mind, the Willy-Brandt-Gesamtschule has organized a variety of individual events and activities, among them, joint visits to religious institutions – churches, monasteries, mosques and synagogues –; joint participation in »Days of Religious Orientation« held in the Gerleve Monastery or in the Youth Ecucation Center Hardehausen; discussions within the context of religion courses on common elements and divergencies among the various religious communities; joint project days under the theme »Encounters with the Stranger«, involving contact, for example, with a youth house of correction, with homeless persons, with the handicapped etc., organization of a »Human Rights Day«.
 
For the translation of the global ethic theme in the context of religious pedagogy, Prof. Dr. Johannes Lähnemann (Erlangen/Nuremberg) has done important foundational work. Among other projects, he organized the »Fünfte Nürnberger Forum« in 1994, the results of which were published under his editorship in »Das Projekt Weltethos in der Erziehung« (Hamburg, 1995). At present, he is preparing the publication of the competition projects as well as cultivating diverse research projects dealing with the global ethic theme in education.
 

Ongoing Teacher Training
 
Representatives of the Foundation have frequently lectured at or otherwise participated in religious pedagogy training sessions and similar events for teachers in the fields of religion, ethics and philosophy in particular. This will continue to be an important focus for the educational activities of the Foundation in the future. It is hoped to make fruitful, in other states of Germany, the experience gained here in Baden-Württemberg over the past years.
 

General Interest among Adults
 
In the course of the past three years, a well-functioning team of lecturers has arisen in the context of the Foundation. To it belong, in addition to the President and Vice President of the Foundation – Hans Küng and Karl-Josef Kuschel –, the managing director Stephan Schlensog and the two research associates Michel Hofmann and Johannes Frühbauer. Their lecture activity is particularly directed to propagating basic information about the global ethic topic. In addition, however, each is responsible for a particular thematic area, S. Schlensog for religion, J. Frühbauer for politics and M. Hofmann for economics. Over and above this inner circle, a number of free-lance collaborators are active for the Foundation. Dr. Ingrid Geschwentner (Stuttgart) is intensively engaged in the area of school and education and, in addition to her lecturing activity, is especially responsible for teacher training. Dr. Mechtild Pecik (Horb) is primarily engaged in adult education. As an indologist, she represents the Indian tradition's contribution to the global ethic theme. Two further knowledgeable experts on the global ethic, Prof. Dr. Urs Baumann (Tübingen) and Dr. Thomas Riplinger (Tübingen), likewise lecture for the Foundation.
 
Besides propagating basic knowledge, considerable effort in the past has been devoted to concretizing the global ethic topic in terms of specific developments, special question areas and current problems. As the following list of catch words illustrates, a broad panorama of topics has been unfolded and developed in conjunction with the global ethic idea: the global market, the conflict of cultures, Abrahamite ecumenism, Indian ethics, Islam, human obligations, (world) economy, (world) politics, education, transmission of values, the European community of values, etc.
 
Within the past three years, some 300 educational activities have been carried out by lecturers for the Foundation – in the whole German Republic but also in neighboring European countries and beyond. Among them were evening lectures in church centers and adult education centers, conferences and teaching engagements in academies, schools and colleges, seminars and workshops for organisations and associations. In view of the drastic cost-cutting measures affecting public budgets, many institutions no longer have sufficient money to fund such educational endeavors. Thus, where necessary, the Foundation covers travel costs and, in part, a gratuity for the lecturer.
 

Experts and the International Public
 
Despite the intensive demands upon him made by the film project (see below), Prof. Küng not only held numerous lectures in universities and other organizations; he also took advantage of numerous opportunities to present the goals and implications of the global ethic idea against the background of the challenges of global developments. This he has done in gatherings of experts from politics, economy and social institutions around the world. Thus, in the course of the last three years, his activities in conjunction with the global ethic theme led him to take part in the following congresses and conferences in which the global ethic theme was the center of reflection and discussion:
 

»Weltpolitik und Weltethos. Frommer Wunsch oder Realutopie?«: Conference of the Protestant Academy, Tutzing (1995);
 

InterAction Council of former heads of government and state with the expert meeting under the theme »In Search of Global Ethical Standards«, Vienna, (1996);
 

The First World Congress of Business, Economics and Ethics in Tokyo: »The Need of a Global Ethic in the Context of International Business« (1996);
 

V° Centenario de la Universidad Santiago de Compostela »Etica mundial y educación« (1996);
 

International Council of Christians and Jews: Towards a Global Ethic, Mayence: »Weltreligionen – Weltethos – Weltfrieden« (1996);
 

University lectures in Beijing and Xian on »World Religions – World Peace – World Ethic« (1996);
 

54° Corso di Studi Cristiani in Assisi: »Religioni mondiali – pace mondiale – etica mondiale« (1996);
 

Académie Internationale des Sciences Religieuses in Chambésy/Geneva: »Weltreligionen – Weltethos – Weltfrieden« (1996);
 

The Power of Culture, a symposium sponsored by the Dutch Foreign Ministry in Amsterdam: »A New Global Ethic« (1996);
 

Tercer Milenio Projecto »Challenges of the New Millennium – Managing the Future« in conjunction with the UNESCO in Valencia: »A New Ethics for the New Millennium« (1997);
 

World Economic Forum in Davos: »Rights and Responsibilities« (1997);
 

UNESCO Universal Ethics Project in Paris: »Global Ethic« (1997) and in Naples »A Global Ethic for a Global Order« (1997);
 

Accompanying the state visit of President Roman Herzog to Malaysia; a lecture in Kuala Lumpur: »Towards a Universal Civilization« (1997);

 
6th Indira Gandhi Conference »Post Colonial World: Interdependence and Identities« in Delhi/India, topic: »Shaping the One World Dream« (1997);

 
InterAction Council: first the preparatory conference of experts in Vienna (1997) then the general assembly in Noordwijk (1997) dealing with the proposed text of a »Universal Declaration of Human Responsibilities«. The original draft text for this declaration was drawn up primarily by Hans Küng, relying in large measure on the World Ethic Declaration of Chicago 1993;
 

FORUM 2000 Conference in Prague: »Sustainable Development and a Global Ethic« and at the Protestant Theological Faculty of the Karl's University in Prague: »Auf der Suche nach einem neuen Ethos« (1998);
 

International Forum of Asahi Shimbun in Kyoto: »In Search of a New Ethic Toward the 21st Century« (1998);
 

Annual Meeting of the International Federation of Stock Exchanges in Kuala Lumpur: »Ethical Standards for International Financial Transactions« (1998).

For his extraordinary efforts toward realizing a global ethic, Hans Küng was awarded the Theodor-Heuss-Preis 1998. The award ceremony for the 34th Theodor-Heuss Preis took place on 18 April, 1998 in Stuttgart under the motto »On the search for a new ethic – worldwide and at home«. It was televised live by the ZDF. According to the laudatio, Hans Küng received the award »for his untiring, lifelong engagement in religious, philosophical and ethical questions of our age« and for his decisive contribution »to formulating an ethical fundamental orientation for the world community for the sake of a more peaceful, a more just and a more human world«.
By reason of his »extraordinary contribution to interreligious dialogue«, Hans Küng was awarded the »Interfaith Gold Medallion« of the International Council of Christians and Jews on 20 October, 1998. The International Council is an umbrella organization for the 29 national organisations for Jewish-Christian dialogue.
For his engagement for a global ethic – together with his lifelong theological work –, the Swiss community of Sursee, Hans Küng's home city, named him an honorary citizen.
 

Alongside his teaching work at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Tübingen, Professor Dr. Karl-Josef Kuschel works regularly for the Foundation through his numerous lectures and especially through his work in developing and internationally coordinating activities in the area of the »Abrahamite Ecumenism«. Representative for individual countries, the following examples of his activities may be cited.

 
In a symposium held in the Catholic Academy in Stuttgart-Hohenheim from 2 to 4 June, 1997, under his leadership, prominent German representatives of Judaism, Islam and Christianity met to discuss intensively the problems of their faith community and to investigate possibilities of living and working together.
 

In May 1997 he made contact with the Academy for Jewish, Christian and Muslim Studies in Los Angeles, one of the few institutions in the United States, which programmatically cultivates the trialogue between Jews, Christians and Muslims. During his visit to Los Angeles from 1–4 November, 1997, Karl-Josef Kuschel held the ceremonial speech to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Academy.
 

In March 1998 he met with representatives of the Children of Abraham Foundation in Stockholm/Sweden in connection with a colloquy on Islam in Europe, which was sponsored by the Goethe-Institute of Stockholm. The Children of Abraham Foundation specializes in developing concrete teaching models for the interreligious education of Christian, Jewish, Muslim and non-religious children and youth.
 

In June 1998, Karl-Josef Kuschel received a visit from Pastor Christoph Ziemer, a Protestant theologian, who is a co-founder of the peace initiative »Abraham« in Sarajevo/Bosnia-Herzegovina. As part of the effort to intensify contacts between this initiative and the Foundation, Karl-Josef Kuschel has lectured in Sarajevo in December 1998.

In October 1998, Karl-Josef Kuschel contacted the »Three Faith Forum« in Great Britain, an organisation promoting concrete interreligious understanding in local institutionalized form. The experience of this organisation, together with that of a similar organisation in France, the »Fraternité d'Abraham«, with which contact is also planned, is of fundamental significance for German efforts to institutionalize the relations between Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The special Dialogue between Christianity and Islam has been further pursued in the course of the last three years, for example through Karl-Josef Kuschel's participation in the International Conference on Muslim-Christian Relations in Jakarta/Indonesia from 7 to 9 August, 1997. A further conference in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, is planned for 1999.

Parallel to these international contacts, Professor Kuschel continues to pursue intensive scholarly research. In 1997, his book appeared: »Im Spiegel der Dichter. Mensch, Gott und Jesus in der Literature des 20. Jahrhunderts« (Patmos/Dusseldorf), an interim report of his intercultural studies and endeavors. In 1998 appeared the ground-laying Lessing study mentioned above, »Vom Streit zum Wettstreit der Religionen. Lessing und die Herausforderung des Islam« (Patmos). These publications are part of the recently founded research project »Literature and World Religions«.
Karl-Josef Kuschel's engagement in and efforts for intercultural and interreligious understanding have caused him to receive two important honors. On 30 May, 1997, the Theological Faculty of the University of Lund/Sweden awarded him an honorary doctorate. On 13 December, 1998, he received, in particular for his Lessing book, the Medienpreis des Islam-Archives Deutschland in Soest.
That the global ethic idea can have special relevance for practice-oriented areas of life is shown by the cooperation with the organisation Tourism Watch. Thanks to this cooperation, the basic ideas and directives of the Global Ethic Declaration have found entry into a document being prepared by the World Tourism Organisation as the textual basis for a Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. The Global Ethic Foundation will continue, in the future, to promote cooperation of this type, in order to use all opportunities to apply and transpose the global ethic idea in the diverse areas of human life.
 

The Television Documentary Series
 
Of great importance for the propagation of the global ethic theme among an interested public is the production of a seven part television documentary series on the major world religions, their situation in today's world and their contribution to world peace. Author and moderator of this series is Hans Küng. Particularly in ethical perspective and in view of the contribution of these religions to a global ethic, the series treats the following faiths: indigenous religions, Hinduism, the Chinese religions, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Filming began in 1997 in Africa and Australia; in 1998 it continued in Japan and India, North and Central America, Germany, Israel, Italy, France, Tunesia and Turkey. Filming will be completed in China in 1999. The series is expected to be ready for showing in fall 1999. For the photographic documentation of the project, Stephan Schlensog is responsible. The television series is designed to be a part of a multi-media project: it will be accompanied by the publication of an illustrated book and by a CD-ROM. Both are designed to be used in educational programs as well as for the general public.
 

In addition to the numerous scholarly oriented congresses and conferences, which over and above the exchange of information and experience, serve as valuable opportunities for intercultural and interreligious encounter, a number of special encounter opportunities deserve particular mention.
 

First and foremost is the two week Youth Camp »Find Your Way«, designed to bring together young people from Judaism, Christianity and Islam to experience living together. The camp in Tyrol was designed to put the global ethic idea into practice in everyday life. It was inspired by the conviction that this idea will only then have a future, when young people learn to live in its spirit. An extensive and highly creative documentation of this youth camp was published in »Provo« (the youth magazine supplement to »Publik Forum«) No. 3, October 1997.
 

At the Evangelischer Kirchentag in Leipzig in June 1997, Professor Küng and his team had an opportunity to present the global ethic idea to a large audience in one of the main sessions under the motto »Renewing the Face of the Earth«. At the European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz, Professor Küng likewise had an opportunity to present the global ethic idea in a speech on 26 June, 1997. In 1998, in a round table discussion under the moderation of Professor Kuschel, the global ethic theme was presented at the Katholikentag in Mayence under the perspective of the intercultural and interreligious challenge.
 

Regular close contact is maintained with the Karl Kübel Foundation. Thus Professor Küng was chosen to deliver the laudatio for the recipient of the Karl-Kübel-Award 1997 under the motto »Family – religious and tolerant«. The award went to the Institute for German Turkish Integration Research in Mannheim. Five other interreligious initiatives and institutions were likewise honored.
 

The first major report of our activities is not merely an occasion of pride for what we have accomplished. Above all it shows how important and how necessary, how much in demand and how pioneering are the engagement and the numerous activities of the Foundation, directed as they are to the diverse fields of intercultural and interreligious research, education and encounter and designed to give orientation for men and women, for society and for the world at large. What has been achieved till now, be it small or large, is an encouragement to accept the challenges of our age and to devote all our opportunities and abilities to promoting a shared ethic in a shared world.
 

To insure that this extensive engagement can continue in the future, the Global Ethic Foundation is dependent upon extensive additional financial support, in particular when it comes to carrying out special projects which are often very costly. The regular income from the Foundation's capital goes for the most part to financing salaries and other regular running costs of the Foundation's work.
 

Thus – at the end of this report – to all those who, during the course of the past three years, have given us their support, either financially or morally, special thanks are here extended.
 

Tübingen, November 1998