About us
Working for ethical leadership
Globethics is an international non-governmental organisation, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC, working for ethical leadership through higher education and global engagement.
Registered in Geneva, Switzerland, as an independent, not-for-profit foundation with an international Board, and affiliated centres across the globe, Globethics seeks to be inclusive of diverse cultural, religious, philosophical, and humanist ethical wisdoms, and to be the bridge between the different world views on ethical issues.
Globethics was founded in 2004 in Geneva by the initiative of Professor Christoph Stueckelberger and the participation of 29 other experts in ethics from 4 continents and 21 countries (Cameroon, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa; China, India, Indonesia, Lebanon; Belgium, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, UK; Argentina, Brazil, Chile, USA), with the aim to foster networking and nurture synergies, empower individuals and institutions, and facilitate collaboration for impactful initiatives in research and advocacy, in the diverse fields of ethics and leadership. The organisation adopts the principle of sharing common global core values while appreciating contextual diversity and valuing dialogue based on pluralistic ethical approaches, using online technologies to achieve its mission in creative and innovative ways.
Globethics’ individual and institutional network and its global engagement and outreach have grown over the years, including the establishment of seven regional centres in Asia, Africa and South America, in addition to its presence in Europe through the head office in Geneva.
Globethics contributes to:
- Knowledge development through research, a multilingual publishing house, a digital open-access library, executive training, and accredited online courses;
- Governance improvement through benchmarking and institutional capacity development in ethical management, partnership and exchange of expertise, and the Consortium on Ethics in Higher Education;
- Policy engagement through the Global Ethics Forum, policy dialogues, inclusive coalitions, and the Youth Leadership Award.
Vision, mission and values
Our Vision
Ethical leadership for a just, inclusive and sustainable world.
Our Mission
Equipping individuals and institutions for ethical thinking, decision-making and action through higher education and policy engagement from cross-cultural and global perspectives.
Our Values
- Justice
- Peace
- Dignity
- Inclusiveness
- Quality
- Sustainability
- Integrity
- Responsibility
Our Theory of Change
Globethics aims to achieve transformative change with its global network of higher education institutions and thought leaders, integrating applied ethics at the heart of academic activity and global policy dialogue, leading to innovative ethical solutions, especially for environmental justice, digital and emerging technologies, inclusive peace, and responsible governance. To achieve this goal, Globethics:
- Empowers and equips students and professionals through higher education, including executive education programs in ethics,
- Develops and disseminates knowledge about applied ethics through networking, collaborative research, publications and open access resources,
- Supports ethical standard setting and implementation for institutional development,
- Engages with policy makers on the international, national, regional and local governmental level, and at the higher education institution level, in multi-stakeholder academic and policy dialogues on global issues for transformative ethical leadership.