Global Ethic in the school

 

 
Introduction
 
The communication of ethical competence and the communication of intercultural competence represent the two pillars of the Foundation's educational work. To this end, the Foundation promotes basic research and seeks methods to communicate such competence in appropriate manner to diverse target groups. Awareness of the need for values and for respectful dealing with one another must take root as early as possible, ideally already in toddler age, later in kindergarten, and then particularly in the schools, where young people receive a most important share of their character formation. Thus the family, the kindergarten, and the schools are the central locations for learning ethical behaviour.
   
For this reason, the Global Ethic theme very early attracted the attention of educators and others involved in the education process. And cooperation with schools and teachers has become a central area of the Foundation's activities.
   
Numerous teachers work for the Foundation as voluntary associates (see Organization of the Foundation). They conduct seminars and teacher training courses on the Global Ethic theme, give lectures in schools and churches, organize projects for children and young people, and assist and counsel schools in the preparation of school ethic codes.
 
-›› The Tübingen staff
-›› See also: Practical projects and activities
  
Projects in schools

Prize competitions for school classes
 
Shortly after its inauguration, the Global Ethic Foundation sponsored a prize contest throughout Germany for classroom projects on the Global Ethic theme. Thereafter, similar competitions were held with great success in Switzerland as well. The task was to develop classroom projects devoted either to inter-religious themes or to the communication of values in terms of a Global Ethic.
   
In each competition, a jury of educators drew up the conditions and undertook the evaluation of the projects submitted. The Global Ethic Foundation presented the awards and saw to the documentation and publication of the results.

In this way, the Foundation assembled a broad palette of very concrete and practicable suggestions for the implementation of its themes in school teaching. Much of this material has been reworked with the aid of teachers with practical experience to produce teaching aids for use in the schools. In fact, all of the materials worked out and distributed by the Foundation have been tested in schools and found useful by teachers.

The most recent competition began in autumn 2009 in Tübingen with the announcement of the Tübingen school project WESPE (WASP - World Ethic School Prize), for creative teaching projects on the Global Ethic theme. New in this competition is that there are as many prizes as there are competitors, so that each school in Tübingen can receive a prize. The projects should be so conceived that they can easily be imitated elsewhere. Thus the prize-winning projects will be publicized on the website of the Foundation as a stimulus for other schools.
  
-›› More on the school project “WESPE”
   
The Multimedia Project "Tracing the Way"
 
The multimedia project "Tracing the Way" represents the first major attempt to use the media to present and communicate the scholarly work of the Foundation. This project was realized towards the end of the 1990's, by the German television channel SDR and the Swiss television channel DRS. At the core of the project is a television series composed of seven 90-minute-films devoted to the seven world religions.
 
Each of the seven films presents, with slight shifts in focus, first a summary view of the historical and theological development of the religion under consideration and then goes on to search out the contribution of that religion to the topic of an ethic.

 

-›› Buy the films "On the trails of the World Religions" here.
(US and Canada only!)
 
An abundantly illustrated book accompanies the films, summarizing their contents. In addition, there is a CD designed for interactive work. The German versions of the films, the book and the CD can be purchased from the Foundation's Internet shop. They are also available to teachers at the various state educational media loan services.
  
-›› More on the multimedia project "Tracing the way"
 

The Exhibition "World Religions - Universal Peace - Global Ethic"

 After the completion of the multimedia project, it became clear that further ways needed to be found to present the various dimensions of the Global Ethic theme in a more elementary form in order to make their complex content available to a non-academic public. Thus the idea of an exhibition emerged, which would make possible within a limited space an encounter with the great world religions and their ethic and present the meaning of the Global Ethic theme for our time in a vivid and understandable manner.
 
The Exhibition proper consists of twelve thematic panels with an additional information panel. Six of the panels are devoted to the world religions - Hinduism, Chinese Religion, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Two present the Golden Rule and the Principle of Humanity. And four are devoted to the four basic ethical standards - non-violence, justice, honesty, and partnership between men and women.
 
The Exhibition is available in various formats and has, for over a decade, been shown with great success at many places around the world. A poster version of the exhibition is available in English, German or French and the accompanying booklet with illustrations and texts in English, German, French, Italian or Spanish is available at the Foundation's Internet shop. Various versions of the Exhibition can be purchased or loaned from the Foundation.
 
-›› More on the exhibition
 

The collection of educational material "Weltethos in der Schule" (Global Ethic in the schools)
  
The comprehensive collection of educational materials in German "Weltethos in der Schule" offers a wide selection of attractive, interdisciplinary teaching materials on the Global Ethic theme, adapted to every age and every school type. The collection in a loose-leaf ring binder can be purchased at the Foundation's Internet shop.
  
-›› More on the educational materials
 
Teacher Training
  
Of equal importance to the development of teaching materials is the on-going training of teachers. Especially in the inter-religious area, many teachers are in need of further training. The training programmes of the Foundation also show how the materials prepared by the Foundation can be used in day-to-day school life.
  
In Switzerland, the Foundation has gone a step further. There it has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Pedagogical College of Central Switzerland, to which four cantonal colleges belong, with the aim of creating a "Global Ethic Competence Centre". The goal of this institutional cooperation is to incorporate the Global Ethic theme into the initial and on-going training of teachers and to develop further educational materials.
 
Support of school projects
 
Likewise important for the Foundation is the direct cooperation with schools to provide conceptual input and other assistance to their carrying out of projects involving the Global Ethic theme.

  
-›› See also "Practical projects and activities"

 
The Internet learning platform "A Global Ethic now!"

 
The Internet learning platform "A Global Ethic now!" represents an altogether unique multi-medial introduction to the various themes addressed by the Global Ethic project. It is available cost-free via the Foundation's homepage. Since over a year now, it has been available online in German and English, and since January 2010 also in French. With this programme, the Foundation presents a comprehensive and world wide accessible educational medium that is finding lively acceptance (30,000 - 40,000 users per month).
 
This learning platform provides the viewer with multimedia access to central themes involved in the Global Ethic topic.

• The chapter What is Global Ethic explains the idea of Global Ethic and recounts the story of its emergence. It also describes the work of Hans Küng and the Global Ethic Foundation.
• The chapter Global Ethic and the religions presents the six major world religions, describes their historical and systematic development, and elaborates their contributions to a Global Ethic.
• The chapter Global Ethic in politics and economics is devoted to the diverse themes and issues belonging to the areas of politics and economic life.
• The chapter Global Ethic day-to-day is particularly directed to young people, explaining how ethical values and responsible action are important for daily life.
 
-›› To the learning platform "A Global Ethic now"