Held every October, Global Ethics Day provides an opportunity for everyone around the world to explore the crucial role of ethics in their professions and their daily lives.
October 17, 2018 marked the fifth annual Global Ethics Day, and it was the biggest year yet. By Carnegie Council's count, there were 140+ activities by organizations and individuals in over 50 countries. They took place in Asia, Africa, Australia, Eurasia, Europe, the Americas (North, South and Central America, and the Caribbean), and the Middle East.
Check out the list of participants, along with an interactive map: https://globalethicsday.org/global-ethics-day-2018/.
The list also includes comments from participants on their activities and ideas. And don’t miss the photos and videos from around the world. There was a great show of support on social media. In particular, check out the Instagram photos tagged #globalethicsday2018.
This year's Global Ethics Day had far too many activities to mention, but here is just a small sample to give an idea of the scope and variety:
Global organizations: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) organized a host of "follow the sun" activities around the world, many in partnership with CFA Institute, including film festivals and roundtables. Intel invited their employees worldwide to share how they uphold ethics in their day-to-day activities. Women in International Security "posed a handful of ethical questions to our member organizations and affiliates around the globe about the importance of ethics in their line of work, and some salient debates."
Universities and schools: BRAC University in Bangladesh held a day of events focusing on ethics, including lectures, film screenings, debates, panel discussions, and activities to protect the environment. The Medical University of Pleven in Bulgaria held a "Bioethics Day." In Muscat, Oman, the Capital Private School organized a beach clean-up. At Indiana University, the ROTC (a participant since the first Global Ethics Day in 2014) held a class on human rights and global justice. And the Universidad Tecnológica de Honduras (UTH) organized a series of events on ethics, including radio interviews.
Local organizations and activities: In South Africa, Johannesburg, Sophiatown Community Psychological Services hosted a morning workshop for NGOs titled "ETHICS MATTER TO NGOS." The South Shore Public Libraries in Nova Scotia, Canada, gave participants national flags in a random draw. They were encouraged to color the flags and research the country in question to evaluate whether they had ethical governance. And in Nigeria, Graphen Communications Company "took global ethics awareness to schoolchildren in Enugu State, through activities like, tree planting, debate on global issues, and the self esteem of the girl-child in school."
Articles: For forbes.com, Bruce Weinstein, the Ethics Guy, asked 20 leaders from a wide range of fields a simple question: "What does 'ethics' mean to you?" Harold Goodwin, responsible tourism advisor World Trade Market (WTM), wrote "Global Ethics Day 2018: Ethical or Responsible Tourism?" and Institute of Business Ethics Director Philippa Foster Back contributed a blog post, "Every Day is Ethics Day."
Indeed, every day is ethics day. So to keep the Global Ethics Day spirit going through the year, the Council has teamed up with ACCA and CFA Institute to produce a series of interviews with business leaders, titled "Ethics in Business: In Their Own Words."
For more on all the Global Ethics Day activities, go to https://globalethicsday.org/. Many thanks to all who took part.
