Author
Noha Mahmoud
Senior Communications Associate & Global Ethics Day Lead, Carnegie Council
As the world grapples with rising temperatures, rapidly evolving AI, and ongoing wars in Europe and the Middle East, empowering ethics has become more important than ever. On October 18, 2023, individuals and organizations from over 70 countries joined Carnegie Council to celebrate the tenth annual Global Ethics Day.
At Carnegie Council, we reopened our event space for the first time since the onset of COVID-19 to host the day’s keynote panel, “Unlocking Cooperation.” Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal led a thought-provoking discussion with MIT's Erez Yoeli and Tufts University's Abiodun Williams about how the world can enhance conditions for cooperation to address our shared global challenges. In addition to an in-person audience, attendees from 46 countries tuned in to the livestream.
Carnegie Council’s fellows amplified the call for empowering ethics in New York and beyond. Nikolas Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin, co-hosts of The Doorstep podcast, visited The Ohio State University for a special live episode taping with OSU professors Christopher Nichols, Dana Howard, Morgan Liu, and Dakota Rudesill discussing how a new generation of Americans are redefining U.S. foreign policy.
At New York University, Carnegie Council Visiting Fellow Zhanna Malekos Smith and Professor Christopher Ankersen, from NYU’s Center for Global Affairs, co-led a cyber international relations and ethics convening for students and faculty.
Organizations that Took Action on Global Ethics Day 2023:
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) hosted a week-long series of short talks featuring thought leaders from around the world discussing various ethical issues at the intersection of business, accounting, and emerging technology.
For several years, Jazz, Pakistan’s largest mobile network and Internet services provider, has actively participated in Global Ethics Day. To celebrate this year, the company organized a week of events for staff and stakeholders aiming to highlight the central role that ethics plays in the company and its operations.
In Albania, University of Tirana’s Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Social Sciences hosted several activities including a scientific symposium exploring the role of ethics in academic institutions, as well as an ethics competition and workshop for students.
The Associação Brasileira dos Profissionais de Sustentabilidade (ABRAPS) collaborated with FECAP, an academic institution based in Brazil, to host an eight-hour virtual webinar featuring renowned experts and professionals discussing ways to advance ethics and sustainability.
Many other organizations across the globe took action to empower ethics in their communities:
- The Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand developed an online ethics hub curating various tools and resources related to ethics in accounting.
- The World Ethics Organization hosted a virtual event, “Ethics in Leadership,” exploring how to integrate ethical considerations into decision-making processes and the practical steps that leaders can take to uphold a culture of ethics.
- Banglalink Digital Communications hosted a “Business Partner Engagement Session” to exchange insights with partners on how to enhance fairness, transparency, and trust in their partnership.
- EATON, a U.S.-based IP management company, refreshed their code of ethics to reflect the evolving business culture and environment at the organization.
- At Zeda Limited in South Africa, the community marked the day with a webinar focusing on how individuals can empower ethics in their daily lives.
- Students at Nigeria’s Baze University’s Law Clinic filmed a short video sharing what ethics means to them.
- Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants organized a day-long conference on ethics and integrity.
- The Bank of Valletta launched a campaign and recorded a podcast focusing on the role of ethics in ESG.
