Building a Global Network for Sustainable Responsibility – the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE
The next Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE under the patronage of UNESCO takes place from 1 - 6 June, 2023.
Sign up for early information on the application for LSUE 2023.
Who is responsible for climate protection? What can be done against global inequality and poverty? How can global justice be connected with local traditions, cultural diversity and religious values? How can human rights be ethically justified as universal norms? What ethical chances and risks arise from the digital transformation and the growing use of artificial intelligence?
"The Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE" under the patronage of the UNESCO enables young scientists and researchers to examine ethical questions of today and tomorrow – beyond the boundaries of academic fields, cultures and religion – and to search together for solutions in a global context.
This practical and action-oriented dialog is ideal to nurture a constantly expanding, international network of committed decision makers who exchange knowledge, advise each other and work together. The guiding principle of this endeavor is "Know how, act now". Flyer LSUE Project
The LSUE pursues the following goals for a sustainable impact:
- teaching specific methods and instruments used in ethics so that the participants learn how to deal with moral dilemmas and challenges (in their respective field of study);
- establishing a global network for a worldwide networking of skills;
- enabling participants to address moral questions and ethical topics in their working environment and to advise others;
- developing ethical skills as unique selling points for their careers (for example, in the field of corporate social responsibility)
Building a Global Network for Sustainable Responsibility:
Globalization also demands a global, interdisciplinary discourse on ethics and the networking of committed decision makers of today and the future. This is promoted by the LSUE in accordance with the guiding principle "Know how, act now" and through the implementation of the following measures:
- interactive teaching and learning methods
- active mentorship
- joint projects of ethical relevance
- annual conferences
- regular online exchange events
The faculty of the “Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE” is both interdisciplinary and international. It follows a hands-on approach and brings together experts from international organizations, science and research, business, arts, and interfaith and intercultural dialog:
2022
Angela Melo, Director of Policies and Programmes in the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO and Maksim Kariliuk, Programme Specialist from the Bioethics and Ethics of Science Section of UNESCO
Shams Asadi, Member of the Advisory Board of the Human Rights Cities Network
Prof. Dr. Surya Deva, Professor at Macquarie Law School, University of Macquarie, Sydney; Vice-Chair of the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises
Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, Founder of LEAP (Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability, Professionalism) Africa and Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Limited
Prof. Dr. Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia University
Dr. Johnny Ryan, FRHistS (Fellow of the Royal Historical Society), Senior Fellow at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, and a Senior Fellow at the Open Markets Institute
Prof. Sonia Seneviratne, Professor for Land-Climate Dynamics at ETH Zurich, Lead Author of the IPCC Special Report on 1.5°C global warming (2017-2018) and Coordinating Lead Author of the 6th assessment report of the IPCC (2018-2021)
Valeriia Voshchevska, Head of Digital at Amnesty International
Dr. Ernst von Kimakowitz, Senior Research Fellow and Post-Doc (Lucerne Graduate School in Ethics LGSE) at the Institute of Social Ethics ISE, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, Director of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE; Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE and Full Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
2021
Ai Weiwei, Artist
Precious Oghale Diagboya, LSUE Alumna 2018 and PhD candidate at the Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
Prof. Gunoo Kim, Professor of Law, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea
Prof. Dr. Arne Manzeschke, President of the European Research Society for Ethics Societas Ethica; Professor of Anthropology and Ethics for Health Professions, Evangelische Hochschule Nürnberg, Germany
Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC
Mona Mijthab, Founder of MOSAN; Lecturer for Strategic Design, ZHAW, Switzerland
Akaliza Keza Ntwari, Entrepreneur from Rwanda in the field of technology; one of the founders of "Girls in ICT Rwanda"; member of the UN High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation
Leoluca Orlando, Mayor of Palermo, Italy
Katiúscia Ribeiro, Researcher and university lecturer of African Philosophy and Ethics, Women's Thoughts and Community Relations, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, Director of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE; Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE and Full Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
2020 (due to the covid 19 pandemic, the LSUE 2020 had to be postponed to 2021)
2019
Prof. Dr. Christine Abbt, Chair for Political Philosophy, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Alessio Allegrini, Conductor, Hornist and Founder of Musicians for Human Rights
Nnimmo Bassey, Environmental activist; Winner of the Right Livelihood Award
Prof. Dr. Boudewijn de Bruin, Professor of Financial Ethics, University of Groningen, Netherlands
Prof. Dr. Martina Caroni, Vice Rector and Tenured professor of International, Constitutional and Comparative Law, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Thomas Coombes, Head of Brand & Deputy Director, Communications, Amnesty International
Julian Fifer, Artist Manager and Producer of Musicians for Human Rights
Prof. Dr. Charles Foster, Professor of Law, University of Oxford, UK
Prof. Dr. Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hemel, Director of the “Weltethos” Institute, University of Tuebingen; Professor of Religious Education Theory, University of Regensburg, Germany
Cilia Kanellopoulos, Head of Social Innovation of the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications & Katherine Prescott, Co-Founder of Free-D
Dr. Stephan Rothlin SJ, Director of the Macau Ricci Institute; Founder & CEO of Rothlin International CSR Management Consulting, Beijing & Hong Kong
Prof. Dr. Robert Vorholt, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Ani Zonneveld, Founder and President of Muslims for Progressive Values; founding member of Alliance of Inclusive Muslims
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, Director of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE; Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE and Full Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
2018
Rabbi Jehoschua Ahrens, Co-Initiator of the Orthodox Rabbinic Statement on Christianity; SNSF PhD student, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Rana Alsoufi, Assistant professor for Islamic Theology, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Jakob Brossmann, Director of the multi-award-winning film “Lampedusa in Winter”
Samia Haimoura, Founder and CEO of SEON
Prof. Dr. Jennifer Herdt, Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics; Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Yale University Divinity School, USA
Cilia Kanellopoulos, Head of Social Innvoation of the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications
Prof. Dr. Adrian Loretan, Chair of Canon Law and Law-and-Religion; Co-Director of the Center of Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Jan Miotti, Head Communications and Projects & Joel Dickenmann, Co-Director of Water for Water WfW
Stephan Mueller, Manager of the Faculty of Theology, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Fatima Mukaddam, Ph.D. Candidate at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Manfred Nowak, Former UN-Special Rapporteur on Torture; Founder of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights; Professor of International Law and Human Rights, University of Vienna, Austria
Prof. Dr. Laura Palazzani, Member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee; Member of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies of the EU Commission; Professor of Philosophy of Law and Biolaw, Lumsa University in Rome, Italy
Rob van Riet, Director of the Climate Energy Program at the World Future Council, London, UK; former Coordinator of the WFC's Disarmament Program
Stefania Schenk Vitale, Assistant Director and Translator of the multi-award-winning film “Lampedusa in Winter”
Prof. Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs, Former Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the objectives of sustainable development; Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; Economist and director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA
Martina Tollkühn, scientific Assistant at the Chair of Canon Law and State-Church Law, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Florian Wettstein, Vice-President of the International Society of Business, Economics, and Ethics (ISBEE); Editor-in-Chief of the Business and Human Rights Journal (BHRJ); director of the Institute of Business Ethics at the University of St.Gallen, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger, Director of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE; Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE and Full Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Lucerne, Switzerland
















Fotos: © Christoph Arnet, arnetfotografik




















Photos: © Roberto Conciatori
If the global COVID-19 pandemic situation permits, LSUE 2022 will be conducted on-site, otherwise it will take place online.
Who can apply?
- PhD students and MA students who have never participated in a previous LSUE
Do I have to study a specific subject?
- No, PhD students and MA students from all disciplines can apply
What requirements must I meet?
- Good command of English: the entire LSUE is conducted in English
- You will write a final paper (10-12 pages in length)
- You will be awarded 6 ECTS points for participating in and succesfully passing the course
How do I apply?
- Show us your interest in ethical questions of today and the future in a global context
- Explain to us how you want to contribute to our global and interdisciplinary network
- Outline in the application form your plan on how to achieve a positive impact within your context or academic research through ethical skills and knowledge
What documents do I have to submit?
- curriculum vitae (about one page/tabular form)
- recommendation letters from two professors (one page each)
- letter of motivation (about one page/max. 500 words)
Who will be admitted?
- At the end of the application period, the complete applications will be reviewed by an international jury
- 30 people are selected and invited
We are available for further questions at lsue @ unilu.ch
Sign up for early information on the application for LSUE 2023.
In order to make selected content of the "Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE" accessible to the public and thereby achieve a sensitization of the broad public for ethical questions and topics, public discussions of the "EthicsImpulse"-Series take place as part of the LSUE. The "EthicsImpulses" are held in German.
Next event:
The public events within the framework of the LSUE 2022 will be published here and on the website of the Institute for Social Ethics ISE.

Since 2018 the "Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE“ is realized under the patronage of UNESCO.
- Prof. Dr. Christine Abbt
Chair of Political Philosophy, University of Graz - Prof. Dr. Hille Haker
Richard McCormick Chair for Moral Theology, Loyola University Chicago; Member of the Board of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE of the University of Lucerne - Prof. Dr. em. Günter Virt
University of Vienna, former Member of the “European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies” of the EU-Commission
Prof. Dr. theol. lic. phil. Peter G. Kirchschlaeger
Director of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE under the patronage of UNESCO; Professor of Theological Ethics; Director of the Institute of Social Ethics ISE
Melina Faeh
Coordinator of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE under the patronage of UNESCO • T +41 41 229 52 27 • lsue @ unilu.ch
Yan Wagner
Staff Member of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE under the patronage of UNESCO • T +41 41 229 52 28 • lsue @ unilu.ch
Carmen Staub
Student Assistant of the Lucerne Summer University: Ethics in a Global Context LSUE under the patronage of UNESCO • T +41 41 229 52 31 • lsue @ unilu.ch