Pictured, left to right: DI Founder/President, Leonard Swidler; DI Executive Director, Howard Cohen; and DI colleague and associate John Dalla Costa
The Dialogue Institute—represented by Founder and President, Professor Leonard Swidler, and Executive Director, Howard Cohen—was invited to participate in the 5th Annual Humanistic Management Conference in Germany this past fall. The conference, held October 5-6, 2017, was hosted by the University of Tübingen's Weltethos-Institut* (Global Ethic Institute) under the theme, "A World Ethos for Global Business? Cosmopolitan Responsibilities of Management."
Professor Leonard Swidler
While acknowledging the growing need for a shared 'world ethos' with respect for the diversity and divergence of culture and civilization, the international gathering sought to investigate the following questions: 1) how a world ethos for global business could be variously articulated and promoted ('theory'); 2) the extent to which such an ethos is already present in contemporary globalized business ('practice'); and 3) what civil society around the world can do to support the efforts of (especially multinational) corporations in this direction ('policy').
The conference program included a panel presentation by John Dalla Costa, a long-time DI colleague and associate, who is the founding director of the Centre for Ethical Orientation based in Toronto.
Howard Cohen with John Dalla Costa
"As the new executive director, I very much looked forward to attending this conference with Len and John Dalla Costa because I knew it would be an excellent learning opportunity and would enable me to meet significant participants in the DI’s growing international undertakings," said Cohen. "The experience exceeded my expectations. Being with Jonathan Keir (an academic colleague who works for the Karl Schlecht Foundation), meeting Karl Schlecht, a world-class business leader, and learning more about the philanthropic work that his foundation is undertaking, was icing on the cake. These business networks will help the DI to further fulfill its evolving missions."
* The Weltethos-Institut is sponsored by the Karl Schlecht Foundation, which last year awarded a grant to the Dialogue Institute to develop programs on dialogue and the global ethos, with a particular emphasis on the business context. Click here for more information.
