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Members of the international Globethics.net Board of Foundation enjoyed a warm Kenyan welcome (karibu means welcome in Swahili), from their hosts, Kenyan Board member Samuel Kobia and the Globethics.net East Africa Regional Programme team, during their autumn meeting in Nairobi from 29 to 30 October 2016. This was the first meeting chaired by the new President Christoph Stückelberger and for the Executive Director, Obiora Ike since taking up their new posts at Globethics.net on 1 July 2016, midway through the first full year of the new Strategy 2016-2020. 

 

A world longing for healing and for peace was the topic of Samuel Kobia's reflection at the opening of the meeting, available to readers in the editorial of the November newsletter (PDF).

 

The Executive Director, Obiora Ike, made his first report, thanking the Board members for their support, informing them of the operational status of the organisation and on activities including follow up to the Global Ethics Forum 2016 in June on ethics in higher education. He has dedicated time during the first four months in office to introducing himself to partners in Europe, the USA and in Africa and has benefited from the knowledge and experience of the new President and former Executive Director Christoph Stückelberger, who has ensured the continuity needed for a solid base for the development of activities.

 

As the first year of the Strategy 2016-2020 comes to a close the Board has decided that the strategic focus for the full period of the Strategy will be on Ethics in Higher Education (EHE), that is to say on education in ethics itself as well as on governance issues in education at the different levels with universities, students, professors, administrators and policy makers as the main target group. This means that the other themes identified in the Strategy, including ethics in politics, public services, economic and environmental ethics, inter-religious ethics and theology will all continue to be treated but through the optic of ethics education. The decision was taken with a view to being focussed and to building on the strengths of Globethics.net as a provider of online resources and services on ethics and related fields and as a global network of individual participants, users and partners interested in applied ethics.  

 

The draft budget 2017 was approved for final approval before the end of 2016. The Board acknowledged the strong fundraising efforts of the new Executive Director and of the team and supported them in further efforts as there are still substantial funds to be raised. 

 

There is a strong commitment to growing the Globethics.net network of partners with decisions taken to establish in 2017 Globethics.net programmes in the USA, the Philippines and in the Middle East/North Africa region. The Strategy 2017-2020 of the Global Digital Library on Theology and Ecumenism, GlobeTheoLib, also includes reaching out to new partners to enhance the Consortium that benefits from and contributes to its work. The GlobeTheoLib Strategy was reviewed along with related library activities and was approved by the Board.

 

The Board appointed Lucy Howe López, currently Programme Director Network and Partnerships at the Globethics.net Head Office, as Deputy Executive Director.