From 15–20 July 2024, Yogyakarta hosted the Globethics Doctoral School 2024, an international academic program that brought together doctoral candidates, researchers, and senior scholars from Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The program was organized through a collaboration between Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), Globethics, and Yayasan Dharma Etika Madani (YADEMA), creating a space for knowledge and experience exchange.
Globethics Doctoral School was not a typical academic conference. Over the course of nearly a week, participants did more than present their research. They engaged in sustained discussion, questioned one another’s assumptions, and refined their arguments across disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The theme, Inclusive Peace and Responsible Governance, felt especially timely in a world where many societies are facing declining public trust, growing value polarization, and ongoing challenges in maintaining institutional integrity.
Plenary sessions and workshops were led by experienced scholars, including Dicky Sofjan from the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) at UGM and Vice President of Globethics, Greta Balliu from the University of Fribourg, Simone Sinn from the University of Münster, José Antonio David from the Catholic University of Córdoba and the University of San Andrés, and Amélé Ekué, Academic Dean of Globethics. Discussions explored religious pluralism, sustainable development and human rights, democracy and civic responsibility, as well as the ethical dimensions of research methodology.
What made the program distinctive was the way theory was continuously connected to lived context. Indonesia, with its religious diversity and complex social landscape, provided a meaningful backdrop for reflection. Participants stepped beyond the classroom and visited the Code River community in Yogyakarta to observe grassroots peacebuilding efforts and local social entrepreneurship initiatives. These encounters made it clear that governance and peace are not only matters of policy design, but also social processes shaped and sustained by communities themselves.
Cultural immersion also formed an important part of the experience. Visits to Borobudur Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, attendance at the Ramayana Ballet performance, and exploration of the Ullen Sentalu Museum offered insight into how moral narratives are embedded in tradition, art, and collective memory. These moments deepened conversations about ethics by grounding them in cultural practice rather than abstraction.
Through Globethics Doctoral School 2024, Yogyakarta became more than a venue. It became a meeting point for global perspectives. The collaboration between UGM, Globethics, and YADEMA opened pathways for longer-term cooperation in advancing ethical leadership and responsible governance, both regionally and internationally.
