Public Lecture Series

[lecture in german]

Inaugural Lectures in the Department of Environmental Economics/Environmental Law:
Prof. Dr. Milena Valeva & Prof. Dr. Maximilian Wanderwitz

"NPOs & NGOs - the sustainability potential of the third sector" - Prof. Dr. Milena Valeva

The third sector is often used as a hodgepodge for those organizations that cannot be assigned to either the public or the private sector. This diffuse distinction is often accompanied by an eclectic understanding of the concepts, methods, structures and concepts of the third sector. In her inaugural lecture, Prof. Dr. Valeva will offer an overview of the potential of third sector organizations - nonprofit organizations and non-governmental organizations - arguing for a return to the conceptual beginnings of this field (Etzioni coined the term as early as the 1970s) - nonprofit organizations are based on the principle of "solidarity" and are breaking new ground. No other direction is more debatable than the direction of "sustainability".

"Law and ethics in the digital world" - Prof. Dr. Maximilian Wanderwitz

Digitization permeates all areas of life - this sentence has become a platitude. But with every digital development, new and exciting questions open up for the legal profession. And underneath these questions lies a deeper level, an ethical level, which we must consider if we want to develop practical legal solutions. As a newly appointed Professor of Information Technology Law, Prof. Dr. Wanderwitz will offer a first insight into the multifaceted topic of "Law and Ethics in the Digital World" in his inaugural lecture.

Replay | Prof. Dr. Milena Valeva
Replay | Prof. Dr. Maximilian Wanderwitz

[lecture in german]

"Circular value creation in the region - potentials and actors" - Prof. Dr.-Ing. Susanne Hartard

The recycling economy of the future is regional. The current collapse of the global plastics and used textile export markets shows the necessity to implement recycling management locally. In her presentation, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Susanne Hartard presents innovative business areas of circular value creation. With the amendment of the Recycling Management Act and the EU Eco-design Directive, local repair, rental and leasing services will gain in importance in the future. Opportunities exist in decentralized packaging cycles, a professionalization of up-cycling and the cooperation of companies in resource management. Non-profit organizations traditionally play an important role in circular value creation.

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[lecture in german]

"Culture and Politics in South Africa: Insights into the Third Sector" - Prof. Dr. habil. Julius Heinicke (University of Hildesheim, UNESCO Chair for Cultural Policy)

With the end of apartheid, South Africa, as a rainbow nation, is not only counting on the presence of social and cultural diversity, but is also attempting to support and moderate the associated political processes through art and cultural work. The lecture questions and analyzes various cultural programs in South Africa, which especially deal with the increasing challenges of a divergent cultural society and produce innovative formats, mostly initiated and implemented with NGOs and other non-profit organizations.

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[lecture in german]

"Implementing social sustainability in textile supply chains" - Mariska Przyklenk (FairTrade Germany, Head of Non-Food)

In contrast to supply chains in the food sector, textile supply chains are much more complex and globally and widely distributed. Where are the risks and how can companies counter these risks in a credible and appropriate manner? FairTrade's activities in the textile sector show how critical aspects of social sustainability can be addressed.

REplay

[lecture in english]

“UNODC’s anti-corruption work with NGOs” - Dr. Sigall Horovitz & Viktorija Nesterovaite (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime-UNODC, Vienna)

The presentation will address UNODC’s collaboration with NGOs in the context of developing and promoting teaching modules on anti-corruption, integrity and ethics under the E4J initiative. I will provide specific examples of good practices and challenges of such collaborations. I will also invite the students to propose new ways for UNODC to work with NGOs on such projects, with a special emphasis on “out of the box” ideas. We will spend some time during the session discussing the students’ ideas.

Replay

[lecture in english]

Thema: “Social innovation through NPOs and Social Business” - Dr. Hagai Katz (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel)

Why is Social Innovation all the rage today? It is so because of recent understanding that we are repeatedly failing in solving major social issues, such as poverty, pollution and infectious disease. Part and parcel of this is the realization that existing social and organizational structures and models to seek and deploy solutions are part of the problem. We will discuss, through examples of effective social innovations, why NPOs and social business are best positioned to identify and legitimate social problems, and how the hybrid business models that they employ are able to generate sustainable solutions that are innovative in both form and process.

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[lecture in english]

„Ethical Perspectives on Regional Sustainable Development” - Prof. Dr. Yotam Lurie (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel)

In a sense, “sustainability” has become the reigning ideology of our time, and there are experts on many practical dimensions pertaining to sustainability, touching upon practical questions, such as, how to implement sustainability and shape the future in order to make it more sustainable or on how to measure sustainability, using various benchmarks, indicators and sustainability standards, so as to assess where we stand and set new goals for sustainable development. While these are legitimate and important practical endeavors, the following talk will be a bit more theoretical and much less practical. Within the talk, I shall discuss three different ethical perspectives through which I hope to make sense of the ethics of regional sustainable development.

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[lecture in german]

"The German Red Cross in Saarland: global responsibility - borne locally" - Dr. Martin Rieger, Managing Director, Saarland Regional Association of the German Red Cross and Lisa Geimer-Klein, M.A., Head of Human Resources and Organizational Development, Saarland Regional Association of the German Red Cross

The Red Cross and Red Crescent is the largest humanitarian movement in the world: based on seven principles, active in over 190 nations and supported primarily by volunteers, the (D)RK has been part of global and local society for almost two centuries. How does the aid organization shape the processes of change in society in the areas of civil engagement, civil protection and educational development, and what are the effects of the increasing demands on the development of associations both locally and internationally?

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[lecture in german]

"Presentation of the Stefan Morsch Foundation" - Susanne Morsch (Chairwoman of the Board Stefan Morsch Foundation, Birkenfeld), Dr. Wolfgang Peter (Head of R&D Stefan Morsch Foundation, Birkenfeld)

The leukemia illness of the 16-j?hrige Stefan Morsch from Hoppst?dten Weiersbach moved in the middle of the 1980's many humans in Germany and world-wide. His sister and today's chairperson of the Stefan-Morsch-Stiftung, Susanne Morsch, reports on the beginnings of Germany's first stem cell donor file and what the non-profit organization is doing today both nationally and internationally in the fight against blood cancer.

Replay