Review of the Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace (PJP) Series

Since its 10th Assembly of Busan, 2013, the World Council of Churches (WCC) started a movement that invites us to walk with them: a Pilgrimage for Justice and Peace (PJP), a project looking to foster a debate within its members, envisaging to mark the steps to walk towards the world we want. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is the broadest and most inclusive among the many organized expressions of the modern ecumenical movement, a movement whose goal is Christian unity.&nbsp

Music as an Universal Language for Peacebuilding: A Review of Counter-arguments

Many people claim that music is a universal language considering the impact and beneficial results that it usually triggers, whereas others reject the idea due to contextual or cultural sentiments and parameters that must be considered. Both sides’ arguments make sense but, despite skepticism, music should be considered as a universal language, which becomes clear by depicting it in the context of peacebuilding and by exploring its linguistics and therapeutic effects, through various domains such as philosophy, music theory and the contemporary world. The author argues that considering the counter-arguments and balancing it with this central claim, it is possible to reach an inspiring and complementary common ground between performing arts as music and philosophy

Book Review of The Ten Commandments: A Chinese Catechism of Living

This book review discusses You Bin’s intercultural approach to construct a Chinese version of catechism through the Ten Commandments as the vital content for both Chinese Christians and non-Christians in the Chinese context. It shows that integrating God’s Ten Commandments into Chinese traditional culture and social settings is not necessarily meant to compromise its biblical-theological essence with one’s self-critical awareness of culture. It suggests how this book might set an example for both theologians and practitioners to bring back the catechism, to bear upon the needs of contemporary Christians in the non-Western setting

Language Dynamics as an Interpersonal Phenomenon: The African Experience

This study uses secondary data to explore language dynamics in interpersonal communication for interpersonal relationships in Africa. Specifically, it looks at how the African society thrives in the use of this form of communication for the preservation of its culture and values and concludes that for these reasons interpersonal communication will continue to remain an intrinsic part of the African life and society

Ambivalence, Creative Investment, Publishing and Development

The role of an academic editor and publisher is not simple. It is even less so when providing guidance and support for authors from the countries of the majority world becomes a habitual condition of this activity. Editorial commitment in this context becomes ambivalent, as it has to be oriented towards meeting two distinct objectives: ensuring academic quality and providing support to authors. To meet this challenge the publisher hopes to make the most of online tools and networks. If some scholarly work fails to be published, it raises the question whether authors would benefit from mentorship to improve their texts and thereby meet with international academic standards. The publisher cannot entirely compensate for the weakness of the research work, but should seek to mitigate it

The Power of Stories: Inspiration to Ethical Behaviour

If we want to honour Obiora’s work and the inspiration he has offered and continues to provide we cannot get past his stories. He often uses stories to exemplify ethical behaviour and the impact of unethical behaviour. Reading and retelling stories are effective teaching tools for ethical behaviour. At the same time stories can foster intercultural communication as they promote dialogue and reflection on one’s own culture. They inspire understanding and embracing diversity. This article is an invitation to rediscover the power of stories in teaching ethical behaviour

Language and Value Orientations in Higher Education: An African Socio-Ethical Understanding

Language plays a central role in the life and activities of our world. This article is a theoretical analysis of the dynamic powers of language in driving possible value-based orientations in higher education. The multilingual nature of the continent of Africa and its bilateral lingual experiences during the colonial eras should be considered as both factual and impacting factors in evaluating language dynamics within value orientations and learning in the African case study. To this end, the article attempts to contribute to the fact that there is a need to find or reinstate value in Africa’s linguistics dynamics and its complexities, as well as give them properly structured orientations within the new phase of repositioning Africa in the global spaces

Homo Novus: Learning to Being Renewed: An Intercultural Motif for Educational Transformation

This contribution anchors the topic of transformative education in the discussion of human renewal. It posits that transformative education can only be perceived as an endeavour that encompasses the whole human being and the potential of humans to change and to adopt different perspectives on seeing and being in the world. The motif of the new human being (homo novus), as per the argument presented, can serve to develop a meaningful conceptual and praxis-related framework for education. Especially when considered against the background of the debate on education serving the establishment of communities of belonging across cultures, in which ethics and values can be lived and probed

Yahooism or Internet Fraud in the Nigerian Higher Education System

This study interrogates narrow-mindedness and laziness leading many of the Nigerian undergraduates to be tempted to cheat and fraud on Internet instead of working hard for their studies. The author proposes a contextual survey around a tendency also called “yahooism”, “yahoo-yahooism”, as most of the first attempted cybercrimes were realized by sending yahoo emails. This harmful tendency is contrasted with Prof Obiora Ike’s teaching on the value of hard work as the road to wealth. The study used the quantitative survey method of 372 undergraduates from two purposively selected higher in-stitutions in Nigeria, namely: Edo State University Uzairue and Federal Polytechnic Auchi, both in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. A questionnaire with a set of nine semi-structured questions is used to obtain data from the students between 15th July and 15th August 2022

Making Ethics Effective in Higher Education in Africa and Beyond: A Programme Led by a Visionary Leader, Prof. Obiora Ike

This article tracks the development of the Globethics.net Foundation’s work on ethics in higher education, mainly as a focus on the University administration and good practices. Ethics in university management and organisation is a center of focus since the new strategic focus of the Foundation in 2016, paying tribute to the leadership of Globethics.net Executive Director Obiora F. Ike.  Prof. Dr Ike pioneered the work and laid firm foundations for its continuation and global implementation. In addition to the Globethics.net resources of library, publications and online education through its academy, Globethics.net launched processes and tools to inspire and equip higher education institutions to reach true ethics excellence in their organisation as institutions