Science, Civics, Love and Forgiveness
Scientists’ role in preserving and protecting an ever more fragile earth, and the interplay of science with love and forgiveness, are at the heart of a new college curriculum being developed in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Intended to uplift the concept of “Global Civics” via the natural sciences, the program is creating active collaboration among several universities in partnership with the Fetzer Institute.
The project aims to inspire and provide guidance to science students to become cognizant not only of their social responsibilities but also of the role they play in shaping a consequential future at a global scale. Participants are developing a curriculum for Global Civics that will be taught to university students in select Arabic-speaking countries and creating training materials for faculty members to prepare and educating the public on the Global Civics concept.
The project was inspired by a Global Gathering on love and forgiveness in Assisi, Italy in 2012. During that meeting, the Fetzer Advisory Council on Natural Sciences issued a call for scientists to develop “a more profound understanding of the scientific basis of love and forgiveness, as essential knowledge, allowing us to meet the challenges of the 21st century and beyond.”
The work challenges scientists to work to make Love and Forgiveness the compass of their actions and to increase scientifically informed responsibility.
Target audiences include scientists in various Middle East countries as well as university and elementary level science students in those areas.
This is a project of the Fetzer Advisory Council on Natural Sciences.