Interview
You are a former WCC staff, once responsible for the Ecumenical Theological Education programme. What are the bridges that you see between that and your current work at Globethics?
Dr Ekué: In times of growing polarisation and conflict worldwide, the importance of a values-driven education cannot be understated. In such a climate, both my engagement in the ecumenical movement, for the whole-person education of theologians, as well as my commitment to integrating an awareness for ethics as a transversal dimension in public and in personal life, and within institutions, appear to me as complementary tasks and as a valuable attempt for building bridges of understanding between people. Ultimately, my work for the WCC and for Globethics have a strong “family resemblance.” It is all about creating environments of learning toward more peaceful communities.
How would you describe the collaboration of Globethics and GETI?
Dr Ekué: The collaboration between Globethics and GETI is a longstanding and fruitful one, which started with the usage of the Globethics repository for GETI at the WCC 10th Assembly in 2013 in Busan, South Korea and continued for the GETI editions at the Conference on World Mission in 2018 in Arusha and the WCC 11th Assembly in 2022 in Karlsruhe, Germany. However, I perceive the collaboration not only as an exchange of services but a genuine partnership, through which we journey together in supporting one another in our mission to nurture young people, scholars, and ecumenists for voicing their own unique contributions to the ecumenical movement and to shaping a better world.
Is Globethics involved in any other ecumenical formation initiatives around the world?
Dr Ekué: Globethics is involved in other ecumenical formation initiatives. Globethics is an accredited online and hybrid higher education institution with a portfolio of courses in three concentration areas (educational ethics, leadership ethics, and intercultural and interreligious ethics). Globethics’ course on Interreligious Cooperation for Peace constitutes an example for such an ecumenical formation initiative. The course has been designed with the idea in mind to target students from different religious backgrounds and it involved from the outset a diverse team of course authors representing different countries and religious traditions. Globethics also collaborates with ecumenical partners in different regions and thereby participates in and learns from the manifold innovative and contextual ecumenical formations.
What are the challenges and potentials for digital platforms of education in a time marked by the ascension of AI?
Dr Ekué: To my mind, a careful distinction needs to be made in the usage of AI for the purpose of education. This distinction is related to the manner in which AI may assist in reducing efforts, resources, and time necessary for routine and standardised tasks on the one hand, and on the other hand, to the possible biases it may create regarding the access to knowledge, its production and sharing. Therefore, a careful process of discernment needs to be built for educators to engage in this field and to propose solutions that prevent as much as possible such dangers of exclusion, limited access and circulation of diverse knowledge.
