IGVI Inaugural Conference: Berlin, September 15th-16th, 2025
Location: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Jägerstrasse 22-23, Berlin
For its inaugural conference, IGVI will explore a range of perspectives on values—their nature, functions, and cultural placement. We will explore what value inquiry can be, which forms of knowledge or understanding it can produce. And by considering what a global approach to value inquiry requires, we can examine whether it might transform what it understands, leading to wider normative agreement. Scholars from across the world will share insights from their research into these questions. Discussions of how political, moral, social, and environmental values manifest in various contexts will proceed alongside reflection on the ways in which different philosophical traditions construct and justify such values. Attention will also be paid to the promises of an internationally-networked research institute, dedicated to studying the many facets of evaluative life. The conference aims, therefore, to expand our understanding of value and strengthen our collaborative bonds. It will help lay the foundation for IGVI’s future development.
Preliminary timetable
Monday, 15.9.2025
10.15-10.30: Welcome address and Introduction by Anke Graness & Valentin Beck
10.30-12.30: Approaches to Global Value Inquiry
- Valentin Beck (Berlin): „Globality in Value Inquiry—Approaches and Challenges“
- Edwin Etieyibo (Johannesburg): „Some Challenges for a Glocal Value Framework“
12.30-13.30: Lunch
13.30-15.30: African Feminist Perspectives on Values
- Constance Akurugu (Wa, Ghana): „Ethics and Values for Navigating Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa“
- Presentation by the African Gender Equality Research Group (H. Titilola Olojede [Lagos], V. Ope Akoleowo [Ibadan, Nigeria], Betty Okot [Kampala], Lindokuhle Gama [Grahamstown, South-Africa], Tobias Tseer [Wa, Ghana])
15.30-16.00: Break
16.00-18.00: Environmental Values
- Workineh Kelbessa (Addis Ababa) : „Environmental values and norms in a globalizing world: The Case of Ethiopia“
- Presentation by the Environmental Values and Ethics in Ethiopia Research Group (Fasil Merawi, Getahun Dana, Mindaralew Zewdie, Aden Husien [all Addis Ababa])
18.00-18.15: Break
18.15-20.00: Keynote Address: Hans Joas (Berlin): „Universalism: A Global History“
Tuesday, 16.9.2025
9.00-11.00: Values in Daoism
- Robin Wang (Los Angeles): „The Soft Edge of Values: Dao and the Power of Emergent Relations“
- Christine Tan (Singapore): „Toward a Daoist Dependence-Based Autonomy: Rethinking Agency against the Logics of Domination“
11.00-11.30: Break
11.30-13.30: Values in African Philosophy
- Abosede Ipadeola (Hildesheim): „Can Moral Values Be Gender-Neutral? Should They Be?“
- Uchenna Okeja (Gqeberha, South Africa & Worcester, Massachusetts): „Values, Normativity and Practical Life“
13.30-14.30: Lunch
14.30-16.30: Global Philosophy
- Bryan van Norden (Poughkeepsie, New York & Wuhan): „Learning from Chinese Philosophy“
- Divya Dwivedi (Delhi): „Junūn of Canon: Laws, Values, and the Polynomial of the World“
16.30-17.00: Break
17.00-17.30: Anke Graneß (Hildesheim): Concluding Remarks
End of conference
About IGVI
IGVI is a newly founded institute for advanced studies in the humanities dedicated to genuinely global research into values and norms. It funds research across political, cultural, or linguistic boundaries, with a special concern for views from the Global South. The organisational structure of IGVI is decentralised, so as to maximize the support available for our scholarly programs. For more information, please contact us at info@igvi.org