1
GLOBETHICS.NET CONTRIBUTION
TO GLOBAL VALUES AND VIRTUES
Walter Fust, Switzerland
1.1 From an Idea to a Vision
When Prof. Dr. Christoph Stückelberger came up with the idea in
2004 to use modern Information and Communication Technologies for
Development (ICT4D) as a tool for providing free access for people to
an electronic library on ethics, I carefully listened to his motivation. As
an experienced person teaching ethics and as Head of a development
organization, he foresaw a growing digital gap for professors and stu-
dents in developing countries as they had, compared to their counter-
parts in industrial countries, high hurdles to overcome in getting access
to data and books, as well as scientific journals. Furthermore, many in-
dividuals in these developing countries do not have financial means or
possess a credit card to pay for downloads or payable readings. He was
convinced that the time had come to prevent that gap from further grow-
ing and to narrow through better access to knowledge on ethics across
the globe.
I found his motivation pertinent and encouraged him to develop and
formulate his vision so to mobilize financial means for a start-up. As
responsible Director General, at that time, for Switzerland’s Develop-
ment and Cooperation Agency SDC, I favourably looked at his proposal