Call for papers:

Building upon the success of previous editions—first on Culture as a Global Public Good and then Intercultural Perspectives on Autonomy, Freedom and Independence—this third edition focuses on the critical role of identity and intercultural awareness in contemporary management, with a particular interest for cultural and educational institutions.

Organized under the aegis of the UNESCO Chair in Interculturality, Good Governance and Sustainable Development, at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, the conference engages multidisciplinary academic communities and practitioners to reflect on how philosophical insights inform and develop leadership, governance, and sustainable development in increasingly diverse organizational contexts.

The UNESCO Chair, active since 1999 and running internationally‑oriented MA programmes in Intercultural Management and Communication, fosters a nexus between interculturality, philosophical grounding, and governance. Responding to UNESCO’s UNITWIN and SDG agendas, this event invites contributions that explore identity not merely as personal or cultural signifier, but as a strategic and ethical dimension within leadership and organizational change.

We welcome theoretical, empirical, and practice-based papers, including those offering rigorous philosophical analysis. Participants who submit papers for evaluation are kindly asked to consider one of the following panels:

Panel 1. Philosophical Foundations of Identity in Management

• Ontology of identity in leadership;
• Ethical dimensions of identity negotiation in multicultural teams;
• Philosophical perspective on intercultural awareness;
• Intercultural perspectives on identity, alterity and difference within power relationships.

Panel 2. Intercultural Awareness, Governance and Leadership

• Intercultural competences: genealogy, challenges and philosophical underpinnings;
• Case studies where identity-informed leadership enhanced good governance in NGOs, public bodies, or corporations;
• UNESCO`s methods to boost intercultural competences;
• Raising intercultural awareness on World Heritage.

Panel 3. Intercultural Governance, Identities and Public Goods

• The role of identity awareness in shaping inclusive policies and sustainable strategies for intercultural environments;
• Tensions between global governance norms and local identities;
• Public goods, ethnic diversity and governance of the public sphere.

Panel 4. Digital & Virtual Management Contexts

• Power effects on real and virtual identities: cultural misunderstandings and conciliations in digital societies
• Virtual governance and philosophical questions of awareness, representation, and belonging
• The future of UNESCO`s e-platforms on intercultural dialogue
• Promoting cultural awareness in the era of A.I.
• The (Un)Expected impact of A.I. on intercultural management and cultural awareness.

Panel 5. Educational & Training Perspectives

• UNESCO`s chapters on intercultural education;
• UNESCO`s intercultural leadership programmes;
• Building intercultural awareness for sustainable education.

Deadline:

Contributions (including an abstract of 300 words, title and a short professional bio in English) are expected to be submitted by accessing the official form, no later than the 28^th of August 2025.

Evaluation results will be communicated to participants before September 5, 2025.

The conference will be held in Bucharest, at the UNESCO Chair in Interculturality, Good Governance and Sustainable Development, Friday, on the 17^th of October 2025.

Organizing institutions:

• Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Romania
• The UNESCO Chair in Interculturality, Good Governance and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
• CCIIF – The Research Center for the History and Circulation of Philosophical Ideas, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

Organizing Committee

• Prof. Dr. Viorel Vizureanu – Dean, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest (Romania)
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Steger – University of Regensburg; Chairman of the Scientific Board for the M.A. Program in Intercultural Management, organized by the UNESCO Chair, University of Bucharest
• Prof. Dr. Thomas Straub – University of Geneva; Chairman of the Scientific Board for the M.B.A. Program, organized by the UNESCO Chair, University of Bucharest
• Lecturer Dr. Oana Șerban – Director, Research Center for the History and Circulation of Philosophical Ideas, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest; Manager of SMOC (Sustainable Management in Cultural Organizations)
• Dr. Lilian Ciachir – Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest
• PhD. Candidate Andreea Vlad – Doctoral School, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest

 Financial support:

The conference is supported by SMOC – Sustainable Management in Cultural Organizations (project supported by the program of grants developed to increase institutional performance in the University of Bucharest) & FSS GRANTS (University of Bucharest & Ministry of Education).

Financial information:

Coffee breaks and lunch will be provided by the organizers. Participants are encouraged to apply to their institutions for mobility grants, including costs of accommodation. On request, we can provide a limited number of rooms of the Hotel Academica, The Guests House of the University of Bucharest, offered at a preferential fee for the participants to the conference.