lic. phil. Barbara Bleisch

Head Advanced Studies in Applied Ethics,
University Zurich, Switzerland

Barbara Bleisch is head of the post-graduate program in "Advanced Studies in Applied Ethics" at the Centre for Ethics, University of Zurich, where she is also a lecturer and researcher. She holds a master degree in Philosophy, German Literature and Religious Studies, and is completing her Ph.D. on questions of world poverty and its ethical implications in 2007. Her recent publications include articles about gender perspectives on water resources and sanitation; natural catastrophes and humanitarian aid; global justice; and a book of essays she has edited on ethical aspects of pacifism.

Besides her academic position, Barbara Bleisch has been working as a journalist and regular correspondent for the NZZ and other newspapers since 1998. She moderated "Sternstunde Philosophie", a talkshow on philosophy on SF 1; and "Café Philo" at the EXPO.02, a forum for public debate she is continuing to facilitate in Brugg and Lucerne.

In 2004, Barbara Bleisch served as an intern at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in the Sustainable Development Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. In the same year, she completed a project on behalf of Solidarmed in Lesotho.

She is Member of the Board of the Zurich University Centre for Ethics, Member of the International Development Ethics Association (IDEA) and Member of the Swiss Study Foundation.