Where Values Meet Victory: 7th World Summit on Ethics & Leadership in Sports held in Basel
– Basel, 25 July 2025: Xherdan Shaqiri and Jeannine Gmelin honoured with the Ethics in Sports Award 2025 during the conference proceedings
On 24 July 2025, the Volkshaus Basel became an international meeting point for dialogue on ethics, responsibility, and values in sport and beyond. The 7th World Summit on Ethics & Leadership in Sports, organised by the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), brought together more than 300 participants from over 40 countries, including representatives from sports federations, politics, business, academia, civil society, and the media.
Held alongside the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025, the conference sent a clear signal about the vital social role of sport.
Celebrating Integrity and Inspiration
A highlight of the day was the presentation of the Ethics in Sports Award 2025:
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Outstanding Individual: Xherdan Shaqiri, international football star, recognised for his long-standing commitment to integration, fairness, and intercultural dialogue through sport. Known for his pure joy in the game and humility despite great success, Shaqiri serves as a role model for countless children and young people worldwide, who see in him not only an athlete but also a bridge-builder between cultures.
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Outstanding Contribution to Mental Health in Sports: Jeannine Gmelin, Swiss elite rower, honoured for her authentic advocacy for mental health, fairness in sport, and support for young female athletes. Through her openness about personal setbacks and her quiet, values-driven leadership, she has shown that true strength allows vulnerability — setting new standards in sport.
The awards were presented by Alojz Peterle, former Prime Minister of Slovenia and WFEB Board Member, and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, WFEB founder.
High-Level Dialogue on Values and Leadership
Speakers included Dominique Blanc, President of the Swiss Football Association; Honey Thaljieh, FIFA Manager, co-founder of women’s football in Palestine, and the first captain of the Palestinian national women’s team; Bernhard Heusler and Bernhard Burgener, both former Presidents of FC Basel; Alex Frei, former Swiss national player; Swiss National Councillor Mustafa Atici; and football manager Philipp Kaufmann.
The City of Basel set a distinctive tone in its opening remarks, and a German-language afternoon forum explored the enduring values of sport. Across plenary panels and interactive breakout sessions, participants examined values-based leadership, the role of sport as a societal role model, the protection of sporting integrity, and how to strengthen inclusion and equal opportunity in systemic ways.
Tackling Controversial Topics
One of the most talked-about discussions centred on the Enhanced Games, where performance-enhancing substances would be permitted under medical supervision. The concept was presented in person by Dr. Aron D’Souza, President of the initiative, and sparked a lively, polarised exchange — reflecting the summit’s commitment to open, fact-based, interdisciplinary dialogue on emerging trends in sport.
Mental Health and Resilience as Cross-Cutting Themes
The issue of mental health was woven through many of the day’s panels, with speakers from elite sport, education, and business emphasizing the need for structures that promote resilience, prevention, and a conscious performance culture — both in sport and in the workplace. Contributions from female athletes such as Jeannine Gmelin and Honey Thaljieh added powerful personal testimony to the conversation, highlighting how sport can be a force for equality, empowerment, and social unity.
A Call for Global Responsibility
In his keynote, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, WFEB founder and regular speaker at the United Nations in Geneva and New York, the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the European Parliament in Brussels, emphasised trust, transparency, and intercultural responsibility as the cornerstones of ethical leadership.
About the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB)
The World Forum for Ethics in Business is an independent foundation based in Belgium with special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Since 2003, WFEB has worked globally to advance ethical leadership, good governance, and societal transformation through conferences, leadership programmes, and cross-sector dialogue. The Basel summit is part of WFEB’s international series of events, which have taken place at the European Parliament, FIFA headquarters in Zurich, the United Nations in Geneva, Anti-Doping Norway, and FC Union Berlin.
WFEB is currently led by Dr. Sanjay Pradhan, former Vice President of the World Bank and former CEO of the Open Government Partnership, a global coalition of over 70 countries committed to promoting transparency and accountability.
Press Contact
Email: press(at)wfeb.org