For a couple of years, the city of Nuremberg has taken an active part in the “International weeks against racism”. This year, New Acropolis Nuremberg once again joined the initiative, which this time focussed on “Protecting man´s dignity”.

The speech given by Mr. Walter Krejci, co-head of the Nuremberg branch of Treffpunkt Philosophie Neue Akropolis, centered around the 15^th century philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. Pico della Mirandola was not the first yet a very important promoter of man´s dignity. He was a polymath that had studied ancient Greek, Christian, Jewish and Islamic religion and wisdom with the approach to extract marked similarities and to reconcile different thoughts in an open philosophical dialogue.

While this idealistic approach was soon crushed by the catholic church, his forewords to the international congress, which never materialized, survived to become a key cornerstone for the dignity of man that he had postulated.

The lecture then continued to show Pico´s lasting effect on philosophers´ thoughts and the establishment of man´s dignity also in the German constitution.

Some shocking examples of our present days made it clear that there is an urgent necessity to defend men´s dignity and rights against any type of violation no matter where it happens.