July 21-22, 2014. An innovation for future generations of graduates in European and Italian Economics: Fifty students at the Lumsa University of Rome recite and undersign the Genovesian Oath committing themselves to exercise their profession according to a demanding ethical code. The initiative takes its name from the first professor of Economics in Italian history, Antonio Genovesi who, in 1754 was a voice for values such as trust, public happiness and mutual assistance. It is just a small parchment,” explains Professor Bruni of the department of Economic Sciences at Lumsa University, “but will have an impact on a symbolic and ritualistic level. Publicly reciting and undersigning the Genovesian Promise at such a significant moment as a doctoral hooding ceremony is not mere rhetoric or folklore.” The oath proposes an epochal challenge at a time of crisis and precarious values. In his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis states that the present economy kills. Professor Bruni adds: “Nowadays people are dying not only because of causes linked to medicine, but also because of the omissions and mistakes committed by economists, financers and managers: nowadays people are dying as a result of decisions and the unethical behaviour of banks and businesses. For this reason a commitment to ethics in economics, an oath to abide by certain values and behaviours is not less weighty than that required of other professions that are ethically sensitive, and it can help trigger a virtuous cycle of economic and social change.” This could be an important step for Europe, as Rector of Lumsa University, Professor Giuseppe Dalla Torre said: “We need to pay attention to the civilian economy, its ethics, and overcome the individualistic mind-set that characterises it now.” Text of the Genovesian Oath:  “In receiving this Economics Degree today I promise that I will: 1) view the market as a set of opportunities for mutual benefit without, discrimination of language, gender, race or creed, and not as a competition or battleground wherein one wins at the expense of others; 2) never treat an employee as a commodity, capital, or resource of the company; 3) first of all recognise in my professional practice that employees, partners, colleagues, suppliers and clients are human beings, and because of that human dignity I must respect, value and honour them; 4) relate with my interlocutors with kindness, trust, fairness, justice, magnanimity, morality, and respect for every person, recognising this work ethic to as the best path to a good and sustainable economy; 5) see my career as the terrain for my personal growth and as a contribution to the common good.