Organized by the Sophia University Institute and another 8 European universities, the international seminar ‘Fraternity: Relational Principle in Politics & Law’ will take place on 11-13 March in Loppiano. There will be 61 speakers, among whom are 25 professors and lecturers from Brazil, 6 from Argentina, and a significant group from Africa. Academic interest in the theme of fraternity, understood not so much within the sphere of the family or as a bond within the community, but as a principle of thought and action in the public arena, has grown tremendously in the last few years at an international level, as witnessed by the growing literature on the topic. It is not a recent discovery, of course, with its long history – a story of many parts since it touches upon civilizations in all the continents which have left many and influential signs upon contemporary cultures. Moments of fraternity, for example, have characterized recent important and historic turning points (for instance, post Marcos Philippines, the peace process in Mozambique, South Africa following the end of Apartheid). But until only a few years ago there was little awareness of the fact, and its historical, social and cultural impact was not fully understood. Things are beginning to change and there is growing interest in the notion of fraternity in academic circles as a result of significant published research and scholarly conferences such as the seminar to take place in Loppiano. This seminar will consider a range of themes to do with fraternity, going from democracy (especially intelligent and participatory democracy) to international relations, from law to philosophy, from education to the world’s major cultural traditions. The international seminar ‘Fraternity, relational principle in politics and law’ is, first of all, a meeting point and an opportunity to explore more deeply for scholars already working in this field, but it is of similar interest to scholars of other disciplines and to the wider public who are also invited to attend. To book click on the following sites: www.principiofraternita.it www.fraternityprinciple.it www.iu-sophia.org