The role of color in ethical reflection and decision making
Thu. 7 – Mon. 11 October 2027 / St André d’Olérargues, France
Summary outline
This Colloquium is intended to offer participants an opportunity to engage in a sustained discussion on the general theme: The role of color in ethical reflection and decision making. Our keynojte speaker and guest of honor will be Prof. Dr. Henk ten Have, author of the 2025 book “Color, Healthcare and Bioethics”. Participants are invited to prepare a presentation on the theme of the Colloquium, broadly understood. With a maximum of 20 participants, there will be ample time for sustained discussions.
Format
While the Colloquium will provide plenty of food for thought, there will also be ample time for shared meals with a nice glass of wine, relaxation in the beautiful surroundings, and cultural enrichment.
Presentations by participants
Each participant is invited (though certainly not required) to prepare a presentation, to be given during the seminar. While this presentation may cover a completed ethics project, it can also involve a “work-in-progress” that can benefit from peer feedback. Presentations may report on a research study, an educational approach, a decison-making method, a policy challenge, or still another ethics related endeavor. Drawing from history, the arts and the humanities is strongly encouraged. For each presentation, at least 40 minutes will be set aside for an in-depth discussion.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of possible presentation themes:
- The conceptual connections between color and value
- Colors in our moral vocabulary
- The sacredness of colors and appropriation of these colors
- The symbolism of colors and moral metaphors
- The emotive power of colors
- Associations between color and moral perceptions and judgment
- Color, identity and othering
- Color blindness and exclusion
- The role of color in social justice and justice systems
- (Changes to) the colors of the human body
- The (un)ethical use of color in design and fashion
- The (un)ethical use of color in messaging and propaganda
- The impact of color (and colorants) on human health
- Greenwashing
- Ethical concerns about the sourcing of colorants
2027 keynote speaker
Henk ten Have, MD, PhD is Professor Emeritus of Healthcare Ethics at Duquesne University (USA) and Research Professor at the Faculty of Bioethics of Anahuac University (Mexico). He has also directed UNESCO’s Division of Ethics of Science and Technolog. Ten Have is a prolific author who has published on virtually every topic in bioethics. He will be present for the duration of the Colloquium to engage in conversations. Conversely, participants are asked to read his book on “Color, Healthcare and Bioethics” in advance, the online version of which is available free of charge here. For more information about Dr. Ten Have, please click here.
Program
The seminar will start on Thursday afternoon October 7 at 15:00. It will end on Monday afternoon October 11 following a festive final luncheon. Since the program will be composed around submissions from participants, the exact schedule will be available only towards the start of the Colloquium. Additional cultural events such as special exhibitions or concerts can likwise be inserted only when their dates becomes known. The approximate schedule for the Colloquium is as follows:
Program
DAY 1: THURSDAY
Morning / early afternoon: Pickup, arrival and registration
15:30 – 16:30: Welcome and introductions
16:30 – 17:30: Opening Keynote by Henk ten Have
17:30 – 18:30: Break / Happy Hour
18:30 – 20:00: Dinner
20:00 – 22:30: Optional visit of the Pont-du-Gard
DAY 2: FRIDAY
8:00 – 9:00: Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30: Participant presentations
10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30: Participant presentations
12:30 – 14:00: Lunch
14:00 – 15:30: Regional guest speaker
15:30 – 16:00: Coffee break
16:00 – 17:30: Participant presentations
17:30 – 18:30: Break / Happy Hour
18:30 – 20:00: Dinner
20:00 – 22:30: Optional visit of the Pont-du-Gard
DAY 3: SATURDAY
8:00 – 9:00: Breakfast
Morning: Optional excursion to the medieval town of Uzès and its Saturday morning market
Lunch on your own in Uzès
15:30 – 17:30: Participant presentations
17:30 – 18:30: Break / Happy Hour
18:30 – 20:00: Dinner
20:00 – 22:30: Film, color, and ethical messaging
DAY 4: SUNDAY
8:00 – 9:00: Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30: Participant presentations
10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30: Participant presentations
12:30 – 14:00: Lunch
14:00 – 15:30: Keynote presentation by Henk ten Have
15:30 – 16:00: Coffee break
16:00 – 17:30: Participant presentations
17:30 – 18:30: Break / Happy Hour
18:30 – 20:00: Dinner
20:00 – 22:30: Optional visit of the Pont-du-Gard
DAY 5: MONDAY
8:00 – 9:00: Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30: Participant presentations
10:30 – 11:00: Coffee break
11:00 – 12:30: Participant presentations
12:30 – 14:00: Festive final lunch
Afternoon: Departures
Language
The seminar is held in English. There will not be simultaneous language in other languages. However, non-native speakers should not hesitate to register. All St André seminars are international and attendees are always ready to work past linghuistic challenges. As long as participants have a solid conversational competency in English, what matters most is a willingness to engage in the discussions and not be worried about linguistic imperfections.
Certificate
Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion, detailing the seminar program.
Meeting location and travel
The Workshop will be held in the Gard Deparment in the south of France, more specifically in the area that is called “Provence Occitane”. Participants will be housed in the village of St André d’Olérargues and surrounding villages. The staff of the Chateau Saint Andre Center will pick up each participant on the first day in Avignon to be taken to their lodging site, and they will likewise be shuttled daily to the workshop sites.
On the first day of the seminar (or earlier for participants wishing to spend one or more extra days in St André before the start of the seminar), you will be picked up at one of three locations:
- The Avignon TGV train station. This is where the direct high speed trains from the Paris CDG airport arrive and from the Gare the Lyon train station in Paris downtown. It is also where direct daily trains from several other major cities arrive (incl. Lille, Lyon, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Barcelona, Madrid).
- The Avignon Centre train station. As the name indicates, this station is located in the center of Avignon, just outside the medieval city walls. Some trains from downtown Paris arrive at this station, as well as trains from the Marseille airport and from the Nice airport.
- Your downtown Avignon hotel/B&B. If anybody elects to spend extra days before the start of the symposium in Avignon to explore the city and any additional highlights in the area, you will be picked up there (or as close as we can come by car).
French intercontinental airports include Paris CDG, Nice, Marseille (Canada, Africa, Dubai, Shanghai) and Lyon (only Montreal, North-Africa and Dubai). All of these airports also have direct connections to other major airports in Europe as well as the Middle East.
If you are coming by train, book your train tickets early. You may not be able to book until 3 months before your travel, but do not wait until a week before since French trains do fill up, particularly in the summer.
Should you desire to rent a car, the Avignon TGV station has offices of all major car rental companies.
The staff of the Chateau Saint Andre Center will send some more travel info (particularly about train connections) by email, and assist you with you particular travel plans. Please email to info[[at]]chateausaintandre.center to discuss your travel plans.
Registration process
Registration is limited to 20 participants. Registration for the seminar can be done via the online registration form. .
Fees and cancellation issues
Once we have confirmed availability, we will reserve a spot for you which we will hold for you as long as spots remain available (evidently, we will alert you if we reach maximum enrollment). Your reservation will be guaranteed once the downpayment (see below) has been received.
The seminar fee schedule is as follows:
- Regular attendence: US$ 1495 (or Euro 1245),
- Reduced student fee: US$ 1295 (or Euro 1080)
The registration fee includes:
- Transport from Avignon to St André d’Olérargues on Day one, and return transport at the end of the Colloquium.
- Attendance of all academic sessions
- 4 nights of accommodation at the location of the Workshop
- All breakfasts, coffee breaks, lunches, happy hours, and dinners (except for the lunch on the “afternoon off” in Uzès)
- One half-day excursion to Uzès and evening visit to the Pont-du-Gard
- All VAT/TAV taxes and tourist taxes.
The fee for accompanying persons (sharing a bedroom) is US$685 / €570 and includes all scheduled meals, happy hours and scheduled excursions. Depending on interest, additional excursions will be arranged for accompanying person to nearby sites such as the Roman excavations of Gaujac, the medieval towns of Cornillion and Montclus, and the village of St Quentin-la-Poterie with its Friday morning market and two dozen ceramics workshops.
IMPORTANT
Your reservation is guaranteed once your downpayment has been received. A downpayment of US$300 / € 255 is due no later than July 1 or concurrent with the registration for any registrations occuring after July 1. The downpayment is nonrefundable unless the seminar is cancelled by the organizers. However, please do not send the downpayment until we have confirmed by email that (a) the minimum number of 10 registered participants has been reached; whereas (b) the maximum of 20 registrations has not yet been attained.
A minimum of 10 registrations is needed to assure in-depth exchanges and sustained discussions. Please do NOT book non-refundable flights or hotel rooms until the conference organizers confirm that the seminar has reached the minimum number of 10 registered participants to occur.
Payment is due in full by September 1, 2026. Please note that a late fee of $100 will be added for payments made after this date.
More information on modes of payment will be provided by email to registrants.
Additional information
For all questions about this seminar, please use the contact button below.