The most prominent international experts have discussed one of the most pressing problems of our time using different approaches in the Eternal City, on the grounds of the Catholic Church's teaching.

The success of the previous conference which was held a year ago is demonstrated by the fact that based on its results PPCU's Laudato si' Institute has developed an independent master program – unique in its field – to provide an adequate level of education on the topic of sustainability, which has been greatly sought after by European, US and Indian Catholic institutions. The progress of the program is also reflected in its expansion to a two-day scientific discussion compared to last year's one-day conference.

PPCU's research team was founded in 2015 and chosen the title Laudato si' in 2016 after Pope Francis second encyclical with the same name, which focuses on the protection of the environment and sustainable development. PPCU's Laudato si' has been elevated to an institute on the day of the previous conference in 2017 after many outstanding Catholic university from Europe and outside have announced their interest in joining the exceptional initiative.

The first lecture of the conference was given by Prof Szabolcs Szuromi, the rector of PPCU on the summary of 'Sustainability and the ethical protection of human dignity', which placed the human life and its respectibility deriving from being created by God at its center. After this the lectures of Michael Narodoslawsky (Graz), Stuart Scott (USA), William M. Lafferty (Netherlands), Bala Chaudhary (USA), Yogendra Shastri (India), Korzenszky Emőke (Hungary), Jeffrey R. Seay (USA), Tim Krantz (USA), Josef Maurosek (Czech Republic), Vicente Rico Ramirez (Mexico), Renate Christ (Austria), Heriberto Cabezas (Hungary) and Ferenc Friedler (Hungary).

The themes concerned primarily social, ecological and environmental issues, as well as the problems regarding food, drinking water and climate change. The conference was attended by Tebaldo Vinciguerra, first secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (Vatican) and Gábor Mohos, the Rector Pontificium Institutum Ecclesiasticum Hungaricum in Urbe, as well as representatives of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).