Conference Components
As its title suggests, Sustainable Visions and Global Values: Placing Local Action into Global Context builds upon the complementary missions of the IBAVI and Spencer Center by facilitating a dynamic process for civic and global engagement through the IBAVI’s six areas of thematic focus:
- Conflict Resolution—conflicts can be resolved through dialogue, reason, mutual understanding, and reconciliation;
- Human and Minority Rights—human and minority rights are respected and protected;
- Sustainability—the natural resources upon which life depends are preserved;
- Equal Treatment and Access—individuals and groups are neither persecuted nor denied equal access to education or social, legal, political, and economic resources;
- Global Education—educational systems expose students of all ages to the perspectives of individuals, groups, and cultures around the world; and
- Religious and Cultural Understanding—tolerance and understanding supplant hatred and violence in matters of cultural difference and religious faith.
Specifically, the conference includes six components: 1) identification of relevant exemplars, recommendations, and resources through presentations and working group processes; 2) local and global networking; 3) development of summary reports; 4) publication in Beliefs and Values: Understanding the Global Implications of Human Nature; 5) keynote addresses across six thematic areas; and 6) participation in the annual “Sustainable Visions and Values Award” ceremony.
Call for Proposals: Exemplars, Recommendations, and Resources
All SVV Conference attendees will be assigned to a working group that corresponds with their background, interests, and/or experiences. On the basis of pre-conference materials sent to all attendees – and through presentations and working group deliberations during the conference – participants will identify “exemplars” as well as “recommendations” at the level of scholarship, teaching, and service across six value-based themes: 1) conflict resolution; 2) human and minority rights; 3) sustainability; 4) equal treatment and access; 5) global education; and 6) religious and cultural understanding. Exemplars could include 1) scholarly programs of research and/or models or theories that are particularly relevant; 2) noteworthy curricula or courses (e.g., K-12, college/ university, continuing education); and/or 3) innovative and effective programs, projects, or other applications in the field which would appear to have particular promise or impact. Recommendations could include 1) theoretical issues or questions that may need to be addressed; 2) research that should be initiated or furthered; 3) programs, policies, or practices that should be considered or promoted; and 4) other applications or initiatives (e.g., K-12 curricula; web-based applications; further conference themes) that should be pursued across one or more of the six areas of emphasis in the future. Finally, a “resource” section under each of the six areas is designed to provide the basis for a regularly updated repository of reading materials, websites, conferences proceedings, relevant organizations, upcoming events, and so forth. Ultimately, all of this content can be organized in tabular form via the following theme-by-action grid:
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I. Conflict Resolution |
II. Human and Minority Rights |
III. Sustainability |
IV. Equal Treatment and Access |
V. Global Education |
VI. Religious and Cultural Understanding |
- A. Scholarship
- Exemplars
- Reccomendations
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- B. Teaching
- Exemplars
- Reccomendations
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- C. Service
- Exemplars
- Reccomendations
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- D. Resources
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Summary Reports
Based upon participant presentations and work group deliberations, summary reports will be developed at the conclusion of the conference. Likely areas of focus would include: 1) exemplars, recommendations, and resources; 2) discussion of how beliefs and values are expressed through selected “exemplars,” both locally and globally; 3) additional written context so that the complexity of these issues can be understood (e.g., historical, cultural, religious, political, gender-based, economic); 4) how the results of this conference and future activities may best be disseminated (including, but not limited to, publication in Beliefs and Values); 5) identification of funding opportunities and resources that can facilitate this process over the long-term; and 6) consensus regarding the processes for continued collaboration and conferences in the future.
Publication in Beliefs and Values
The IBAVI’s international and interdisciplinary journal is Beliefs and Values: Understanding the Global Implications of Human Nature, from Springer Publishing in New York (see www.springerpub.com/bv and www.ibavi.org/content/publications for reviews and other information about this journal). Conference papers will be considered for publication in Beliefs and Values while conference proceedings (e.g., from the above theme-by-action grid and Summary Reports) will help provide content and direction for future issues as well.
Local and Global Networking
One overarching goal of the Sustainable Visions and Values Conference is placing local action into global context by providing multiple opportunities for participants from a wide array of backgrounds to discuss scholarly, educational, and service activities with potential collaborators, both locally and globally. For example, local institutions and organizations not only will be sharing their innovative work with colleagues in and around the Shenandoah Valley, but will be inviting regional, national, and international colleagues and organizational representatives to learn from and contribute to this process as well. Emerging synergy will find expression in various conference processes (e.g., working groups across the six areas of emphasis) and outcomes (e.g., published journal papers; summary reports), which will help shape future events.
Keynote Addresses
Presently, the SVV Conference Steering Committee is securing keynote addresses from renowned presenters across the six thematic areas of the conference. These presentations are designed to facilitate dialogue among conference participants by highlighting relevant exemplars and offering research, teaching, and outreach recommendations for consideration.
Sustainable Visions and Values Award
Each year, the IBAVI recognizes a distinguished individual who exemplifies the transformative aspirations that are at the heart of the IBAVI’s mission, rationale, and goals.
Through their lives and work across one or more of the IBAVI’s six areas of emphasis, these extraordinary individuals embody “Sustainable Visions and Values.”
Past recipients of the SVV Award are as follows:
Members of IBAVI are eligible to nominate possible recipients of the SVV award, by sending 1) a description of the nominee, highlighting his or her work in one or more of IBAVI’s six areas of emphasis, 2) a copy of the nominee’s curriculum vita (if available), and 3) at least two nomination letters to ibavi@ibavi.org no later than March 1, 2011. The 2010 – 2011 recipient of the SVV Award will be recognized during this conference.
Ultimately, among other conference outcomes, SVV participants will come to better “understand beliefs and values and their impact on the decisions people make because they underpin how we see the world and each other,” says Dr. Christine Loh, Founder and Chief Executive Office of Civic Exchange in Hong Kong, and member of the IBAVI’s Advisory Board (www.ibavi.org/ content/christine-loh-obe). As Dr. Jo Beall, Professor of Development Studies at the London School of Economics, and another IBAVI Advisory Board member (www.ibavi.org/content/jo-beall-phd) concludes, “In a world characterized by asymmetries of wealth and power, international cooperation will be better achieved if we can understand and respect each other’s beliefs in the process of achieving shared values.”
