The Centre for Human and Cultural Values at The University of Western Australia is now open for business….
A new centre to promote the understanding and appreciation of human and cultural values and their impact on important societal issues opened last month in the Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Education at The University of Western Australia.
The Centre for Human and Cultural Values launched with two weeks of events in February 2018. Over 250 international, national and local academics and practitioners from an impressive array of backgrounds participated in these events; (Psychology, Social Work, Sociology, Political Science, Public Policy, Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Education, History, Marketing, Tourism, Management, Finance, Economics and Philanthropy, to name a few…) Below is a short summary of opening events:
- Professors Matthew Tonts and Julie Lee officially opened the Centre at the UWA Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, alongside a very relevant exhibit from Zadok Ben-David on HUMAN NATURE.
- Professor Ron Fischer (Victoria University of Wellington) gave a thought provoking Public Lecture on “Personality, Values, Culture, Evolution – why are we similar and yet so different?”
- Professor Shalom Schwartz spend a morning discussing values with early career and research students in a Values Masterclass.
- The inaugural Values Impact Forum featured engaging Plenary Addresses from Professor Shalom Schwartz on Personal and Cultural Values and Keynote addresses from Professors Ariel Knafo-Noam (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Rory Fitzgerald (Director of the European Social Survey; City, University of London), and Jan Cieciuch (Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw), as well as UWA’s Professor Julie Lee and Dr Joanne Sneddon. Competitive papers were also presented in each of the four main Forum themes: (1) values and the socialisation of children; (2) values and consumer behaviour; (3) values and global public opinion; and (4) values and giving. Forum photographs, abstracts and full programme can be accessed here.
The Centre is keen to involve Matariki members who may be interested in Human and Cultural Values theory, method, and applications. The Centre currently has six main research streams, including: (1) Personal and Cultural Values; (2) Prosocial Behaviour; (3) Children’s Values; (4) Consumer Behaviour; (5) Societal issues and (6) the workplace. Visit the Centre website to see how you can become involved, or alternatively email the Centre at [email protected] and make a suggestion. We look forward to hearing from you.
 |  Masterclass with Shalom Schwartz |  |