OICD Director's Blog

OICD Launches Facebook Page

2010-04-30T03:24:00.000-07:00

We now have a Facebook page! Please do go and visit and feel free to start up discussions topics and help us build up the community. If you are a facebook member, make sure to click the "like" button to associate your profile with the group.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/OICD-Organization-for-Intra-Cultural-Development/115393895155271

Bruce White visits Guyana

2009-09-09T04:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to OICD executive member Henry Jeffery, I met many people during my two day visit to Guyana (September 7-9th 2009). Based on some of the info and ideas that these people have brought to my attention, the OICD will put together a preliminary report investigating the potential impact and benefits of an Intra-Cultural Development Program (ICDP) for Guyana.

As well as the people featured in the photos below I was also fortunate enough to meet and talk with Ravi Dev, Ambassador Fraser Wheeler, Josephine Whitehead (briefly!), Eric Phillips and many members of the ROTARACT group.

Bruce White & Bishop Edghill (Ethnic Relations Commission)

Bruce White & House Speaker Ralph Ramkarran

Bruce White & Journalist Denis Chabrol

Great last night with Henry Jeffrey and ROTARACT's Odesia Richmond. All my gratitude to you both!

And to Shawn, who told me about his music and his society and gave me enough tracks to keep me going for quite some time!

Henry Jeffrey joins OICD Executive Committee

2009-02-24T09:17:00.001-08:00

A very warm welcome to Henry Jeffrey who formally joined the OICD Executive Committee last week.

Welcome Henry!

Henry's Profile

Henry studied social sciences and politics in the UK culminating in a PhD in Industrial Relations and Management at University College, Cardiff. Returning to Guyana, Henry took up a Senior Lecturer position, becoming Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Director of the Graduate School at the University of Guyana. From 1992 to 2008 Henry worked in politics and held a variety of high level posts in the Guyana government including: Minister of Labour, Housing, Human Services and Social Security, Minister of Health and Labour, Minister of Education, and Minister of Foreign Trade and International Cooperation. Henry has published a variety of books and articles on politics and development in Guyana and has authored a wide range of policies and bills to bring concrete positive change to his native nation. Henry brings a wealth of academic, social, economic and political experience and expertise to the OICD.

Click here to see the full list of current OICD Executive Committee members.

Click here to visit the OICD Homepage.

Patricia Foxen joins OICD Executive Committee

2009-02-09T01:02:00.001-08:00

A warm welcome to Patricia Foxen who joined the OICD Executive Committee last week! Patricia brings a range of important experience to the OICD such as work on post-war reconstruction and identity, to mention just one of her diverse interests. Patricia's profile is below.

Go here for a link to a full list of Executive Member profiles and pictures, pdf (553k)

Patricia Foxen (PhD 2002; MA 1994, McGill University; MPH 1990, Columbia University) is the Associate Director of Research at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Dr. Foxen is a Cultural and Medical Anthropologist who has been on faculty at Vanderbilt University and the University of Toronto, and has worked as a researcher at the Women's Health Program, Toronto General Hospital and the Transcultural Psychiatry Department, Montreal Children's Hospital.

Her areas of interest include violence and post-war reconstruction, migration and displacement, health and psychosocial well-being, and cultural identity in the Americas; she has worked extensively with Central American immigrant and refugee populations in the US and Canada. She is the author of "In Search of Providence: Transnational Mayan Identities" (Vanderbilt University Press 2007), an ethnographic account of the transnational passages of K'iche' Indians straddled between the war-torn Guatemalan highlands and the inner-city of Providence, Rhode Island. Prior to entering the field of anthropology, her work focused on the implementation of maternal and child health and family planning projects in Latin America and Mexico.

Return to the OICD Homepage

Understanding Intra-Cultural Development

2009-02-07T19:17:00.001-08:00

Understanding Intra-Cultural Development—The Capacity for Change

The way that we define ourselves as socio-cultural beings in relation to others in our societies—Indigenous vs. Immigrant, Subjugated vs. Dominant, Wealthy vs. Poor—has a huge bearing on the social, economic, political and security standards of our nation-states. This is particularly the case when such socio-cultural identities begin to define how we ought to think or behave, or, more crucially, who we able to build relationships with or cut ourselves off from.

Interdisciplinary research has consistently shown that people whose socio-cultural identities restrict, rather than empower, them from building relationships with others suffer from: emotional and intellectual instability, comparative economic inactivity, and an inability to engage fully in civil community building and social cohesion projects. The entrenchment that results from these effects can drive people further inward, and in extreme cases violence or even full-scale sectarian conflict is the result.

Despite the widely acknowledged fact that sustainable nation-building projects require all citizens to have an equal stake in their national community, a focus on the availability, quality, and effective management of socio-cultural resources is often left out of development and/or leadership strategy. At best, the relationships and perceptions of internal groups are merely acknowledged as factors to consider when making decisions on other matters, rather than a sector to "develop", engage with, or "manage".

Indeed, many governments and NGOs assume that socio-cultural identities are simply unchangeable or unmanageable, that people can only be a member of one cultural/ethnic/religious group with one dominant set of cultural symbols which serve to include them in that unit. Many organizations and leaders assume that such identities and symbols are only subject to change over decades, generations, or in the response to some kind of social revolution.

The Organization for Intra-Cultural Development (OICD) exists to tackle this assumption—to demonstrate that all individuals have the capacity to modify and/or move beyond any cultural representation of themselves if they are given more attractive, historically and scientifically accurate, and opportunity-rich, cultural symbolism with which to engage.

The OICD seeks to improve the conditions of social, political and economic life through the management of these critical human resources--providing newly arranged cultural symbolism to people whose current cultural identities are working to restrict sustainable self-images, social relationships and senses of cohesive community and/or national citizenship.

Using a series of techniques developed through the interdisciplinary study of identity and culture (psychological and social anthropological perspectives being key contributing disciplines), this intra-cultural development can be extremely effective in kick-starting dialogue within and between opposed groups, or within and between dominant and minority cultures. Such dialogue can in turn bring previously marginalized groups into the process of building new social networks and senses of shared community/nation.

Intra-cultural development is necessary in all modern and modernizing nation states. Building an intra-cultural development strategy should be of concern to all parties interested in improving the economic, social, political and security standards in their societies. Intra-cultural development is effective because it acts to affect change at the very genesis of socio-cultural identity, affecting how people link themselves to their cultural and national story, and thus how they behave and act towards others in their societies.

Upload of Members' Guide Complete

2009-02-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

Dear all,

Completed the pdf guide for general members. This pdf pack is aimed at familiarising general members with the workings of the OICD as well as ways in which members can become involved in the organization. It will shortly be linked to from the main OICD site.

The file is here:

http://www.oicd.net/Guide%20for%20General%20Members%20OICD.pdf

Open Call for OICD Research Affiliate Nominations

2009-01-02T01:35:00.001-08:00

If you are interested in joining the OICD as a research affiliate, or nominating someone you feel would be suitable please do so at any time by contacting Bruce White via the email address listed on the contacts page of the OICD main site. Information on the benefits of affiliate status is below.

OICD Research Affiliates

OICD Research Affiliates are individuals whose research or production (e.g. books, film, theatre) output speaks directly to one or more of the OICD aims or activities. Currently we have around ten research affiliates from areas such as Theatre Studies, Psychology, Anthropology, History and Political Science. The collective work of these individuals is the Organization's greatest resource and serves as the foundation for all other activities. Affiliates are given the privilege of honorary access to all OICD on-line publications/articles and periodicals (including the OICD journal Narrative Ethnology). OICD research affiliates are also requested to act as peer reviewers for the Narrative Ethnology journal, and to sit on the OICD's Global Ethnographic Press editorial board. Affiliates are encouraged to actively contribute and share their research across the OICD network, as well as to generate and connect new interdisciplinary networks of like-researchers. Lastly, research affiliates might also choose to host an OICD meeting or workshop at their institution—they have free range as to topics, themes, participants, dates and locations and may publicize their event using the resources of the OICD network.

See some current affiliate member names and pictures here.

Applying for OICD Research Affiliate Status

Affiliates can be recommended to the executive committee by general OICD members, or interested individuals may write directly to the OICD requesting this status. In both cases those who are nominated or wish to become a research affiliate will need to submit two published journal works (academic member), or broadcasted media campaign material (media members), or a published work of literature or work performed on stage (humanities members). This content will be reviewed by the executive committee and a vote taken.

Lanuch of New Executive Committee (Dec 2008-2010)

2008-12-01T20:26:00.001-08:00

A big thank you again for the 2006-2008 exec committee who helped found and manage the first years of the OICD!

Joy Hendry, Ellen Kaplan, Gordon Mathews, Peter Ackermann, Greg Poole, Rebecca Pino, Michael Shackleton, Sebastien Boret.

Hats off to you all for completing your two-year terms, many of you have made invaluable contributions!

Our incoming team, as of 1st December, has taken the reigns and I am now able to formally announce the members.

Richard Chenhall, Tim Crosland, Mark Davidheiser, Tammy Kohn, Yuko Nishimura, Reiko Ogawa, Larry Thomas, Bruce White (Director)

Link to a pdf file (500k) listing all up-to-date member profiles.

(you can view all the latest OICD staff info at http://www.oicd.net/people.htm)

San Francisco AAA Conference & the 2008-2010 Executive Committee

2008-12-01T01:43:00.001-08:00

The American Anthropological Association conference in San Francisco (http://www.aaanet.org/meetings/) was a great opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with a variety of people.

It was great to see outgoing Executive Committee members Joy Hendry & Gordon Mathews and to meet up with Mark Davidheiser, Tammy Kohn and Larry Thomas (who, not being an anthropologist, happened to be in San Francisco by complete coincidence!), all who will make up three of the eight strong new 2008-2010 committee to be announced very shortly. It was also nice to meet Patricia Foxen who will hopefully be joining us after taking up a new position in D.C from January 2009.

PDF Guides to the OICD Under Production.

2008-11-30T22:19:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a series of pdf guides tailored for general members, research affiliates and executive members. They are looking as though they will be nice booklets. The final versions will be around 20 pages and cover pretty much all basic aspects of the OICD. I have posted a couple of text and graphic excerpts below:

The Organization for Intra-Cultural Development at a Glance

What does the Organization for Intra-Cultural Development do?

The OICD sets out to improve the quality of and access to cultural symbolism and cultural information that people use to represent themselves in the world. We also work to counteract the influence of divisive cultural myths and symbolism that causes conflict and restricts social, economic and/or political stability and growth.

Why does the OICD do this?

The OICD works to increase social capital as a means to improve social cohesion. Increased social cohesion is linked to the reduction, resolution and prevention of many kinds of sectarian conflict and also to the general raising of social, political, economic and security standards in society.

How does the OICD achieve this?

The OICD employs what it calls Intra-Cultural Development which is a process of mapping, utilizing, managing and maintaining the symbolism and interpretations that individuals use to identify themselves as socio-cultural beings. Such management is effective in creating spaces for dialogue between previously divided groups, and thus in the creation of new social networks and levels of social and civil engagement.

Who makes up the OICD?

The OICD network and development programs consist of a wide variety of people: Anthropologists, Psychologists, Historians, Script Writers, Film-makers, Political Scientists, Linguists, Development Workers, Practitioners, Media experts and Artists.

Where does the OICD work?

Intra-Cultural Development is effective in increasing economic, social and political standards in any region. The OICD is determined to work in all locations in the world.

The OICD Organizational Structure

Japanese and Fijian Multiculturalism

2008-11-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

I made a short presentation at the Anthropology of Japan in Japan (AJJ) meeting at Osaka University a couple of weeks ago. http://www.ajj-online.net/Site/Fall%20Meeting%202008.html

I talked on the subject of Japanese multiculturalism and some of the possible ways that anthropologists and historians may be able to contribute to policy making and social cohesion in this area.

I introduced the audience to our OICD working graphic, http://www.oicd.net/oicdapproachgraphic.pdf

...and also talked about the OICD media campaign project in Fiji, showing the video found on the project's website (need to download the video as the youtube link is currently not enabled for public viewing):

http://www.oicd.net/ourfiji.html

There was a lot of positive feedback from the presentation and several people expressed an interest in joining the OICD as general members and research affiliates.

Founding Executive Committee Reaches End of Two-Year Term

2008-11-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been just over two years since our first executive committee was established in Kyoto in 2006. http://www.oicd.net/2006meeting.htm

A big thank you to all those executive committee members for their contribution to the OICD over their two year term! The 2006-2008 members were:

Joy Hendry, Ellen Kaplan, Gordon Mathews, Peter Ackermann, Bruce White (Director), Greg Poole, Rebecca Pino, Michael Shackleton, Sebastien Boret.

I will soon announce the executive committee for 2008-2010.