THE UNIVERSITY of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, will be making its contribution to the discussion on values and attitudes, in light of the recent launch of the 2003 phase of the programme, when it hosts a symposium at the Mona School of Business next week. The symposium, titled 'Transforming Values and Attitudes: Policy Challenges for Jamaican Society', will run for two days from March 20 to 21.
Staged by the Research and Policy Group at the Mona School of Business (MSB), the objective of the symposium is to engage in discussion on pressing public policy research issues.
Speaking at a recent JIS Think Tank session, Claude Robinson, Senior Research Fellow at the MSB and a member of the Values and Attitudes Steering Committee said that the four areas of policy research are Values and Attitudes, Governance and Public Sector Reform, Crime and Violence and Debt Management and Economic Growth.
Dr. Benjamin Chavis Mohammad, Executive Director of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, and former Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), who is the keynote speaker, will speak to the redefinition of values as he presents a case for Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Mr. Mohammad will also discuss the reshaping of attitudes and the reformation of behaviour toward revitalising the family.
Professor Barrington Chevannes, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, will make a presentation on the 'Historical, Social and Cultural Roles of Traditional Values in Jamaican Society'. This presentation will be followed by a panel discussion on 'Challenges for Socialisation Institutions', which will include discussions on 'Challenges to Traditional Church Authority' and 'Changing Society, Changing Family, Changing Values and Attitudes.
Education, popular culture and mass media will be areas of focus on day two of the symposium.
Some of the presenters include UWI Professor Errol Miller, who will speak on education; Dr. Hopeton Dunn, senior lecturer at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC), who will explore how a social mission may be incorporated on the agenda of media and entertainment industries; Angela Patterson, General Manager, CVM Television; Rev. Neville Callum, Pastor, Tarrant Baptist Church and TBC FM; and Oral McCook representing the Advertising industry.
Case studies will be examined, looking at the successful interventions of behaviour change.
Emphasising the objective of the symposium, Mr. Robinson said the UWI was attempting to take a holistic approach to the major issues that affect the way values are formed, as well as the way they are maintained and the issues which serve to undermine our values in society. "There are some universal core values that all societies share. Values such as equality, justice, a peaceful life, self respect, and respect generally," he said.
He pointed out, "a person's values and attitudes are always affected by the environment...community, popular culture, as well as media and entertainment are some of the main avenues through which values are learned, shared and nurtured in any society."
The Research Fellow noted, "some of these factors are under stress of one kind or another, from the change in family patterns, for example, the pattern of the 'barrel children', the role of parents and the emergence of very young grandparents."
"Community leadership was a major channel of emitting values," he observed, pointing out that, "a lot of the traditional community leaders have been replaced by 'dons' who transmit their own values, which are not necessarily positive, or generally accepted."
"For any society to function properly there has to be a fair degree of commitment" to the value of respect for the law, he said, which "is lacking in our society today and [we] hope this symposium will make a difference."
The symposium is free of cost and the public is encouraged to attend. Persons who need additional information, are urged to contact the Mona School of Business at 977-2666 or their web site at values@uwimona.edu.jm.
