A very Happy New Year to all our members and newsletter subscribers! As we reflect on another transformative year at the OICD, we celebrate significant achievements in advancing our mission of leveraging identity and culture for positive social change.
Advancing Tools for Social Transformation
Building on our successful 2023 collaboration with UNESCO, February 2024 saw the release of the enhanced “Harnessing the Power of Identity & The Arts for Social Transformation – Practitioner Toolkit.” This comprehensive resource emerged from our October 2023 workshop with over 80 participants. The toolkit’s impact has been amplified by our AI chatbot offering organizations bespoke implementation advice. This development aligns with our commitment to making identity-based methodologies more accessible and practical.
Research and Technological Innovation
Work began on the Atlas Cultura project, an innovative web-based application visualizing identity dynamics and social divisions across cities and population centres worldwide. This tool hopes to help organizations understand and address identity-based challenges in urban environments. Likewise, 2024 saw significant advances in our core identity mapping tools and methodologies, with our Identity Mapping Tools progressing significantly. Beta testing among select EMIC practitioners has provided valuable insights for a Q1 2025 release.
EMIC Certification Program Development
The EMIC certification program underwent extensive refinement throughout 2024. Key developments included:
– Completion of all five certification levels (Blue, Green, Gold, Grey, and Black)
– Development of comprehensive online learning modules
– Integration of practical case studies from our global partner network
– Creation of specialized tracks for different sectors
– Implementation of a robust evaluation framework
We look forward to an official public launch in Q1-Q2 2025.
Research Tools for Practitioners
March 2024 saw the release of “Understanding Culture in Stories: A Handbook of Research Methods“. This evidence-based resource aims to empower practitioners across multiple sectors – from conflict transformation to social justice – with tools for analyzing cultural narratives and identity dynamics. The handbook represents our commitment to making identity-based approaches more accessible and applicable across diverse fields of practice.
Identity Research and Academic Engagement
A highlight of 2024 was our presentation at the International Society for Research on Identity (ISRI) conference. OICD Director Dr. Bruce White and Dr. Carlos Farate introduced their “Generative Model for Identity Pathology Diagnosis and Treatment” (GIM). This interdisciplinary research, drawing from fields including psychological anthropology and neuroscience, offers new perspectives on addressing harmful forms of “othering” and identity-based conflicts.
Strengthening Educational Partnerships
Our longstanding partnership with ArtEZ University of the Arts reached new heights in its fourth year. Through a series of workshops at the Academy of Theatre & Dance, we continued our mission of equipping artist-educators with identity-based tools for maximizing their transformative impact. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from both staff and students reinforces the value of integrating identity perspectives into arts education.
We were also honored to expand our educational reach through a presentation at Queen’s University Belfast’s MA program in City Planning, connecting identity and cultural themes to urban infrastructure and development.
Community Development and Applied Research
A particularly exciting development has been our collaboration with the Shankill Partnership in Belfast. This innovative project employs EMIC-trained researchers and community workers to collect narratives from thousands of community members, mapping the complex identity dynamics of the area. This work aims to inform concrete regeneration efforts by leveraging the community’s full range of imaginative possibilities.
Work on Violent Extremism
October 2024 saw the OICD presenting at the 6th Annual Western Canadian Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) Symposium in Vancouver. A presentation on the EMIC methodology’s application to understanding extremism and polarization opened new doors for collaboration with intelligence services, law enforcement, and international practitioners.
Research Consortium Development
We are grateful for our collaborations with the University of Ulster and University of Cyprus in designing consortium projects focusing on radicalization and data science. These partnerships promise exciting developments in 2025 and beyond.
Advisory Board Growth
We were delighted to welcome two distinguished new members to our Advisory Board in 2024: Rowan Davison and Jon Wilson. Their expertise and insights will be invaluable as we continue to grow and evolve. Their full bios will be available shortly on the new website [oicd.net].
Continuing Partnerships
We are thrilled to continue our work with all of our wonderful partners from across education, government, NGOs, arts and culture sectors. These collaborations remain at the heart of our mission to promote positive social change through identity-based approaches. The diverse perspectives and expertise that our partners bring to our work continually enrich our methodologies and expand our impact across different sectors and regions.
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we enter 2025, several exciting initiatives are on the horizon:
– The launch of our completely revamped website in Q1 2025
– Public rollout of the EMIC certification course
– Launch of the Atlas Cultura beta version
– Release of our Pro Identity Mapping Tool
– Expansion of our Strategy & Tools Packages to new sectors
– The continuation and expansion of our community development work in Belfast
– Further development of our research consortiums on radicalization and data science
We remain committed to our mission of promoting understanding of identity and cultural aspects within wider societal development. As always, we are excited about building new relationships in 2025. If you know of any individual or organization that we should be talking to, please contact us at [email protected]
Wishing all our subscribers and members the very best for 2025!
Bruce White
Director
