Halcyon Identifies

 

New academic research is examining how earlier societies used the past to form ideas about identity which continue to affect our present.

Despite identifying about 6,000 world languages, the UN estimates that 2,500 are endangered and 200 completely lost.  Through the World Oral Literature project, linguists are therefore trying to record and digitally preserve languages on the verge of extinction.

Calls for greater participation of the world's indigenous leaders are on the rise as talks about what to do about climate change gather pace.  Meanwhile, indigenous rights groups are amplifying their efforts to protect the very last "uncontacted" tribes.

• Identity/Legacy - is Generation X, whose members are currently in or moving into positions of power, dominated by "nomad" personalities and if so, what legacy will this provide for the so-called "millennials" who come next? 

Problems - 24/11/07

• Collaboration/Identity/Youth - are millions of mainly young people making themselves vulnerable to identity theft and putting their future academic and professional prospects at risk through social networking?

Responses - 19/11/07

• Friendship/Identity/Privacy - can the new online expression of human identity through social networks transform friendship while respecting privacy?

Problems - 06/11/07

• Culture/Identity - will local cultures inevitably fall victim to a global "consumer" culture? Will consumer values overwhelm peoples' sense of community and social solidarity?

Responses - 02/10/07

• Identity - the UN General Assembly has adopted a new declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.