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• ISQOLS Webinar: "Happiness Research in Colombia: Lessons from a Paradoxically Happy Country"

  • When
    19 Sep 2024
  •  
    5:00 PM
  • Location
    Online Webinar

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  ISQOLS Webinar

  "Happiness Research in Colombia: Lessons from a Paradoxically Happy Country"

  Thursday, 19 September

  10:00am COT/ 11:00am EDT/5:00pm CEST

  Presenters: Lina Martínez, Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn

  Why are Latin Americans so satisfied with their lives despite facing significant challenges? This webinar dives into the phenomenon of high life satisfaction in Colombia—a country often perceived as troubled due to poverty, corruption, and crime. Yet, Colombians consistently report high levels of happiness.

  Our research unpacks this apparent contradiction by examining extensive data on subjective well-being across the country. We aim to explore the unique cultural and societal factors that allow Colombians to thrive emotionally despite their hardships. This isn't just a Colombian story—it’s part of a larger Latin American trend that defies Western expectations.

  In this webinar we delve into key insights from our ongoing study, including:

  • Urban Well-being: The connection between happiness and living near bus stations in Colombian cities.
  • Urban-Rural Divide: Compare the contrasting levels of happiness in Colombia’s bustling capital, Bogotá, and its rural areas.
  • Life Satisfaction Domains: Delves into the aspects of life that matter most to Colombians.
  • Happiness and Parenthood: Examine the relationship of having children on happiness and mental health.

  This webinar will shed light on what makes Colombia—and Latin America—a hub of resilience and contentment. If you’re curious about how happiness thrives in unlikely places, this session is for you.

  Lina Martínez is an associate professor of public policy and director of the observatory of public policies -POLIS at Universidad Icesi, Colombia. With a bachelor's in philosophy, a master's in education and human development, and a master's and Ph.D. in public policy, Dr. Martínez conducts extensive research on subjective statistics, quality of life, urban policies, and subjective wellbeing. Her research seeks to have a policy impact on improving the quality of life in cities. Dr. Martínez has worked at the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, served as a consultant for the national government in Colombia to design the national health policy and wellbeing, and directed an extensive measurement system to monitor and track life satisfaction and its relationship with government performance.

  Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn, born in Poland in 1979, is assistant professor of public policy at Rutgers University-Camden. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2008 and served as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University's Institute for Quantitative Social Science. His work has covered a variety of topics: income inequality, preferences for redistribution, urban and rural issues, cultural economics, values, religion, and happiness. He is also interested in information technology and computational social science: automation, data mining, data management and text processing. He uses Linux, Python and Stata.

  
  

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• ISQOLS Sponsored Webinar: "FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY IN LEARNING CITIES: Spirituality on a Spectrum – from Religion to Art in Learning Cities"

  • When
    25 Sep 2024
  •  
    12:30 PM
  • Location
    Online Webinar

  Register

  
  

  WEBINAR - FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY IN LEARNING CITIES:

  Spirituality on a Spectrum – from Religion to Art in Learning Cities

  25th September 2024, 12:30 pm, London (GMT)

  
  

  The PASCAL Learning Cities Networks (LCN) ‘Faith-based Learning City Development' and the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS), in partnership with Swansea University, Derby University and Glasgow University are very happy to invite you to this open access WEBINAR on the spirituality in learning cities, where we will discuss faith-related institutions as a starting point for a wide variety of creative work helping cities through various vantage points on the spirituality spectrum in a learning city.

  The round table of the WEBINAR will offer two expert interventions followed by a Q&A session. Each speaker will have 20 minutes to introduce us her contribution to the discussion:

  •             John Meredith (Diocesan Director of Education, Swansea, UK) – will talk about his work with 14 schools in his Diocese studying ‘Theology for Life’ with St Padarn’s and the philosophy of CANAWEN – the idea of togetherness in harmony which is educated to the diverse classrooms of the local schools through their religious education curriculum.

  •             Dr Rhiannon Jones, Associate Professor Civic Practice  (CEO S.H.E.D, Derby University, Derby, UK) – will talk about how the creative place-making and social design project S.H.E.D helped for community equality improvements in Derby and especially the reintegration of marginalized youth in the community through partnership working  with the Royal Society of Arts, University of Derby, Derby Museums; and the creative and cultural industry sector in partnership with Derby Cathedral.

  Our round table discussants will help us appreciate the multifaceted role of religious communities, with focus on work with young people, and their institution for the healthy life-long learning and spiritual integrity in the learning cities of the future, helping young people build milieus that recognize and facilitate the equality for all. The vital collaborations between religious communities, centres and the art sector as well as other public good agents within the community will be showcased and discussed. How can communities be more creative in using their various forms of contribution to the healthy and sustainable spiritual and wellbeing milieu of the community beyond the narrow traditional religious service? How do healthier, happier and more inclusive societies grow as spirit through the collaboration of the religious institutions (from biggest ones (Churches) to smallest one (local religious community centres)) and the arts? Why art is a powerful channel for influencing many spectrums of spiritual life of cities and their sustainable openness to breeding learning and inclusivity? If you want to hear the answers to these questions and ask your own questions – join us on the day of the webinar. You can watch the recording on the International PASCAL Observatory later on too on our PASCAL website, although the interactive component of the Q&A part will be available only for those who join us live.

  
  

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• The 1st Regional ISQOLS Conference- Africa, "Well-being and Happiness in a Democratic World", 3-5 October 2024, Johannesburg, South Africa

  • Start
    3 Oct 2024
  •  
    8:00 AM
  • End
    5 Oct 2024
  •  
    5:00 PM
  • Location
    Irene Country Lodge, Johannesburg, South Africa

  Register

  The 1st Regional ISQOLS Conference- Africa, "Well-being and Happiness in a Democratic World", 3-5 October 2024,

  Johannesburg, South Africa

  
  

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• 2024 Africa Pre-Conference Workshop, "A Crash Course on the Psychology of Wellbeing"

  • When
    3 Oct 2024
  •  
    9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

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  2024 Africa Pre-Conference Workshop: A Crash Course on the Psychology of Wellbeing

  Thursday, 3 October

  9:00am-1:00pm

  Workshop Description: This workshop serves to introduce many novice well-being/QOL researchers to the burgeoning research on the psychology of well-being to help them ease into this stream of research with some confidence. The workshop will provide an overview of the following areas of research on the psychology of well-being and quality of life:

  · Philosophical Foundations, Definitions, and Measures

  · Consequences of Happiness

  · Objective Reality and Its Effects on Happiness

  · Subjective Reality and Its Effects on Happiness

  · Life Domains and Their Effects on Happiness

  · Population Segments and Happiness

  Activities and Duration: The workshop is essentially an in-person seminar: lecture style with some degree of instructor-participant interaction. The workshop is scheduled as a half-day session.

  Reading Material: This workshop will be based on the following book: Sirgy, M. Joseph (2020). The Psychology of Quality of Life: Wellbeing and Positive Mental Health. 3rd edition. Cham: Springer Nature

  Workshop Instructor: Prof. Dr. M. Joseph (Joe) Sirgy is a management psychologist (Ph.D., U/Massachusetts, 1979) and the Virginia Tech Real Estate Professor Emeritus of Marketing at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (USA) and Extraordinary Professor at the WorkWell Research Unit at North West University – Potchefstroom Campus (South Africa). He has published extensively in business ethics and quality of life (QOL). His awards include International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies’ (ISQOLS’) Distinguished Fellow Award, ISQOLS’ Distinguished QOL Researcher, Academy of Marketing Science’s (AMS) Distinguished Fellow Award, AMS’ Harold Berkman Service Award, Virginia Tech’s Pamplin Teaching Excellence Award/Holtzman Outstanding Educator Award and University Certificate of Teaching Excellence, the EuroMed Management Research Award, and the Macromarketing Society’s Robert W. Nason Award. Best paper awards include articles published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, the Journal of Travel Research, and Applied Research in Quality of Life. His editorial responsibilities include co-founding editor of Applied Research in Quality of Life, editor of the QOL section in the Journal of Macromarketing, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Macromarketing, editor of ISQOLS’/Springer’s book series on International Handbooks in QOL, Community QOL Indicators--Best Cases, Applied Research in QOL--Best Practices, and co-editor of the Springer book series on Human Well-Being and Policy Making.

  Registration fee:

  $50 USD (non-African residents)

  Free for African residents (to register, email office@isqols.org with proof of residency)

  
  

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• ISQOLS Regional Conference South Africa Gala Braai Dinner

  • When
    4 Oct 2024
  •  
    6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
  • Location
    Irene Country Lodge

  Register

  ISQOLS Regional Conference South Africa Gala Braai Dinner

  4 October 2024

  18:00

  Irene Country Lodge (Conference Venue) 

  Join us for a traditional Gala Braai Dinner to celebrate the ISQOLS 1st Regional Conference in South Africa! This dinner features a full, traditional braai menu (see details here). Please note: the conference fees do not include this dinner. The dinner is available at $20 USD per person.  Your partners are welcome to join.

  (Unfortunately, halal or kosher requirements cannot be accommodated, however, there are vegan and vegetarian options available)

  
  

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