ABOUT THE PROJECT
Viktor E. Frankl once said that, “The meaning of life is to give meaning to life.” But in the 21st century, what does it mean to live a meaningful, purposeful life? Furthermore, how can we, as citizens of the world, help build more opportunities for people to create and realise their own meaning?
‘The Making of Meaning’ is a collaborative research initiative looking to get to the heart of these core questions. Using a novel distributed ethnographic approach, explained in greater detail here, we will collaborate with partners and citizens to create various global projects that aim to explore connections to people and to place, and go beyond the surface appearance to something deeper. For individual storytellers, our method utilizes a participative research method, which will provide the space for reflection across a variety of areas of life and living. This project represents the chance for us to make new discoveries, to understand different perspectives and to allow for unexpected connections.
WHAT WE ARE EXPLORING
We want to explore meaning-making as it weaves, flows, and emerges throughout different facets of our lives, whether this is from ideas that come from everyday conversations or from the excitement of making a connection with a person or place. Maybe this is hearing the story of a terminally ill patient and being forced to rethink your approach to life? Perhaps even listening to a piece of music for the first time and feeling connected to something bigger than yourself? We want to follow people’s journeys as they create meaning across multiple points of reflection.
WHY WE WANT TO EXPLORE THIS
We recognize that meaning comes from the mundane as well as the magical. We want to understand how communities make sense of what is important to them, and how meaning is negotiated and put into practice. From this understanding, we want to enable a tomorrow where everyone has a say: to co-create meaningful social transformation from the hearts and minds of those who are most at stake.
HOW WE’LL EXPLORE THIS
We’ll ask people to record their experiences through day-to-day observations and narratives and to identify what matters to them from their recordings. It is the person who provides the information who determines what it means, not a researcher or policy-maker. This crucial difference enables us to step into the world of each storyteller and listen to his or her unique voice.
For you as a storyteller it means the power of interpretation is in your hands. You will critically interpret your own experience. Our system also allows for peer-to-peer knowledge flow, meaning that you will be able to search other people’s’ experiences. This exclusive opportunity will allow you to compare, challenge and/or support your own perspectives.
Once we’ve built up a story bank rich in complexities and in meaning, together we will tap into the collective insights that these stories reveal.
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
As a starting point, we’ve identified a number of interconnected areas in which we want to establish research projects: art, contemplative practices, health, craft, heritage, religion, ecology, technology, education and employment, and indigenous communities.
These areas have been compiled into the honeycomb below and by clicking on a hexagon, you will be given information about that specific area. This information includes a brief description as well as some more in-depth background research.
This list is by no means exhaustive. Further, you will see that some areas are more defined than others. Our ethos is very much about collaborative working, so please do get in touch if you have any ideas for further research!
Over the course of our project, we will be announcing for each area both Public Programs and specific Partner Projects with people across the globe. Public Programs will give large groups of individuals the chance to have their say about an imagined future or provide them with an ongoing opportunity to reflect upon on current and pressing significant moments. For more information on what this will entail click on the tabs on the main menu.
The narratives and data from the various strands from this collective research will be weaved together, allowing us to explore, on multiple levels, how meaning is made in today’s complex world.
Now, click on the hexagon you want to learn more about.
The Making of Meaning 