In 2020 we published our second book “People, Care and Work in the Home”. It would be hard to find a more important time for its publication. Covid19 brought to the forefront of all our lives the importance of the home and the people, work and care that happens within them.

We launched the book worldwide via Zoom on Thursday, January 21 in collaboration with Nottingham Trent University. The editors and some of the authors participated and the whole event is now available on our youtube chanel. Click here. 

The book, published with Routledge, brings together academic and professional expertise in these fields, first gathered at the 2017 4th International HRF Conference: “A Home, a place of growth, care and wellbeing.”

What was clear at the conference was that these vital things – growth and wellbeing – do not just “happen.” For strong, healthy individuals, families, and communities there needs to be attention paid and support given to the frontline of where these patterns begin – at home.

Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem, Professor and Chair in Architecture at Nottingham Trent University, and Professor Antonio Argandoña, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Business Ethics at IESE Business School, editors of People, Care and Work in the Home worked with contributors to bring to wider attention this multidisciplinary approach to society’s key building blocks.

Lord Best, co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People, stresses the need for “right-sizing” in homes for later life. Baroness Hollins, Emeritus Professor of the Psychiatry and Disability,  speaks from the personal and professional experience of the value of homes for those with intellectual disabilities: My home, my life.

This recent pandemic, the lockdown and enforced time at home together have given new energy to those determined to champion the unique and priceless role it plays in our lives and the work involved in making it happen. In the words of Professor Argandoña:

“The home grows with solidarity, sharing everything. And the most complete way of sharing is love, that is, to take care of others. That is what we learn at home throughout our lives, although in a different way at each stage of that life. In this period of confinement, we have learned to live together, ignoring the deficiencies of others; to share, that is, to give and give ourselves.”

People, Care and Work in the Home is a very important articulation of that insight to inform both research and policy in how we value what is given and what is received at home.

We can be happy, despite everything we are experiencing

• Homes are the fundamental basis as a source of security in our lives
• Happiness = Care + Empathy + Home
• Happiness in our homes is being greatly influenced by digital media and technologies
• Classical model allows us to analyse the impact of households in the public sphere
• The neighbourhood is the right community for home-society relationships
• Different ideologies have been modifying the structure of our homes

London Nov 13. We can be happy, despite everything we are experiencing. This is the first big conclusion we reached after two days talking about happiness in the home and how domestic life contributes to the happiness of society. The topic was chosen before the pandemic hit, but it has only reinforced the importance of research in this area. “To a great extent our happiness depends on our attitude towards life, on how we face, take care of and work on our personal relationships at home. A place that constitutes the fundamental base as a source of security in our lives”, according to Lord Layard and Prof. Chirinos, who also drew strong connections between the home, work and care as key to human flourishing. Outlining the specific contribution of these areas, she sees the home as the place where both work ethics and the empathy for care are learnt and developed.

Prof. Wessels and Prof. Bakardjieva also agree on this, they are clear that the entry of new technologies into the home has eroded our family lives, has caused inequalities and what seem to be connected homes could well be the opposite. The use that we make of these digital media and on how we understand that connectivity, our happiness will depend.

From a philosophical point of view and taking into account the contributions of Prof. Nogal and Dr. Thunder, the influence of our private lives in the public sphere can be seen. She argues that we have to return to classical model to find that relationship, for without a doubt the part individuals play in society depends upon the early formative influences of home. According to Dr. Thunder, the way in which the person is incorporated into society and establishes ties with the outside world is very well articulated through an intermediate community – the neighbourhood.

But none of this would make sense if we did not also understand how our homes are structured and why spaces are distributed as we now know them. A historical and sociological review by Dr. Davies analysed how our houses have been built throughout history based on the dominant ideologies in each era.

Academics and experts from different perspectives presented their research through video accessible on our website and social networks. The next steps of this Conference will be workshops and a new publication as the fruit of this research. Paper givers from nine different countries will participate in the online workshops to be held in 2021 in which they will share their studies. The Scientific Committee will select papers to contribute to future publication.

To date, Home Renaissance Foundation has published numerous working papers available on our website and two books:
The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections by Edgar Publishing
People, Care and Work in the Home by Routledge Publishing
A third. The Home in the Digital Age is currently being prepared for publication.

Any queries, please contact: Ángela de Miguel Press@homerenaissancefoundation.org

On November 12th and 13th, the international think tank Home Renaissance Foundation, supported by the Social Trends Institute, will hold its 5th Academic and Interdisciplinary Conference “Happy Homes, Happy Society? The contribution of domestic life in a time of social changes.”

AGENDA CONFERENCE

Academics and experts from different perspectives will present their research through video accessible on our website and social networks. The renowned economist Lord Layard, as a part of his contribution, will highlight the need for policies to support parents and children as these are the key relationships in promoting happiness and well-being in the home for individuals, families and wider society.

From the point of view of Communication and new technologies, Prof. Bakardjieva will analyse to what extent digital media have invaded and eroded our private sphere and how they have changed our relationships and even our domestic activity. Prof. Wessels will focus on the ways in which the increasing use and reliance on digital connectivity and data-driven services is underpinning developments of ‘connected homes’. ‘Feeling at home’ summarises the multidimensionality of wellbeing. It conveys how material living standards, services, information, security, communication, relationships and companionship create homes.

The philosopher Maria Pia Chirinos will delve into the importance of the recognition of care by citizens to achieve a more humanised society. We come from the era described as “the civilization of work” and according to Chirinos care should be recognised as a property of all human work, and as a key to humanising a civilization that has made technology and environment into its gods.

Dr. Thunder reflects on the role of the neighbourhood as a specific dimension for a healthy relationship between the home and its members and society at large. The differences between the terms family, home, community and society will be exposed.

Dr. Davies will put the historical point of view in this conference with an analysis of the structure of homes and why. He assures that there is evidence that shows that happy homes make for a happy society but that even in the way houses are designed there are economic, social, political, or ideological influences. It states that the design of a home is derived from pre-established ideas about how people should live and what the nature of their family should be.

Finally, Prof. Agnieszka Nogal from Political Philosophy suggests turning to the classical model of thought to find a relationship between households and the public sphere since liberal theory does not conceptualize this relationship. Prof. Nogal affirms that homes are essential for public space since they are the place where not only children, but every citizen grows and develops.

Researchers from 9 different countries have sent their papers and will participate in the online workshops to be held in 2021 in which they will share their studies.

As a result of the work of the contributing academics and a selection of papers by the Scientific Committee, a new publication will be worked on. To date, Home Renaissance Foundation has published numerous working papers available on our website and two books:

The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections by Edgar Publishing

People, Care and Work in the Home by Routledge Publishing

The third will be published soon.

For any additional information or possible interview with speakers or HRF members, you can contact us at press@homerenaissancefoundation.org

To buy the book now

It would be hard to find a more important time for the publication of People, Care and Work in the Home. These last months have brought to the forefront of all our lives the importance of the home and the people, work and care that happens within them.

The book, published this week with Routledge, brings together academic and professional expertise in these fields, first gathered at the 2017 4th International HRF Conference: “A Home, a place of growth, care and wellbeing.”

What was clear at the conference was that these vital things – growth and wellbeing  – do not just “happen.” For strong, healthy individuals, families and communities there needs to be attention paid and support given to the frontline of where these patterns begin – at home.

Professor Mohamed Gamal Abdelmonem and Professor Antonio Argandoña, editors of People, Care and Work in the Home have worked with contributors to bring to wider attention this multidisciplinary approach to society’s key building blocks.

Sir Harry Burns, professor of Global Public Health at the University of Strathclyde, and former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, underlines the importance of home for life-long health and healthy relationships in his contribution to the publication:

“From the outside, a home is simply a building. It’s inside that the magic happens. If a home is a place where children feel safe and happy, they will learn they are loved and respected and, as a result, they are likely to grow up to love and respect others. They will grow in health and wellbeing and develop a sense of purpose, allowing them to make decisions as to the future direction of their lives. Children who experience a nurturing, safe upbringing are likely, as adults, to create a positive home environment for their own children and so, positive outcomes for families are handed on to the next generation.”

If those early experiences are not positive the results are less happy, less healthy for individuals and for society – examples of which are not hard to find.

This recent pandemic, the lockdown and enforced time at home together has given new energy to those determined to champion the unique and priceless role it plays in our lives. In the words of Professor Argandoña:

“The home grows with solidarity, sharing everything. And the most complete way of sharing is love, that is, to take care of others. That is what we learn at home throughout our lives, although in a different way at each stage of that life. In this period of confinement we have learned to live together, ignoring the deficiencies of others; to share, that is, to give and give ourselves.”

People, Care and Work in the Home is a very important articulation of that insight to inform both research and policy in how we value what is given and what is received at home.

Home Renaissance Foundation informs you of the 5th International & Interdisciplinary Conference which will be held on November 12-13th 2020 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London.

The Conference will explore the contribution of the home to the wellbeing and happiness of individuals at all stages of life and, by implication and evidence, to wider society. Richard Layard author of “Happiness: Lessons from a New Science” will be our Keynote Speaker.

This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the vital role of the home in connecting and nurturing individuals through shared values, work and purpose. This will promote future evidence-based discourse and policy-making in regard to the home.

Call for Papers

The Call for Papers is now open! If you are researching the contribution of the home to the happiness of society, click below to read the requirements for submission. These are just some ideas about the different topics that will be addressed in the Conference.

• Reflect on the transformations of happiness concept
• Ask ourselves why the economy recently began to be interested in the subject of happiness
• Point out that the quality of domestic comfort is one of the most important factors influencing human lifestyles, wellbeing and happiness
• Ask ourselves whether the use of technological innovations is increasing the degree of happiness in family life and study its impact on relationships with previous generations
• Underline the importance that building, designing and urban planning take into consideration the quality of family life and the opportunity of encounter and mutual assistance
• Reflect on the link between housework and happiness

The Proposal submission deadline will be April 30^th, 2020. Proposals selected will automatically be eligible for a 45% discounted registration fee of the conference fee.

DOWNLOAD CALL FOR PAPERS

If you would like more information on the Conference, please consult our website: www.hrfconference2020.org
or email us at research@homerenaissancefoundation.org

Help us to promote this event by passing this information on to anyone who think might be interested in the Conference. Thank you!

REGISTER NOW!

As you know, the Day of the Family was celebrated worldwide on May 15, a date established by the UN 26 years ago in recognition of its value as a basic pillar of society.

This year the focus was on ‘Families and Climate Action’, an issue that undoubtedly affects the planet as a whole and has a negative impact, not only on the economy but also on the lives of people.

The Family Studies Institute, The Family Watch, held a roundtable on May 14 at the Spanish Parliament in Madrid, to discuss the role of the home in relation to climate change and to explain to those who legislate what practices can be carried out to mitigate this threat. Our Project and Media Manager, Angela de Miguel, participated in the debate, which drew many of the conclusions that we already reached at our International Conference on Home and Sustainability, held in London in 2011.

Without sustainable homes, there is no sustainable planet. It is essential to teach our children the importance of caring for the environment and to act as an example to them. If we do not learn to take care of our home, we will hardly take care of everything else. This planet is not just ours, it will be inherited by future generations. If we give it the value it deserves, we will take better care of it.

If one thing is clear to us at the Home Renaissance Foundation, it is the importance of a social and cultural transformation in terms of sustainability. We wish to promote change and to be catalysts through research, as we urgently need to apply sustainable practices so as not to deplete the resources offered by nature. If you want real advice or good practices to follow in your home, you can follow us on Instagram @smarthomemanagement There you will find many helpful ideas on management and home care.

Furthermore, we wish to announce our collaboration with International Federation for Family Development in the International Congress that is being organised in London in October, entitled ‘Family, the face of humanity’.  All the information is available on its website. It will be a great opportunity to see each other again and share enriching reflections on the family and its solid support to society.

Home Renaissance Foundation had the pleasure and privilege of presenting our most recent publication The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections as the guests of Digital Poland.  “Home in the Digital Era” saw experts, including academics, educationalists and professionals in the field of digital technology and Artificial Intelligence, gathering to discuss the challenges and opportunities these new developments offer in the context of the home.

See the booklet

Piotr Mieczkowski, CEO of Digital Poland, welcomed the participants and introduced the session by drawing attention to the “missing dimension” in digital business and development. This dimension is the social context in which individuals, families and communities interact with the new technologies. Piotr quoted just published research from the Digital Society Index that 50% of respondents to the survey are now limiting all online activity, 25% are limiting social media activity and 30% believe that there are negative health effects from digital activity. Digital Poland is at the forefront of seeking positive engagement with these social considerations, including events such as Warsaw Digital Week planned for October 2019.

Tomasz Klekowski, expert and promoter of digital transformation, Sectoral Skills Council: IT, Future Industry Platform Foundation, former Intel Director for EMEA, moderated the meeting. Tomasz set out the agenda of the sessions also referring to the effects of globalization on the changing perception of home in an increasingly peripatetic world.

Antonio Argandona, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Business Ethics at IESE Business School, University of Navarre, and editor of The Home: Multidisciplinary Reflections gave a presentation on the publication and the key strands of Home Renaissance Foundation’s work and its relevance to “Home in the Digital Era.” Professor Argandona emphasized the home as the place where cooperation between the generations is learnt and where dependence and vulnerability are not deficits but vital to this learning. Changes in patterns of employment brought about by the digital revolution of the workplace, and home-based AI need careful ethical evaluation. The commitment of Digital Poland and like-minded companies to this conversation is to be strongly recommended.

Session 1: AI, Automation and the Home

Dr Jonathan Price, Junior Research Fellow at the Aquinas Institute at the University of Oxford, began his presentation by declaring himself a “technophobe”. He argued that digital technology offers “unreliable and untrustworthy systems” in place of human beings, with emphasis on the power and reach of mobile phones into our lives. Dr Price developed his argument by describing how we are ceding control of the home and becoming locked out of the place of key human nurture. “Trust begins in well-ordered homes” and such homes require human skills and protection from damaging external sources. Historically there was a border between the home and businesses who wanted to gain access via advertising (impersonally via TV, or increasingly personally via devices such as Alexa and embedded cookies). Dr Price believes we urgently need to put this border back and to recover the true meaning of economics: “oikos”- the family, the family’s property and the home.

Dr Alek Tarkowski, sociologist, co-founder and President of Centrum Cyfrowe Foundation, responded to Dr Price’s presentation by agreeing that communication technologies not “talking fridges” are at the heart of the digital transformation of family life. The social consequences of mobile phones are yet to be seen and he too noted the speed of change in our attitudes to these devices. In the recent past the landline telephone was seen as an intrusion into the domestic scene and was kept in a separate room, now we all sit together but apart playing on our phones. Dr Tarkowski quoted Jacek Kuroń The Republic of my Grandchildren, where the future is seen as a state of wilderness and in need of a reimagining of the social contract, for the benefit of generations to come.

Session 2: Education for a Digital Future

Jowita Michalska, CEO of Digital University is concerned with teaching the competencies of the future. The premise of this priority is the likelihood that soon there will be very few jobs that will not require technology and that early exposure and confidence will be vital to success in the workplace of the future. Jowita explained how she works with children from mixed social backgrounds aged 6 – 12 giving them a creative experience of coding to help them prepare and thrive in this environment. She also highlighted the importance of helping girls overcome reluctance in this area. Children learn what technology is for and how to work collaboratively. Development of “soft skills” is seen as important alongside technical skills. The home context remains the one where moral and social values need to be modelled and worked out. Jowita agreed that this also remains a challenge.

Marta Ponikowska, lawyer, public policy analyst and leader of the Warsaw Women’s Club, picked up on the need for digital education to be collaborative and cross-curricular. There is currently a disconnect between what and how children are taught in school and the opportunities for self-learning at home via digital media. Integrity needs to be found between home and school in technology education. Marta asked how homemakers can be supported by digital education, and suggested that a framework of guidelines for schools and the opportunity for systematic training for parents was desirable. Above all there is a need for “face to face” technology.

Session 3: The Impact of New Technologies on Employment

Dr Justyna Pokojska, coordinator Jobs and Skills for the Future, Institute of Sociology, DeLAb University of Warsaw, sees the new technologies as a great, but time-limited, opportunity for women to take their place in the digital workforce. Currently, 40% of Polish women are professionally inactive. For some this is an informed choice, but for many it is about lack of access to training and the labour market. Justyna argued that professionally fulfilled women not only benefit society financially but are also more satisfied and effective in their home lives. Further, we should speak now not of “work-life” balance but “work-life blend”. Justyna concluded that for Polish women “now is our time” to take the leap into entrepreneurship and to see the new technologies as a route to inclusive opportunities.

Ignacy Święcicki, head of Digital Economy team, Polish Economic Institute, questioned the feasibility of the “work-life” blend. Culturally part-time work patterns are unpopular and women with families are more likely to be risk-averse than entrepreneurial. Linking strongly to the home context, Ignacy also questioned how simple, mundane household tasks would be fulfilled other than by domestic employees, who were very likely to be other women. It is important though for government and other relevant agencies to develop “safety nets” for those wanting to make use of this opportunity to enter the workplace.

Session 4: Homes as Connectors: Modelling Living Spaces

Krystian Kwieciński, architect, Warsaw University of Technology, returned to the theme of the home as the host for the new technologies. “The home is a huge market”, it is filled with “products” which render us “users” and “customers”. Krystian drew this out by exploring how these digital products have become residents in our homes. Some remain obvious functional tools but others are beginning to mimic human forms and behaviours, but all are sharing our homes with us. Krystian made the analogy with choosing a housemate and choosing these products; we need to choose very carefully indeed. Returning to the discussion of coding, Krystian sees it as a vital language to learn, but it will not on its own help us to discern our relationship with these technologies. He made a plea for us to be “prosumers” – professional consumers -and to be involved in the process of building our homes. To move from “buying to making”.

Dr Robert Sroka, ESG Director at Abris, began by linking to the idea of “prosumers” by asking “Are we players in this game?” In other words how much are we in control of the developments affecting us, our families and our homes? As the value of privacy has become eclipsed by the value of transparency the interests of those who sell have been prioritized over the safety of those who buy. We should see the home in the digital era from an ethical level. People need to be at the centre of any home. The pace of change should not distract us from taking the time to build strong relationships. Homes need to be places of safety and under our control. We must revisit and strengthen protection of privacy. The home has an unknown future. We need to equip ourselves to make sure we are the players in this game. We are in a transition period and in this process, we should rebuild the real sense of home.

Susan Peatfield, Development Director and Deputy CEO of Home Renaissance Foundation, offered some closing remarks encouraging a continuing conversation between those building the systems that affect our homes and those concerned with the well-being of the life and work of the home. Susan concluded by thanking Piotr Mieczkowski, CEO and Nell Przybylska, PR and Communication Manager of Digital Poland for hosting the launch and Roundtable. Thanks were also extended to all the participants and to Tomasz Klekowski, for so expertly and efficiently moderating the excellent sessions and discussion. Special thanks were extended to Marta Ponikowska for organizing the event, and to Angela de Miguel from Home Renaissance Foundation.

General Discussion Digest

 There is a concern at the speed of change and anxiety that the education system in Poland is not “fit for purpose” in addressing the needs and challenges of the digital world. Questions on how to best support understanding of these developments, both for children and their parents, recurred during the discussion.

Along with this ,there was an emphasis on preparing girls to take a full role in the digital workplace. There was some disagreement on the value of coding education for girls who preferred more traditional activities.

The opportunity for female entrepreneurship was also questioned, especially as it was not seen as a good model for healthy work-life patterns.

The different value of work outside the home and work within the home also provoked some disagreement. Some argued for a more positive vision of home-making, while others saw freedom from household chores as one of the positive outcomes of the new technologies.

How do we move from being “users” and “consumers” to being participants in the process and discerning and effecting our own points of control was also a recurring theme, as was the fear of overuse of “screen time” devices.

Building trust and confidence were seen as keys in our relationships with these developments, and continued conversation between parents and children, teachers, parents and children, digital developers and agencies representing home/family concerns are all to be sought, supported and encouraged.