Volume 4 Christmas 2012

CONTENTS
Home & Identity Conference....................................................................2 UK Minister Meeting................................................................................2 Experts Seminar.......................................................................................3 Homemakers Campaign.............................................................................3 Publications...................................................................................3 In The Media...........................................................................................4

CHAIRMANS MESSAGE

ome Renaissance Foundation is avant-garde in its continued commitment to demonstrating the tremendous value and dignity of homemaking and the life of the home for the healthy, integral and sustainable development of individuals, families and society in the 21st Century.

The Homemakers Project is a key element of meeting this objective. The project, the first of its kind on the global stage, seeks to raise awareness about the value of home life and the vital role that homemakers play in the 21st century. Homemakers is one example of how the Foundation is utilising various mediums from film, to literature and social media to promote the value of the home and the Bryan Sanderson, CBE professional value of homemaking. The Foundation has also recently added to its collection of ebooks with Sustainable Living: Professional Approaches to Housework, which discusses how taking a professional approach to housework can enhance the wellbeing of individuals and families, and increase the sustainability of society. The ebook discusses these ideas in a compilation of presentations from the third Excellence in the Home Conference, making these resources readily accessible to the public. We also recently collaborated on the International Conference, Home and Identity: The Private-Public Nexus in Rome. The conference explored the role of the home in the formation of identity in the public and private spheres. The Foundation has also had the pleasure of participating as a think tank at a meeting at IESE Business School in New York this November, to broaden the discussion of the role of professional work in creating a well-run home. Through such collaborations the Foundation continues on course towards infusing our world with the knowledge and values necessary to build homes that meet the most urgent needs of individuals and society.

HRF continues on course

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HOME & IDENTITY CONFERENCE

The long awaited conference directed discourse around the home and personal identity in Rome over two days during November. Aula Volpi welcomed academic and student alike on Wednesday 14th for the beginning of the Home & Identity Conference. The site was filled with eager listeners who were treated to an afternoon of fascinating speeches in Session I: Social and anthropological aspects of the home. Professor Rafael Alvira started proceedings with a philosophical overview of the home as the radical origin of personal and social identity; he stressed the importance of communication, friendship and how having a name is a key factor in ones identity. Jean-Claude Kaufmanns presentation focused on how happiness in the home is constructed through many small and seemingly insignificant actions especially cooking and conversations between the family members. Guiliana Mandich gave a fascinating speech showing how boundaries are just as important in the home as in other sociological environments. On the second day of HRFs International Conference organised by academics from New Zealand and Rome, we were treated to speeches by Professors from Rome and Pavia. Susanna Pallini and Marita Rampazi brought in data from children who had suffered domestic violence in the home and from young women who had to leave their homes and who brought with them memoirs of their former abodes: both material and virtual, particularly personal computers. Professor Vidotto concentrated on how the architecture of modern homes is related to identity. The third session looked at domestic space and domestic work: new publicprivate interactions. Professor Franca Alacevich and Annalisa Tonarelli from Florence University spoke about the cutting edge research they are involved in, showing how the new generation of housewives differ from their predecessors. Caroline Sanderson spoke about the way work and home interact and the research that Home Renaissance Foundation is fostering on this topic globally. She gave a critique of the terminology used for the relationship between these concepts explaining that work-home interface was her preferred expression and used the image of the seashore as a metaphor for work and home. Federica Rossi Gasparrini shared experiences from her many years of work with womens organisations; she emphasised how choice in homemaking is a priority for women. Many thanks to all who worked hard to make this Conference a success. We truly appreciate all you have done!

UK MINISTER MEETING
The Foundation was privileged to meet Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to discuss its work and synergy between our ideas. Of particular interest was HRFs considerations with regards to childcare and research. Chairman Bryan Sanderson, CBE made suggestions around the affordability of childcare and implementations of training schemes to help mothers cultivate a nurturing home environment. A core activity of HRF was also highlighted - development of the studies of the home into a credible academic discipline of an interdisciplinary nature where all spheres of academia work together to develop in-depth studies surrounding the home. Mr Smith was very gracious in providing the Foundation with constructive suggestions with which to further our discussions.

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EXPERTS SEMINAR
November has certainly been a busy month as HRF representatives met with a range of scholars at IESE Business School, New York for our annual Experts Seminar. The meeting focused on the Professional Work needed to create a well-functioning home, its formulation and importance in developing human and social capital. Particular themes included: Creativity & Generosity: Characteristics of Work in the Home Purpose, Quality & Dynamic of the Work of the Home & its Impact on Physical & Character Development of Persons Historical Perspective of the Work of the Home The Home as a Professional Workplace Work of the Home & its Legal Treatment The scholars, who included Dr Patrick Fagan of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute and Professor Lotte Bailyn of MIT Sloan Management, provided much food for thought. HRF is now assured of the direction it should take with future research concerning the topic. This Experts Seminar has created a fundamental pathway for the Foundation as a think tank for the next year and beyond.

HOMEMAKERS CAMPAIGN
At a moment in history when families risk becoming simply unsustainable, the Homemakers Project discusses the social impact of the homemaking profession through the lens of international professionals and homemakers, based on the conviction that homemaking is a true foundation for all activity in society. Homemakers, recently launched in New York after the Experts Seminar and received very positive responses. Mrs Krueger of the Murray Hill Institute says, I found the video very informative, well produced and narrated with thoughtful facts related to successfully running a home enterprise. HRF is to hold further launch dates in Barcelona, London and Chicago in 2013.

HomemakerProject /HomemakersProject @HomemakersProj

www.homemakersproject.com

PUBLICATIONS
Our latest ebook features papers from the third Excellence in the Home Conference. Sustainable Living: Professional Approaches to Housework was designed by our unfailing volunteer, Blanca Romero and edited by Ethel Tolansky. We are very grateful to both for their work. Presentations by Aggie Mackenzie and Charlie Browne of IKEA discuss the importance of taking a professional approach to housework to create sustainable societies through the individuals it touches at home.

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Click on the image for online access.

IN THE MEDIA
Anne Zahra interviewed by Mercatornet for Home & Identity
Italians are, famously, attached to their family, and the European economic crisis affecting their country has given them even more reason to turn to home for support. Recent research shows that a third of adult Italians and more than 60 percent of young adults live with their parents. Families in Greece, Spain and other parts of Europe -- and even further afield -- are also likely to be seeing more of each other these days. In these times of Europes public stress and crisis when the public sphere becomes unbearable, the home assumes a vital role in the life of citizens and families as a place where individuals can be nurtured, says hospitality expert Anne Zahra. The modern market economy undervalues the home, she points out, and this is one of the chief contributors to the problems in Europe. The neoliberal market economy does not recognise the value of the home unless it is quantified as an economic value. And because Western society is dominated by this neoliberal market ideology, it does not properly understand the value of nurturing and therefore the value of the home. Dr Zahra, a senior lecturer in tourism and hospitality management at the University of Waikato (New Zealand), is the organiser of a three-day conference on this issue to be held next week in Rome. Home and Identity: The public-private nexus is a collaborative effort between her university and Roma Tre University, together with Fondazione Oikia and the Home Renaissance Foundation. The conference, following up previous work by Home Renaissance, will look at ways to bring the home and its vital social role into academic realm and public policy. The media could also be more help. The New York Times, for instance, has no department or blog focusing on the domestic sphere as such. The home finds its place in the Fashion and Style section as half of the duo, Home and Garden, as though dcor and family dinners were equally important. Other aspects of home are found in blogs on motherhood and ageing parents under the heading of Health, Family and Education. Home as the place where cultures and societies are made or broken is elusive. Click here for the full article

Joanna Roughton contributes to WI Life

Tel. +44 (0)20 7490 3296 Email: info@homerenaissancefoundation.org Website: www.homerenaissancefoundation.org

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