Moral clarity matters.
At the Center for Values in International Development (C4V) we
Elevate
Elevate the awareness, understanding, and essential role of a values-based discourse in international relief & development
Integrate
Integrate ethics pragmatically to inform all aspects of relief & development activities
Advocate
Advocate for the regular use of applied ethics to yield more just, caring, equitable, and sustainable development outcomes and processes
Our Vision
C4V envisions a global movement towards respect for universal human dignity, under which ethics holds a pragmatic and influential role.
Our Mission
Centering values in international relief & development.
C4V is redefining the current relief & development paradigm so that ethics takes a front-seat. C4V applies moral considerations and ethical analyses to achieve more just, caring, equitable, and sustainable processes and outcomes. C4V works with governments, multilateral and bilateral aid agencies, foundations, and development practitioners to incorporate ethics into all aspects of their activities to foster human flourishing and a healthy environment.
Thinking about those “American values”.
It’s July 4th, or Independence Day in the United States. Given its placement in the summertime, it is one of this county’s favorite holidays. This year, however, with so much distressing churn in American politics and so much of the country immersed in a remarkably callous culture war against “the other” and against those who […]
Social Media and Human Dignity Through the Lens of Politics
Informed by the thoughts of philosophers and politicians since ancient times, the concept of human dignity has evolved. Rather than having a uniform definition that demands any specific response, the perceived meaning of human dignity is now viewed instead as a source of moral guidance for the public on how best to recognize and respect […]
Palestine – Moral Clarity and Moral Confusion
Like many people, I have been transfixed watching the events currently unfolding in the Middle East. It has been unsettling to witness the varying reactions of people to this appalling tragedy, to see how differently people are reacting when compared to the Ukraine/Russia war, and to see how the world is simply ignoring the tragic […]
Dignity Under Confinement
In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly, drawing its inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and that document’s robust affirmation of inherent human dignity, adopted Resolution A/RES/70/175, better known as the Nelson Mandela Rules: “The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners”. In the name of the late South African President Nelson […]
Transformational – not transformative – leadership
I’m an unrepentant advocate of “transformational” leadership – not “transformative” leadership. Is this a semantics storm in a teacup? After all, “transformative” and “transformational” are similar terms…but there are important differences. “Transformative” generally refers to something that brings about a significant change or transformation. It implies a person, process, or an event that has the […]
A fundamental question of hope
Once again, it’s Pride Month around the world. Unlike most such commemorative Pride Months in the recent past, however, the joyful celebrations of identity, expression, rights, and dignity that Pride signifies are now tinged with an ominous and – particularly for transgender persons – alarming recognition. The anti-LGBTQI+ pushback, well-orchestrated and exceptionally well-funded, has now […]
Artificial Intelligence, and Ian’s school
In 2018, I had the remarkable opportunity to visit my son while he was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin, West Africa. Ian taught at a public secondary school in the Ouesse commune in the Collines Department of Benin, with students ranging in age from 10 to 25. The school facilities were very […]
But what problems can applied ethics solve?
In late 2011, just six months into my service as a Senior Advisor to USAID (political appointee under the Obama administration), I managed to convene a gathering of eleven of USAID’s top strategic planners and senior analysts in one room. I posed a single question to them: “Would it not be advantageous to include the […]
Morality in foreign policy: reflections on a remarkable gentleman from Plains, Georgia
It was June of 1979, and I was newly arrived in Kenya for what would become ten years working in and exploring that beautiful country. Being a little insecure in this new environment, I was cautious when a young Kenyan man approached me in Nairobi while I stood in the long queue awaiting entrance to the National Museum of Kenya. Still, his smile was disarmingly warm as […]
Yearning for meaning in international development
It takes a certain acquired skill to balance a career as a practitioner in humanitarian response and international development with a “night job” as an adjunct professor of public policy. I have done this delicate balancing act at both Georgetown University and the University of Maryland for two decades; I have no plans to stop […]