As the saying goes, money doesn’t buy happiness, and similarly, most people agree that “development” is more than just aggregate economic growth. Instead, many people use the concept of well-being which is convenient as a multi-faceted target, integrating health, education, security, etc. Yet many organizations go further and articulate their mission with an appeal to human dignity. The banner of human dignity can be seen as a slogan, obscuring the variations of meaning and implications in practice. The deep reflections on human dignity and broad experience in the practice of human development from the Catholic tradition are an invaluable resource for this dialogue across sectors, public and private, secular and faith-based.
The Kellogg Institute at Notre Dame University, under the leadership of Paolo Carozza, has recently embarked on a multi-year, inter-disciplinary initiative to explore these topics and to seek out examples of genuine experience of human dignity and human development. Through short presentations and moderated Q&A, this event will engage a diverse audience to consider the contribution of the Catholic tradition to this field and to reflect on practical examples from the work of the AVSI foundation globally.
