Ecology, Indigeneity, Perceptual Diversity and Intercultural Communication: Applications and Implications of the Value Orientation Method

When inter-cultural communication contributes to the preservation of biodiversity and enhances nature conservation. The presentation will provide information about the Value Orientation Method developed by Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck.

The case study will demonstrate:

1. background information about the Value Orientation Method
2. how the presenter and his research team revised and applied the VOM to identify variations in contrasting worldviews
3. how the results were used to correct false stereotypes and resolve values-based misunderstandings about the nature of Nature, and
4. the implications of the project for addressing values-based conflicts between culturally diverse communities and cultures.

Dr. Russo has worked with indigenous communities for 42 years in arena of cross-cultural conflict resolution in environmental issues and land conservancy.

In the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and the American Far West he served as Senior Strategist for tribal consortiums on campaigns to protect indigenous rights, natural resources, and sacred sites, and helped design and implement regional, national, and international workshops and symposia to promote cross-cultural understandings on the nature of Nature. He also designed and coordinated indigenous-based cultural and technical exchange programs to preserve biodiversity and protect indigenous lifeways in Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Papua New Guinea, and the Russian Far East. He was co-Founder and Director of the Florence R. Kluckhohn Center for the Study of Values, the Native American Land Conservancy, and the Foundation for Indigenous Medicine, was Senior Advisor to the intertribal Kumeyaay-Diegueno Land Conservancy in California, and is currently Director of the Se’Si’Le Institute. He has a BS in Forestry, a MS in Forestry/Public Administration, and a Ph.D. in History