Reflections on the field of Humanitarian Work Psychology. Interview with Stuart C. Carr

Abstract

Reflections on the field of Humanitarian Work Psychology Introduction and about the intervieweeToday I have the pleasure of interviewing Stuart Carr (Stu), who holds a UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Livelihoods, in partnership with Massey University in New Zealand. His specialism is Humanitarian Work Psychology (HWP) and its relevance to the United Nation's primary goal of 'eradicating poverty in all its forms, everywhere. As a cofounding member of the End Poverty and Inequality Cluster (EPIC), Stu conducts applied research as part of a 30-country, 50-year Project GLOW (for Global Living Organisational Wage). GLOW focuses on the links between decent, living wages and well-being, including their role in promoting and supporting wider sustainable livelihoods. A former editor of the South Pacific Journal of Psychology, the Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology, and more recently International Perspectives in Psychology, Stu is a long-term staunch supporter of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which focus on eradicating poverty for example through decent work, towards Sustainable Livelihoods. In our interview we will explore how he became involved in humanitarian work research, and how this influenced his orientation towards the study of decent work -and beyond, towards sustainable livelihoods. Over to you Stu: With connecting people in mind, in partnership with Massey University, UNESCO recently created this Chair focusing on sustainable livelihoods, and has entrusted me to occupy it. It sounds individualised but the role is really about facilitating connections.Walking the talk. Livelihoods is a far wider, more inclusive concept than a singular, formal, secure, regulated, and secure job, which a vast majority of working people no longer have (if they ever did). Livelihoods become sustainable when they do not degrade people's well-being, or the ecosystem that supports it; but instead, when they contribute to the livelihoods of others, both today and into the future, i.e., across generations. The adjective sustainable also resonates with the 2016-30 SDGs. These are focused primarily as we saw above on eradicating poverty, in all its forms, everywhere. This includes through decent work, which is a key stepping-stone towards making livelihoods more sustainable. That link to the SDGs is central to the research, teaching and service we are doing at the moment -and to the UNESCO Chair. So, it all comes back to tackling poverty, together.