Welcome Letter from the Director
by Johnathan Plank, Ph.D
COVID-19: UPDATE Please note that in recognition of the inherent safety risks of public gatherings during the global pandemic, the foundation's offices are closed and all events have been cancelled until further notice.
The mission of the Foundation, as it states in our masthead, is to provide access to views on world culture and the development of language. We are committed
  • to enrich scholarly and public understandings of cross-cultural relations and histories
  • to take a leading role in research on culture and language
  • to offer contrasting views of history and contemporary culture that will transcend national and area-studies frames of reference, providing new insights into world societies, colonial histories, and indigenous cultures to provide a uniquely stimulating environment for graduate research

    The Centre has established eight areas of focus

  • Modern Society
  • Family Dynamics
  • Group Interaction
  • Art
  • Communications, with emphasis on the effects of the internet on world culture
  • Language
  • Religion
  • Youth Cultue AND
    a revolving area of focus, which for the past several months has been the Tao of Wow.

    A NOTE ABOUT THE TAO OF WOW
    We hold no illusions as to the fact that you are most likely here at the site because of the developing controversy surrounding the now famous Tao of Wow.

    We invite you, while you are here, to familiarize yourself with the offerings of the Foundation. In order to keep pace with the growing interest, we're in the process of revamping our site, so several pages may appear devoid of information. Rest assured that over the coming months, we will be making the full scope of our research and recommendations available here online.

    We pride ourselves on being on the forefront of cultural discovery and that we are unswayed by corporate dollars and influence as a result of our endowments and the generous support from people like you.

    These broadly categorize the main streams of the Foundation's activities, and may be useful for funding purposes, but do not constitute planning or budgetary entities. Nearly all the major activities which have been proposed so far involve two or all three programs; some activities are therefore rather arbitrarily allocated to one stream rather than another.

    The Foundation's general orientation is toward supporting longer-term research, emphasizing outcomes such as multi-author reference works, exhibitions and on-line resources, as well as more conventional publications such as books, edited collections, and journal articles.