EGST research finding on Human Flourishing was presented in a research summit organized in Kigali, Rwanda from March 2-7, 2020.
As the final phase of the research grant from the Nagel Institute of Calvin College, the study has focused on investigating the relationship between religious support and human flourishing. The project has begun in July 2018. It was acknowledged that EGST faculty members, Rev. Dr. Misgana Mathewos, Dr. Seblewengel Daniel, Dr. Lidetu Alemu and Dr. Bekele Deboch have been engaged in collecting qualitative data and write up of the research findings.
According to Dr. Lidetu Alemu, Head of Students’ Affairs at EGST, “The outcome of the research, in general, is that our faith contributes to human flourishing or wellbeing.” He further noted that “The concept of human flourishing is rooted in the Aristotelian concept of Eudemonia which has been understood differently over the years. Some understood it as wellbeing, some as happiness, recent modern scholars have given Eudemonia the concept of human flourishing. We wanted to align with the current discussion on the field.”
Dr. Seblewengel Daniel, Head of Academic Affairs at EGST on her part said that “Human flourishing is holistic and all-rounded; thus, we have decided to integrate the findings of the research into our curriculum. We want to address human flourishing aspect in the already existing course contents.”
It was learnt that the culminating summit included keynote speakers who helped on the way forward and on how to disseminate the findings and a visit to genocide museums.
The findings will be published on the International Bulletin for Missionary Research Journal, and dissemination seminars are expected to be held in the major cities where data was collected from.
Among the benefits of the research project contextual significance, visibility, networking, and publication were mentioned.