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Love and forgiveness are universal human capacities
with the power to transform our fractured societies
and mend our broken world.
Yet, as social, cultural, political, economic, and psychological phenomina
they require deeper understanding.
As social scientists, we can provide distinctive tools and techniques
to explore these relational capacities
and contribute to a greater understanding of the transformative potential.
We call for collaborative efforts, enthusiasm, and the creativity
in understanding how love and forgiveness are cultivated
and acted upon in different social and cultural contexts.
Often without being named as such, our objective it so gain
insights into the conditions, processes, and institutions
that promote and sustain these dispositions,
which stem from the very fabric of being human:
our inner freedom and our ability and necessity to relate to others.
In the process, we aim to illuminate the relationships
between institutionalized processes of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
And those that emerge in everyday life in the context of families and communities
and in the work of inspired individuals,
often in seemingly unpromising places.
We invite you to join us in examining these questions,
bringing to bear specific social scientific insights, methods, and examples
in order to foster greater awareness
of the power of love and forgiveness
and to nurture their wider emergence and application.