InfoVal is a web portal that is becoming the world’s foremost gateway to information on building the character of children and youth upon the foundation of universally accepted values. Focusing on programs, in-school and out-of-school, it will present best practices, teaching materials, scholarly and popular articles, and links to important websites, fostering a dialogue among parents and other educators interested in exploring traditional values and how to make them come alive in curricula.

The Bradley Foundation has awarded a $40,000 grant for this project, whose total cost will be more than $250,000 USD.

The goal of this project is to build an important instrument for forming young men and women of character. Character is the skill of right living, a coherent set of what used to be called “virtues,” the ability to do what is right in a given situation. And how does one judge “what is right”? By considering possible actions in the light of certain standards of behavior—values.

This project is about those values that are universal, that is, those that are shared by everyone …or at least the vast majority of people, at least in public, in societies that, left to themselves, can be relatively peaceful and prosperous. For example: honesty, loyalty, personal responsibility, teamwork, persistence, generosity, commitment, and keeping one’s word.

Social scientists have rediscovered that the development of countries depends not so much on money flows as on what they cannot resist calling human and social capital, which boil down to character and relationships. AFF’s people are not the only ones who have long considered it obvious that shared values and virtues are fundamental to democratic citizenship, which creates conditions for peace and widespread prosperity. To these ends, it is extremely important—not sufficient, but crucial—for children to learn how to work, how to work with one another, and how to respect, not just tolerate, one another. The result is that great nation-builder, trust. While the wellspring of character and active citizenship is the family, most parents rely on schools and programs to help them educate their children. So this project involves them all.

Some people say that a particular value is rooted solely in divine revelation, while others say it could be found by unaided reason. This project is not concerned about the distinction. In either case, if the value is universal, it can reasonably be said to be a building block for a good life and a healthy society, and this project will explore how we can reasonably propose it to young people of every place, race, and culture. The information gateway will be common ground for common sense.