St James Ethics Centre's logo

Reaffirming our purpose

To mark our 20 year milestone St James Ethics Centre embarked on a journey of rediscovery, reflecting on the original tenets of the organisation, the current situation and the desired direction.

The Ethics Centre was founded with the mission to assist individuals and organisations to include the ethical dimension in their daily lives. It’s something we have proudly promoted for more than 20 years. Our view is that ethics should be accessible. That’s why we have offered an ethics counselling service since 1991. Over time, this core service has been complemented by other activities including leadership development and consulting services, assisting individuals encountering ethical issues within an organisational environment. Our advocacy work has drawn attention to the ethical issues of our time, encouraging public discourse through activities such as the Intelligence Squared debates and, in partnership with Sydney Opera House, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas. St James Ethics Centre is now a contemporary organisation that understands people’s suffering and distress when choosing to do what is ‘good’ and ‘right’ in the face of opposition or indifference, be it giving in to short term interests, overcoming conflict or finding a way to speak out and act as they would like. Providing relief to people through direct support, dialogue and an increased capacity to act with moral courage are practical expressions of our fundamental objectives.

The new logo has been developed to reflect our purpose. The vibrancy of colours, the layering of messages and the unusual logo shape place it in the 21st century. The re-centred name, St James Ethics Centre, presents us as ‘part of the world’ and the heart of the conversation. Using contemporary typography with Ethics Centre capitalised, the organisation’s purpose is now at the forefront, showing our assistance is open to all. The logo speech bubble conveys conversation and the important human dimension of ethics. The fluidity gives the sense of an ethical issue or dilemma which is rarely black and white and communicates a dynamic, living entity. The layers suggest complexity and depth of meaning.

Our invigorated Purpose, Vision, Mission and Ethical Framework and new logo signal a renewed commitment to bringing the ethical dimension to the hearts and minds of all.