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Charter for Compassion is a document written in 2009 that urges the peoples and religions of the world to embrace the core value of compassion. [1] The charter is currently available in more than 30 languages and has been endorsed by more than two million individuals. [2]
Charter for Compassion International, the Charter's supporting organization, has enrolled 311 communities in 45 countries in its Compassionate Communities campaign and has partnered with more than 1,300 organizations to spread the Charter's ideas in 10 sectors: the arts, business, education, environment, healthcare, peace, religion/spirituality/interfaith, science & research, social sciences and restorative justice. [3]
On February 28, 2008, scholar and author Karen Armstrong won the TED Prize. In her acceptance speech she called for help in creating, launching and propagating a Charter for Compassion, claiming to be based on the fundamental principle of the Golden Rule. [4] An open writing process to create the Charter began in November 2008 with the launch of the Charter for Compassion website. People of all faiths, nationalities and backgrounds submitted ideas on what the Charter should include. Individuals from more than 100 countries added their voices to this process and their submissions were read and commented upon by more than 150,000 visitors to the site. [5]
The Council of Conscience, a multi-faith, multi-national group of religious thinkers and leaders, then met in Vevey, Switzerland, to craft the final Charter for Compassion. The Councillors sorted and reviewed the thousands of written submissions, considered the meaning of compassion, determined key ideas to include in the Charter and created a plan for how the Charter will exist in the world. [6]
The Charter for Compassion was unveiled by Karen Armstrong and the Council of Conscience on November 12, 2009, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. That day, more than 75 launch events took place around the globe and more than 60 Charter for Compassion plaques designed by Yves Behar were hung at significant religious and secular sites around the world. At its launch, the Charter was endorsed by the 14th Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu among many others. [7]
Just a few months after Karen Armstrong was awarded the TED Prize, individuals and organizations around the world began coalescing to bring the Charter for Compassion to life. On May 4, 2009, the 'Compassionate Action Network' (CAN) was launched in Seattle. CAN's intention, expressed in its founding document, was to create "an association of like-minded programs, projects and organizations that collectively represent the power of thousands of relationships."[ citation needed ]
CAN became the home for the Charter for Compassion from the summer of 2012 through December 2013 and provided startup assistance to the Charter organization, including staff, fundraising, resource development, and strategic planning.[ citation needed ]
With the support of CAN, the Fetzer Institute and many other groups and individuals, the Charter for Compassion grew steadily in scale and scope. In January, 2014, almost six years after the TED Prize award, a group of leaders in the movement organized as the Global Compassion Council and formed the Charter for Compassion (CFC) as a non-profit(c)(3) organization. The Global Compassion Council became CCI's advisory panel. [5]
Charter for Compassion's vision is to foster a world where everyone is committed to living by the principle of compassion.[ citation needed ]
Its mission is to support the emergence of a global movement that brings the Charter for Compassion to life. It does this by being a network of networks—connecting organizers and leaders from around the world; providing educational resources, organizing tools and avenues for communication; sharing lessons, stories and inspiration; and providing an umbrella for Charter for Compassion conferences, events, collaborations, conversations and initiatives to create compassionate communities and institutions around the globe. [8]
The CFC logo incorporates the ancient symbol for infinity. The symbol has long been used to represent the concept of endless love. CFC's use of the symbol in the context of the Charter for Compassion is used to represent the limitless potential of compassion to transform human relationships, institutions and communities. [9]
CFC utilizes self-organization, based on the idea that sustainable change emerges organically from communities. As such, it facilitates connections between resources, individuals and organizations with the intent of promoting compassion. CFC sees networks as the first, critical step in systemic reorganization of the type necessary to make compassion an organizing, luminous force. [10]
The advisory body for CFC is the Global Compassion Council, which consists of leaders in the global compassion movement from the realms of government, business, education, philanthropy, religion and spirituality, healthcare, the environment, peace and social justice. The CFC governing Board of Trustees is drawn from members of the Council. Board members (2016) are: Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, president; Dr. James Doty, M.D., vice-president; Toni Murden McClure, treasurer; and the following members: Allan Boesak, Amin Hashwani, Imam Mohamed Magid and Amy Novogratz. Karen Armstrong is an ex-officio member of the Board. [11]
CFC activities largely are delegated to made up primarily of volunteers. Located all over the world, the teams function virtually and, where there are several people in one geographic area, in person. There is a weekly teleconference staff meeting where participants review their work and contribute to and make decisions on current CFC initiatives. Also, many of the volunteers are facilitators on CFC's regularly scheduled sector- and theme-based conference calls. [12]
The International Teams help support the daily operational work of the Charter, which includes overseeing and contributing to the Charter's website. Additionally, they support and help grow CCI's partner network and its campaigns to encourage compassionate cities and communities. Team volunteers also work on special Charter initiatives such as the Charter Community Tool Box, the Charter Education Institute and informational materials on the Charter. [12]
At the heart of the Charter for Compassion's work is its Campaign for Compassionate Communities . In the beginning, this effort was focused on building a network of cities, but it soon became evident that communities both larger and smaller than cities wanted to join the movement to embrace compassion as a core value. The Charter's growing network of Compassionate Communities encompasses nearly 50 countries and includes cities, towns, townships, shires, hamlets, villages, neighborhoods, islands, states, provinces, and counties. Of these, more than 76 cities globally have affirmed the Charter for Compassion through city, community councils or other government entities. Affirming the Charter means that a community has identified issues on which they are working, and have committed to a multi-year action plan. A list of participating communities can be found here. [13]
CFC's Compassionate Communities program is not a certificate program that offers a seal of approval, nor does it subscribe to a single definition of a compassionate community. Instead, the Charter invites communities of all sizes to bring compassion to life in practical, specific ways through compassion-driven actions—in neighborhoods, businesses, schools and colleges, healthcare, the arts, local government, peace groups, environmental advocacy groups and faith congregations. [14]
Any individual, group or organization that recognizes the need for greater compassion in a community is encouraged to begin the process for creating a Compassionate Community. While the Charter does not prescribe any one path, it does recommend that the process be designed and carried out by a diverse and inclusive coalition of people so that all voices within the community are heard, and the significant issues are addressed. [14]
The Charter for Compassion has developed a four-part model or framework, called the Charter Community Tool Box, to help communities build a compassionate society. The Tool Box is intended to provide communities with a starting point and a process to follow, though it is adaptable to the unique circumstances of any community that seeks to become a Compassionate Community. There are four broad phases: Discover and Assess; Focus and Commit; Build and Launch; Evaluate and Sustain. For each of the phases the Tool Box includes more specific steps as well as stories and examples. Depending on the community, its particular issues and available resources, this process may take one or more years.[ citation needed ]
Within the Charter Tool Box are relevant references to the University of Kansas’ Community Tool Box, with which the Charter collaborated on this project. The Charter's model for building Compassionate Communities resides on the University of Kansas’ Community Tool Box website. [15]
The cities and communities that sign on to become Compassionate Cities and Communities often begin their work by identifying issues that are troubling the community and need to be addressed through compassionate action. For example, a community may discover a significant issue related to social justice for women, immigrants or some other marginalized group. Other communities may want to address issues of drug use, gang violence, the lack of equitable healthcare, or the effects of racism. Others may decide to work to empower youth or to educate their communities about the need for compassion in addressing environmental issues. [14]
Louisville, KY was named the ICC’s Model City of the year for four consecutive years (2012–2015).[ citation needed ] It was the seventh city to sign on to the Compassion Charter, and Mayor Greg Fischer created Compassionate Louisville to help develop and implement a city-wide campaign to nurture and champion the growth of compassion. One of its signature events is the annual 'Mayor's Give a Day Week', in which the entire city makes time for volunteering, service and compassion. In 2015, the city broke its own record, with more than 166,000 volunteers and acts of compassion. [16]
Compassionate Louisville’s education team launched the Compassion Bench project, which is designed to provide safe spots in the community where children are encouraged to express compassion. The first was installed at the Louisville Islamic Center on the heels of an act of vandalism there that ultimately served only to unify the community. Mayor Fischer noted that the vandalism at the mosque illustrates the heart of compassion in Louisville. Within hours of the terrible act, dozens of community and religious leaders showed up at an 8 a.m. press conference to denounce the hate and make plans for a community cleanup the next day. That cleanup drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 people—men, women and children; people of all color, nationality, religion and political leanings. “If the vandals’ goal was to highlight division, they failed miserably,” said Mayor Fischer. “This is a city that rejects hate, and the response to the incident at the mosque was a beautiful illustration of the work we’ve done to become a community of even greater compassion.” [16]
Other examples of the city’s commitment to compassion in 2015 include:
Charter for Compassion believes it is possible—and indeed, urgently necessary—to tap into humanity's common desire for a more compassionate and peaceful world by building a vast interconnected network of compassion among the peoples of the Earth. It encourages groups, organizations, and institutions to join the Charter for Compassion’s network of networks by signing on as a partner, at no cost, in any one of its current sectors: Arts, Business, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Peace and Non-violence, Religion/Spirituality/Interfaith, Restorative Justice, Science and Research, Social Justice, Social Service, and Women and Girls. [17]
These partners represent a vast range of activities. In the science and research field, for example, Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education is conducting research into mapping compassion in the brain and developing compassion training programs for adults. In the Netherlands, an impassioned group of medical students has written a charter focused on medical ethics and compassion in healthcare. They are working to make compassion training a required part of the medical school curriculum. [18]
In education, partners around the globe have translated the Charter for children and many schools are using compassionate curricula developed for all age levels. Pakistan, one of the most active Charter partners, introduces a compassionate character into the Pakistani Sesame Street, Sim Sim Harama. Pakistan is working closely with Jordan, on the other side of the Gulf, in education efforts. In Jordan one compassionate school is housed in a tent and follows nomads through the Jordanian desert. [18]
Another project trains prison officers to treat inmates with more respect and care. When it was put into practice in a jail in Washington State, the goal was to decrease violence by 2.5 percent; in fact the project was so successful that violence was decreased by 100 percent. Now the creators are evaluating just what the federal government could save by implementing this program across the United States. [18]
The Charter for Compassion Education Institute was formed in 2016 to educate and prepare people of the world to live a compassionate life, to understand the power of compassion to transform the inequities and injustices of human civilization, and to spread compassion and compassionate action throughout the world.[ citation needed ]
The Education Institute successfully launched its first online course in September 2016 with students from six countries and has several exciting courses lined up for Spring 2017. These first courses deal with how to develop compassion for others, how to learn self-compassion, and how to become a part of the growing compassion movement and the Charter for Compassion. Eventually, CFC will offer courses that address the work of compassion in many contexts—in communities, healthcare, business, education, religion and interfaith, the arts, restorative justice, environment, and science. Instructors from several countries are in the process of developing online courses. [19]
Internet2 is a not-for-profit United States computer networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government. The Internet2 consortium administrative headquarters are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with offices in Washington, D.C., and Emeryville, California.
Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels.
The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Created by a global consultation process, and endorsed by organizations representing millions of people, the Charter "seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family, the greater community of life, and future generations." It calls upon humanity to help create a global partnership at a critical juncture in history. The Earth Charter's ethical vision proposes that environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development, and peace are interdependent and indivisible. The Charter attempts to provide a new framework for thinking about and addressing these issues. The Earth Charter Initiative organization exists to promote the Charter.
Karen Armstrong is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical Christian faith. She attended St Anne's College, Oxford, while in the convent and majored in English. She left the convent in 1969. Her work focuses on commonalities of the major religions, such as the importance of compassion and the Golden Rule.
Christopher George Kennedy is an American businessman who is the chair of Joseph P. Kennedy Enterprises, Inc. A member of the prominent Kennedy family, he is a son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. From 2000 until 2012, he was also president of Merchandise Mart Properties, a commercial property management firm based in Chicago.
Compassion fatigue is an evolving concept in the field of traumatology. The term has been used interchangeably with secondary traumatic stress (STS), which is sometimes simply described as the negative cost of caring. Secondary traumatic stress is the term commonly employed in academic literature, although recent assessments have identified certain distinctions between compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress (STS).
Jewish Broadcasting Service (JBS) is an American Jewish television network. JBS programming includes daily news reports from Israel, live event coverage and analysis, and cultural programming of interest to the North American Jewish community. The network is a full-time HD and SD channel. It is an English-language network produced by the non-profit organization Jewish Education in Media (JEM). The goal of this organization is to reach out to less-affiliated Jews and bring them closer to a Jewish religion and Identity.
Marc Ian Barasch is a non-fiction author, film and television writer-producer, magazine editor, and environmental activist. Major books written by Barasch are The Healing Path (1992), Remarkable Recovery (1995), Healing Dreams (2001) and Field Notes on the Compassionate Life (2005). He has been an editor-in-chief of New Age Journal ; and an editor at Psychology Today ; and Natural Health. He has also done journalistic writing for Conde Nast publications on the arts and the environment. He is Founder and Executive Director of the Green World Campaign (2006–present).
Final Exit Network, Inc. (FEN) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit right to die advocacy group incorporated under Florida law. It holds that mentally competent adults who suffer from a terminal illness, intractable pain, or irreversible physical conditions have a right to voluntarily end their lives. In cases deemed valid, Final Exit Network arranges what it refers to as "self deliverances". Typically, the network assigns two "exit guides" to a client and are present when they die, but the network states, and has proven in court, that it does not provide physical assistance in anyone's death; rather, their role is that of compassionate advisors and witnesses.
Since it earliest days, the economy of Louisville, Kentucky, has been underpinned by the shipping and cargo industries. Today, Louisville is home to dozens of companies and organizations across several industrial classifications.
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (BSF), known as Libraries Without Borders (LWB) in English, is a charitable organisation based in France that provides access to information and education for those who need it most, whether refugees in humanitarian crises or under-resourced communities in the developed world. Founded in 2007, the organization distributes books, develops innovative technologies, creates customized programs, and builds digital learning platforms in more than 50 countries, including Colombia, Cameroon, Bangladesh, France, and the United States. The U.S. branch, opened in 2008, is based in Washington, D.C., and listed as a non profit 501(c) organization under U.S. law. The organization received the Library of Congress' International Literacy Award in 2016.
Gregory Edward Fischer is an American businessman and entrepreneur who served as the second mayor of Louisville Metro from 2011 to 2023. In 2019, he was elected vice president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and in 2020, he served as its president.
Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—including basic nursing procedures—all under the supervision of a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or other health care professional. UAPs must demonstrate their ability and competence before gaining any expanded responsibilities in a clinical setting. While providing this care, UAPs offer compassion and patience and are part of the patient's healthcare support system. Communication between UAPs and registered nurses (RNs) is key as they are working together in their patients' best interests. The scope of care UAPs are responsible for is delegated by RNs or other clinical licensed professionals.
The Computing Technology Industry Association, more commonly known as CompTIA, is an American non-profit trade association that issues professional certifications for the information technology (IT) industry. It is considered one of the IT industry's top trade associations.
Cesar Conde is an American media executive currently serving as chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group, overseeing NBC News, MSNBC, and CNBC. Prior to this, Conde was chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Before that, he was president of Univision's networks division.
Jon Eliot Ramer is an American entrepreneur, civic leader, inventor, and musician. He is co-founder of several technology companies including Ramer and Associates, ELF Technologies, Inc.,(whose main solution, Serengeti, was purchased by Thomson Reuters) and Smart Channels. The designer and co-founder of several Deep Social Networks, he is the former executive director of the Interra Project, and a co-founder of Ideal Network, a group-buying social enterprise that donates a percentage of every purchase to a non-profit or school. Ideal Network is a certified B-Corp that was recognized as "Best in the World for Community" in 2012 by B-Labs. He is also the designer and co-founder of Compassionate Action Network International, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Seattle, that led the effort to make the city the first in the world to affirm Karen Armstrong's Charter for Compassion. Most recently, Ramer conceived of and produced the "Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest" in response to a challenge from the mayor of Louisville, Kentucky to other cities to outdo Louisville's compassionate action as measured by hours of community service. Ramer also serves as Director and Chief Technology Officer at Four Worlds International Institute, with a focus on the Campaign To Protect the Sacred. The campaign birthed the International Treaty to Protect the Sacred from Tar Sands Projects, signed by over fifty different tribes throughout North America. Ramer is also the songwriter and lead guitarist in the band Once And For All.
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare is a non-profit organization established in 1995 to increase compassion and more meaningful collaboration between patients and medical professionals.
James R. Doty, M.D., FACS, FICS, FAANS is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and founder and director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, an affiliate of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute. He is the author of a self-help book called Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart. Doty is also the Senior Editor of the Oxford Handbook of Compassion Science (2017).
Andrew Himes is an American writer and editor. He was the founding executive director of the Charter for Compassion, launched in 2008 by TED.com and Karen Armstrong, with the mission of supporting the emergence of a "global compassion movement". He is the author of The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family. Himes' grandfather was John R. Rice, dean of American fundamentalists for decades until his death in 1980, and mentor to many younger Baptist preachers including Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, as well as founding editor of The Sword of the Lord newspaper. Himes' great-grandfather, Will Rice, was a preacher, a farmer, and a Texas State senator.
Nina Vasan is an American psychiatrist and author of the Amazon #1 best-selling book Do Good Well: Your Guide to Leadership, Action and Innovation. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is currently the Founder and Executive Director of Brainstorm: The Stanford Lab for Mental Health Innovation at Stanford University. She won the 2002 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
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