charter for compassion city handout

8/11/2019 Charter for Compassion City Handout

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D i s c o v e

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COMPASSIONATECITYINITIATIVES

Do you want your city to be known for its compassion?

If your response is Yes! How can wemake this happen? read on.

What is a CompassionateCity?

In 2010, Seattle, WA, USA became therst to declare itself aCompassionate City. By May of2014, the Charter for Compassionwas working with over 225 cityinitiatives throughout the world,creating a richly diverse humannetwork of people caring about howtheir communities work for the well-being of allin business, inhealthcare, in education, ingovernment, in faith groups, and incaring for the environment.Motivated by the ancient anduniversal golden rule to treatothers as you would like to betreated, communities of peoplethroughout all parts of the globe havecommitted to making compassion a

driving force with a measurableimpact.

A comm unity whe re compassion isfully alive is a thriving, resilientcommun ity whose citizens arecreative, can confront crises withinnovative solutions, can navigatechanges in the economy and theenvironment, and can bounce backreadily from natural disasters.

What are some models ofCompassionate Cities?

While each city will nd its own pathto establishing compassion as adriving and motivating force, we cansuggest a few models that may behelpful as you consider the cultureand needs of your own city:

Compassionate Atlanta (USA)Botho Compassion Movement(Botswana)

Canadians for CompassionCompassionate California

Handvest voor Compassie (Netherlands)Compassionate Louisville (USA)Charter for Compassion/PakistanCompassionate Seattle (USA )Compassionate Sweden (Sweden)

No city in the world is aCompassionate City in any abstractor formal sense, just as no city isdevoid of compassion. The CharterCities Initiative is not a certicateprogram that offers a seal ofapproval, and there is no singledenition of a Compassionate City.Instead, the Charter invitescommunities of all sizes (the CitiesInitiatives includes neighborhoods,villages, towns, cities, townships,hamlets and even whole countries)to bring compassion to life inpractical, specic ways throughneighbo rhoods, businesses, schools,healthca re, and congregations.
http://www.compassionateatl.com/http://www.compassionateatl.com/http://botho.co/http://botho.co/http://www.compassionateatl.com/http://compassionatesweden.com/http://www.compassionateseattle.org/http://compassionatesweden.com/http://compassionatesweden.com/http://www.compassionateseattle.org/http://www.compassionateseattle.org/https://cfcpak.wordpress.com/author/cfcpak/https://cfcpak.wordpress.com/author/cfcpak/http://www.curvefirst.com/compassion/http://www.curvefirst.com/compassion/http://www.iofc.nl/node/44918http://www.iofc.nl/node/44918http://www.compassionatecalifornia.org/http://www.compassionatecalifornia.org/http://canadians4compassion.org/http://canadians4compassion.org/http://botho.co/http://botho.co/http://botho.co/http://botho.co/http://www.compassionateatl.com/http://www.compassionateatl.com/


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Why is the Charter forCompassion working withcities?

Human beings are social animals. Welive and work and socialize togetherin communities that exist in diversecultures and climates throughout theEarth. Within each of thesecommunities, human beingsexperience feelings of compassion forothersfor their families, for theirneighbors, for their communities. Butthe structure of modern societythwarts and distorts this naturaldesire. This sense of separation anddisconnection is so pervasive thatunkindness, indifference, selshnessappear as the norm; compassion,kindness and caring are the outliers.

The cites that sign on to becomeCompassionate Cities are working toidentify the unique issues that needto be addressed throughcompassionate action in theirparticular place on Earth. Issuesrange from a lack of social justice forwomen, for immigrants, for the LGBTcommunity, or for those orphaned bythe tragedy of the AIDS epidemic. Insome communities, it is issues of

drugs, or gang violence, or the needfor equitable healthcare orconfronting the effects ofenvironmental racism in marginalizedcommunities. Others are working toprovide empowerment to youth andto educate people about the need forcompassion in addressingenvironmental issues.

The concern of people in all thesecommunities is driven by the ideathat beneath our culture ofindifference runs a deep river ofcompassion, a vast aquifer of lovingkindness waiting to be tapped,yearning to be released. In the 21 st century, scientic evidence hasmounted for compassion as anessential ingredient in maintainingthriving, healthy, resilient, andinnovative enterprises, institutions,

and communities. With thisunderstanding, in 2013, more than1,300 mayors (of U.S. cities exceeding30,000) voted to endorse theInternational Compassionate CitiesCampaign. Mayors and civic leadersaround the world are exploringcompassion as their core strategy tobuild bridges across partisan dividesand nd innovative solutions. In2014, The Council for a Parliament ofthe Worlds Religions joined in astrategic partnership to support theemergence of the CompassionateCities movement worldwide.

COMMIT AND FOCUS

What does it mean for a city

to commit to the Charter forCompassion?

Every city is different, with a uniquehistory, and a conuence of diversecultures, languages, and habits. Soevery city will have a unique path tobecoming a community in whichcompassion comes alive. However,what all cities have in common is thatin order for compassion to build,there is a call for citizens who havethe imagination, energy, and courageto start the movement.

Who do we need to beinvolved?

Creating a compassionate cityrequires two kinds of leadership:from the BOTTOM UP inneighborhoods, places of work, placesof worship, and schools, and from theTOP DOWN, in the ofces of thecity governments. The idealorganizers of an initiative areindividuals inspired by competitivealtruism who believe that withineach of us exists a powerful kindnessthat can put into compassionateaction for the betterment of theircommunity.

A compassionate city isan uncomfortable city! Acity that isuncomfortable whenanyone is homeless orhungry. Uncomfortableif every child isnt lovedand given richopportunities to growand thrive.Uncomfortable when any

group anywhere in theworld is marginalized oroppressed.Uncomfortable when asa community we donttreat our neighbors as wewould wish to be treated.

~Karen Armstrong


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What are the rst steps?

Below are some suggested rststeps, but we also recommend thatyou visit the city section on ourwebsite to begin to construct yourBlueprint for a Compassionate City .There you will nd more detailed

ideas and examples.

1. Begin with identi fying peopleand groups who may already beworking to bring compassion toyour community, and invite themto learn about the Charter andthe Cities Initiative.

2. Open conversations with groupsof community leaders andorganizations to introduce theCharter for Compassion andwhat it would mean for yourcommunity to sign on.

3. Include diverse participationamong local inuencers that willhelp identify the major challengewithin your community thatcould benet from a focus oncompassion.

4. Encourage partners and groupsto begin coming up with ideasfor projects and advocacy at akickoff event.

How can we create a planthat ts our city?

Dont worry, we want you to besuccessful, and we will provide youwith the information you need toget started. The Charter forCompassion website will give youmany examples from othercommunities as well as more

specic information for designingyour own city campaign.

Contact us to set up a conferencecall with you and your committee.

Read articles in theCompassionCities Reader that canpossibly help you explore newpossibilities.

BUILD MOMENTUM

Establishing compassion as a drivingforce wi thin a co mmunity isperhaps best achieved by gainingwide ownership of the conceptthroughout the community building momentum to the tipping

point, so everyone is aware of thepossibilities and the collectiveimpact of compassionate acts.While news reports andinformative presentations can helpeducate people about themovement, we have come up withsome more immediate ways toinspire compassion in the hearts ofthe people who make up thecommunity. You can read moreabout each of these on ourwebsite:

Compassion Games and Relays--The Compassion Games (everySeptember 11 through 21) and theRelays (all year round) are amongthe most appealing and successfulways to get people involved in actsof compassion. Read m ore.

Invite partners for your localinitiative to build a broad network

The work of the Charter worksbest when partners from varioussectorseducation, healthcare,business as examplesare invitedto participate in tackling the issuesthat need to be addressed in thecommunity. Read an example ofhow the La Crosse, WI community

education, local government,businesses, and the arts workedtogether to bring compassion to

life in their community.

Read about compassion and forgiveness Get your communityinvolved in reading and discussingthe concepts of compassion andforgiveness to bring greaterawareness of how compassion cantransform the community. See what other communities arereading .

Promote the Compassion App -"Compassion Today! Introduce peoplein your community to the FREEmobile app "Compassion Today!". Theapp highlights the Charter forCompassion and provides a wealth ofcompassion resources. It allowspeople to learn about the Charter,sign/afrm the Charter, and submit aCharter partner application straightfrom the app. Use the app to engageyour city!"

Celebrate compassion Chances arethere are already many compassionateacts going on in your community people volunteering their time, forexample, to food banks, to homelessshelters, to animal shelters, to tutoringchildren who need extra help inschools. By highlighting and celebratingthese acts, you will create a climatefor more such activity.

Weave compassion into established events Create a spirited presence atyour communitys events such asfestivals, taste of events, outdoor concerts, and celebrations to educateand inspire the people of your

community.
http://charterforcompassion.org/node/4146http://[email protected]/http://charterforcompassion.org/12-steps-bookhttp://charterforcompassion.org/12-steps-bookhttp://www.news8000.com/http://compassiongames.org/http://charterforcompassion.org/compassion-todayhttp://charterforcompassion.org/compassion-todayhttp://charterforcompassion.org/12-steps-bookhttp://charterforcompassion.org/12-steps-bookhttp://charterforcompassion.org/12-steps-bookhttp://charterforcompassion.org/12-steps-bookhttp://www.news8000.com/http://www.news8000.com/http://compassiongames.org/http://compassiongames.org/http://charterforcompassion.org/node/4146http://charterforcompassion.org/node/4146http://[email protected]/http://[email protected]/

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