Annual/Impact Report 2022

Impact Report—2022

Cameroon Project

We know that there are millions of people in the world who are prepared to engage with others to co-create the world that our hearts desire. And there is a great need for everybody’s engagement.

Youth Group, Cape Town, South Africa

The vision for the Charter for Compassion is to work towards a world in which the darkness of suffering is healed by the light of compassionate action; in which children and adults are literate and skilled in the transformative nature and power of compassion; and in which we treat ourselves, each other, and the natural world with dignity and respect, manifesting the Golden Rule/GoldenRuleism in all relationships.

PURPOSE

Vision and Mission

Our mission is to support the emergence of a global movement that brings the Charter for Compassion to life. To do so, we are 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.

Compassion can be taught, trained, and cultivated and there are extensive resources from both ancient traditions and current science and practice to guide us in developing more compassionate beings throughout our life spans. To that end we work to:

• Restore compassion to the center of morality and social engagement and reject any practice that breeds violence, hatred, or disdain.

• Build a world free of exclusivist perspectives, including structural racism, racial prejudice, and to repaire the harm caused by colonialism, patriarchy, exclusivism, racial supremacy and other forms of persecution and oppression wherever they exist.

• Teach, train, and equip future generations with the core value of compassion.

• Broaden our cultural perspectives by researching missing pages of history, transcending barriers of division that have become the norm, and to repositioning our individual and collective consciousness to bring about transformation.

• Acknowledge our responsibility and obligation to live in harmony and stewardship with all beings and to protect all life on Earth and throughout our human planetary existence.

• Collaborate locally, nationally and globally so as to create a shared vision of a compassionate society, to working within our spheres of influence to build compassionate systems and cultures, and to openly share information and resources, so as to highlight best practices.

Richmond Hill, ON, Canada

New City and Community Initiatives in 2022

• Acts of Kindness—Compassionate Maine, USA

• Allende, NL, Mexico

• Apodaca, NL, Mexico

• Garcia, NL, Mexico

• Laguna Woods Villa, CA, USA

• Mier y Moriega, NL, Mexico

• Santa Catarina, NL, Mexico

• Santiago, NL, Mexico

• Upland, CA, USA

New Sector Partners in 2022

Arts

• Andrea Prevatali , Italy

• Katrina Hatcher, USA

• Lance Hide Design, USA

• ZaHaVa Sherez, Mexico

Business

• Caravan, Mexico

• Earthworks, USA

• Esperanza al Debil, Mexico

• Everything Compassion, Canada

• Founder Energy, USA

• Global Thinkers Forum, UK

• JMF Communications, USA

• Magik Alma Salud, Mexico

• Perdue School of Business—Salisbury Univ, USA

• Yasin Cafe, Mexico

Education

• Atria University, India

• Autism Spectrum Welfare, Pakistan

• BeCompassionate, Canada

• Bounce Forward, UK

• Bring Truth to Fear, USA

• DKG, Mexico

• Grandma D and the Magic Book Machine, USA

• The New 3Rs, USA

• Pathways Foundation, India

• Vegan Education, USA

• Youth and Environment, Tanzania

Environment

• Association of Wilderness Environment, USA

• Coaching Canine Companions, USA

• Elios Project, USA

• Hearts on Our Sleeves, UK

• Nature’s Healing Grace, USA

Gender Partnerships

• Girl Talk, Inc., USA

• LGBTQUIA+ Community Center of Southern Nevada, USA

• Soul Consciousness Creations, UK

Health

• Advanced Wellness, USA

• Envision Kindness, USA

• Hope Across the Globe, USA

• Inst. Clinical Advancement of Neuroplasticity, Australia

• Main Street Vegan, USA’

• The Patient is U Foundation, USA

• Peaceful Death, Thailand

• Schizy, Australia

• Self-Maximization, India

• Serenity Healing Arts, USA

• Source Wellness, USA

Peace

• All of Us, Belgium

• Exult Solutions, India

• Global Strategy of Nonviolence, USA

• Peace Literacy, USA

• Project Jumbo, Australia

• Raffi Foundation, Canada

RISE

Christian Leadership, USA

Circle of Compassion, USA

Moira Te Aroha, New Zealand

Shechem Global Ministries, USA

Sisters of the Divine Compassion, USA

Uplift Kids, USA

Social/Restorative Justice

• Global Compassion Coalition, USA

• Southeast Immigrant Rights, USA

Letter from the Executive Director

Dear Friends,

Reporting on Karen Armstrong’s 2009 TED prize award, the Washington Post remarked that her idea was going to be the start of a new theology of power which was based on the Golden Rule. When Amin Hashwani, a business executive and activist in Pakistan, and now a Charter for Compassion Board of Trustee, heard Karen Armstrong’s TED Talk, it stopped him in his tracks. In her talk, Armstrong describes how compassion is more than a nice idea — it is a trait that enables humanity to flourish. This deeply resonated with him. In 2011, Hashwani founded the Compassionate School Network, a program to train schools and educators to build student skills in compassion. The network is expected to reach one million students in the next decade. fostering a new generation of leaders with empathy.

There are a thousand more stories speaking to compassion in action that are the result of Karen Armstrong's TED talk. In fact, some of these stories are highlighted in our new Grassroots Wisdom Book referred to in this report. While I’m not certain precisely what the Washington Post meant when it spoke to a new theology of power, or whether Karen Armstrong anticipated what would evolve from her wish to launch a Charter for Compassion, I do know that as an organization we have embraced our capacity to influence a transition in the world. Part of the power of the Charter for Compassion is the document itself that speaks to how we must seek a deeper meaning in life and that challenges us all to build a better world. The other part of that power is our commitment to get our hands dirty and rebuild, invent solutions, and address the needs in our community initiatives around the world.

In a little over a decade since the Charter for Compassion's initial launch we have become visible to many people on the world’s stage. However, in a world of about eight billion we have our work cut out for us and we realize that it is an immense task. Our work is to bring people together on a local level to help respond to obvious issues that must be addressed. It is to build coalitions among people in a community to such an extent that listening to each other and acting together collaboratively becomes common. It is to reach every child and adult through education programs that recognize the importance of social emotional learning and compassion. It is to recognize culture and tradition alongside scientific advancement, especially in neuroscience. Lastly, but most importantly is to create a culture of ambassadors in diplomatic service to the world. Our goals are ambitious and thoroughly necessary, practical and down-to-earth and require each of us to think not only of self, but of others and to be in awe of and of service to the planet on which we live.

We are so thankful to each person and organization that gave of their time and finances, enabling us to keep us moving forward in our mission. You hear it so often, “We couldn’t have done it without you.” We are honored to say, “We are doing it because of you.”

With much gratitude, Marilyn

Turkovich, E.D. Charter for Compassion

Practice

2022 Goals

1. Continue to grow Compassionate initiatives and support existing compassionate cities through the creation of resources and facilitation to support grassroots teams.

2. Design a Map of Co-Creators in which the entire Charter for Compassion community can become visible and able to interact with one another to engage and strengthen communications.

3. Coordinate a new education strategy and launch a global project to engage youth in compassionate action projects.

4. Collaborate with Pro Social World and Pro Social Spirituality to increase educational opportunities for the Charter membership.

5. Design a vehicle, The Grassroots Wisdom Book, to capture stories of success that can be replicated throughout the Charter for Compassion Community.

6. Continue to offer the Global Read and Film series monthly.

7. Design and implement special projects: 40 Days of Peace, 22 Days of Compassion, Golden Rule Day and the Global Gala and Humanitarian Awards ceremony along with course offerings from the Charter Education Institute.

Healing Collective Trauma, Compassionate Ballarat, Australia

Goal 1: Continue to grow Compassionate initiatives and support existing compassionate cities through the creation of resources and facilitation to support grassroots teams.

In 2022, we began regular CHATS with global communities. Monthly meetings were held with Compassionate California, USA, Australia, Canada, and the UK, and bi-monthly meetings with members in New Zealand and with individual US states. We also started regular meeting with countries in Africa.

The intent of the CHATS, which are being continued and expanded in 2023 is to keep members up-to-date on projects being promoted by the Charter, to introduce participants to the possibility of engaging in further conversations which may lead to Circles of Trust and to expand the communities and partners base of the Charter.

Goal 2: Design a Map of Co-Creators in which the entire Charter for Compassion community can become visible and able to interact with one another to engage and strengthen communications.

In the Charter for Compassion’s role of being “a connector,” the Charter launched the Map of Co-Creators mid-year 2022. In addition to offering the use of the map to our members and partners, the map is being shared with other like minded organizations to offer in turn to their followers to become

visible to one another. The map is designed by using the 12 sectors of the Charter as a point of primary and secondary interests and based on the idea that exponentially we all have the potential of having more impact by working together on areas of interest, expertise and passion.

In using the map an individual can filter and match their area of interest with others who appear on the map, and thus become mutual cocreators.

A co-creator is humble and open-minded, curious to understand and integrate others’ perspectives, and is motivated by a higher purpose, i.e., :

• Knows and feels that all of life is one interconnected whole

• Has inner peace and harmony and has overcome the ego-based needs for personal recognition

• Can join others in heart resonance, and doesn’t work against anyone

• Is dedicated to his/her higher life purpose, serving principles such as love, heartfelt truth, peace, unity and beauty.

Goal: 3 Coordinate a new education strategy and launch a global project to engage youth in compassionate action project.

Throughout 2022, a good amount of work was given to a number of actions regarding expanding and strengthening the Education Sector of the Charter for Compassion. These included:

1. Design and conduct a program for young people working in conjunction with one of our strategic partners, the Foundation for Peace and Leadership to provide a platform for youth. Two Open Space Technology conferences were offered in 2022 reaching over 400 young people from five countries. These engagements have resulted in creating a Charter Youth Advisory group who are assisting in designing additional upcoming events.

2. Hire a full time Education Coordinator for the Charter whose primary responsibilities included promoting the ethic of GoldenRuleism within the context of formal and informal education.

3. Expand the Education Sector Team to include expertise in early childhood education, alternative learning strategies, technological education and social emotional learning.

4. Offer a monthly Education Network Forum event (EdNet Forum). The EdForum is way to experience new philosophies, pedagogies, and methodologies of education as they are in practice today. It is also an opportunity to explore the neuroscience of the brain and its relationship to education. At the same time, it is our way of opening the door to seeing how social-emotional learning, the acquisition of spiritual growth, compassion, and kindness can be modeled and taught as a skill.

5. Encourage, assist and publish materials produced on compassion, kindness and education. Four such publications appear on the Charter’s website as PDF documents so they can be shared by others.

Goal 4: Collaborate with Pro Social World and Pro Social Spirituality to increase educational opportunities for the Charter membership.

San Antonio, TX, USA

During 2022, ProSocial World and the Charter for Compassion developed a memorandum of understanding by which the two organizations agreed to share an employee primarily to assist in a pilot program that would instill ProSocial skills into the work of selected compassionate initiatives. Las Vegas, Nevada and San Antonio, Texas were selected to become part of the pilot.

ProSocial World is a process of inquiry and practical application of both inner and outer work that helps foster collaboration within and between groups. ProSocial is a science-based process that integrates previously isolated academic disciples that can be applied to different topic areas (i.e., health, education, business, etc.) and all scales from small groups to large networks and organizations, to the whole planet.

Goal 5: Design a vehicle, The Grassroots Wisdom Book, to capture stories of success that can be replicated throughout the Charter of Compassion Community.

Another project that the Charter launched in 2022 was the Grassroots Wisdom Book. Hopefully, this is a book for Charter members to give to and to take from. Ideally hundreds of people will eventually contribute their stories. The intent of the Grassroots Wisdom Book is to create a written

Compassionate

record, and to collect and save individual and group responses to the needs that we see in right front of us.

There are fourteen chapters in the Grassroots Wisdom Book, and each chapter reflects the work of our sectors. However, not all stories come directly from compassionate initiatives or from our members and partners. We want to capture the good news that is happening all around us. We want to break the bubble of silence about good accomplishments and responses to challenges and highlight radical solutions to problems that too often escape the media.

Goal 6: Continue to offer the Global Read and Film series monthly.

Goal 7: Design and implement special projects: 40 Days of Peace, 22 Days of Compassion, Golden Rule Day and the Global Gala and Humanitarian Awards ceremony along with course offerings from the Charter Education Institute.

Activities associated with Global Reads, offerings by the Charter Education Institute and special programs, including the Charter’s on-line Global Gala and Humanitarian Award Program that are presented on pages 18-19 of this report.

Compassionate Las Vegas, NV, USA

Charter for Compassion 2022 Budget

2022 Charter for Compassion Events At-A-Glance

January

40 Days of Peace—Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

40 Days Feast of the Soul

Global Read: Steve Killelea

Film Series: Cracking the Codes

February

World Interfaith Harmony Week

Global Read: Valarie Kaur

Film Series: Free Trip to Egypt

March

22 Days of Compassion

Global Read: Jacqueline Winspear

Film Series: Power of the Heart

EdNet Forum: Flourish Project and

Community of Mindful Parenting

April

Golden Rule Day

Global Read: Marsel Van Oosten

Film Series: Connectivity Project

EdNet Forum: Positively

Empowered Kids and MOMM

May

Global Read: Elizabeth Filippouli

Film Series: Economics of Happiness

EdNet Forum: Montessori Group

June

Global Read: Marilyn Hamilton

Film Series: India’s Daughter

EdNet Forum: Respect Foundation and Beyond Toxic Stress and Loving Classrooms

July

The Parliament of the World's Religions

Global Read: Barbara Kerr and Barry Sommer

Film Series: Wisdom Weavers

August

Global Read: Marina Cantacuzino and Masi Noor

Film Series: A Simpler Way

EdNet Forum: The New 3Rs and Awakened Schools

September

Global Read: Jennifer Bailey

Film Series: Gratitude Revealed

Youth Collaborating for Compassion 2 day-event

EdNet Forum: YCC

October

Film Series: Remember Sangha Circle

November

Global Read: Edafe Okporo

Film Series: A Cloud Never Dies

The Global Gala and Humanitarian Awards

EdNet Forum: Education Today, Society Tomorrow

Sangha Circle

December

Global Read: John Kolkin

Youth Collaborating for Compassion 2 day-event

Sangha Circle

Compassionate Pakistan

The Charter for Compassion is a document written by people from around the world representing every country and every faith; people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ali Goma’a and Karen Armstrong.

Thousands have affirmed the Charter; like Queen Rania, Sir Richard Branson, and even his holiness the Dalai Lama. Compassion is basically… well, it’s the Golden Rule! It’s an idea that has been around for centuries and it’s at the core of all the world’s religions and ethical beliefs.

The Charter for Compassion is a declaration to restore compassion to the center of our moral and religious traditions, starting as a wish at the TED conference, it has inspired a movement. In San Francisco there are students that are getting together talking about what the Golden Rule means to them; Seattle took up the Charter becoming the first official compassionate city; and in the U.S. the entire Presbyterian Church signed up, which is awesome! The Irish threw a Compassion festival, and in South Africa, the Reverend Peter Storey unveiled the Charter at the World Cup!

The Charter for Compassion has been endorsed by institutions as diverse as the Sydney Opera House, the Washington Cathedral, the Karachi Press Club, the Chautauqua Institution, and the Garden of Forgiveness in Lebanon.

From Amsterdam to Pakistan, from Mexico to Dubai, Lahore to London, Toronto to Tel Aviv… I mean, everywhere millions of people around the world are coming together to make the Charter their own, and now, we're looking to you.

Do you want your own school, community, city or country to be more compassionate? Go to charterforcompassion.org to find out how. Why don’t we all start right about now?

Charter for Compassion

PO Box 10787

Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USA

The Charter for Compassion is a registered nonprofit, 501(c)3, EIN #46-3554077