After transforming their own home into a campus of personal and collective transformation to help regenerate society while respecting nature, Rama Mani and Alexander Schieffer will travel to 193 countries by 2030 in order to connect the members of the “Home for Humanity” movement that they founded.
Rama Mani, from India, and Alexander Schieffer, from Germany, who live in France near Geneva, have launched an ambitious movement that is part of the momentum of the 2030 Agenda adopted at the UN in 2015 by 193 governments. This action plan cannot be implemented without a strong involvement of all components of society. Rama and Alexander are making their contribution through Home for Humanity, which is rooted in a shared vision of the interdependence of all human beings and of their connections with every form of life on earth. They are developing this movement so that the “human family”, to which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers, becomes through its lifestyle and practices a true “Home for Humanity”. To meet this challenge, they decided to undertake as of April 2024 a 7-year journey across all continents.
Where did the idea for Home for Humanity come from?
Through our work in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America, we have come to understand that every home and organization, whatever its size, can become an incubator and a catalyst for societal and ecological regeneration, helping to transform a divided and dangerous world into a united home that celebrates diversity and lives in harmony with nature. In the course of my work on crisis management, including at the UN, says Rama, I realized that we need to break out of conventional ways of thinking and places. As for me, adds Alexander, it was through my research and teaching on sustainable development and innovative initiatives that I understood that we must adopt a holistic approach. Our adventure began in our home in France near Geneva. Here, we develop a theory and practice of “The Art and Science of Integral Transformation” that integrates nature, culture, education, economic and political systems, merges traditional knowledge with recent scientific discoveries, and places human values at the center of everything. We welcome students from the University of St Gallen in Switzerland and from the Da Vinci Institute in South Africa. We organize intercultural encounters. It has become a transformative mini-campus where over a thousand people have passed through since 2008.
What are the criteria for creating a Home for Humanity?
Anyone, regardless of age, origin or social status, can create one. All you need to do is share a common vision and values, such as inclusion, innovation, personal and collective transformation, and contribute in your own small way to regenerating your community through your home, drawing from your culture and local ecology. A home can be an apartment, a slum, a refugee shelter, an organic farm, a business or a university.
What is the purpose of your “One Home Journey”?
Everyone can contribute to building a common future. We also need to multiply alliances and connect people around the world who are taking initiatives and acting in solidarity. We also need to work with our partners to support people and organizations that are likely to become agents of change or centers of transformation. This trip is designed as a mobile university and educational hub. Open to all, it aims to enhance the richness of each culture, identify local innovations and support the initiatives of marginalized young people and women. We call it One Home UnivEARTHsity.
How will you proceed?
We will begin our journey in Egypt on April 22, 2024 (International Mother Earth Day set by the UN). Each year, we will travel to every continent and visit 35 countries, staying 7 days in each. We will start in Zimbabwe, where our movement is well established. Then we will move on to South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and Cameroon. The next stages are North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Asia. Before changing continents, we’ll be taking a three weeks break to take stock. UnivEARTHsity participants will virtually follow our journey and launch their own initiatives. We will use eco-friendly modes of transport and stay in our partners’ homes to experience their daily lives and cut costs.
How can your actions address global imbalances?
Our work is an accelerator and multiplier of the transformations we need to bring about in the face of the seriousness of the perils threatening humanity. One of the dangers is to be overwhelmed by a feeling of powerlessness. But solutions do exist. Some are already at work. What we need to do is to break out of our isolation, act in connection with each other and inspire each other to live together better and write a new history of humanity that leaves no one behind and ensures a certain well-being for the seven generations to come.
Rama Mani, founder of Theatre of Transformation and of Enacting Global Transformation at Oxford University; advisor, World Future Council. Member of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle.
Alexander Schieffer, co-founder of TRANS4M Academy for Integral Transformation; Professor at Da Vinci Institute and the University of St. Gallen; member of Evolutionary Leaders Circle.
Collaborating organizations: World Future Council, World Dream Day, Unity Earth, Purpose Earth, Holomovement, Dialogues en humanité, Whole World View, The Source of Synergy Foundation, Peace on Earth by 2030, Charter for Compassion, Ekta Parishad, Jai Jagat International, LIFENET, Earth Voice and Choosing Earth, YouthXYouth