Global Charter for Belonging
Principles and Practices for a global movement
Belonging is the foundation of a thriving society. Today, that foundation is fracturing. This Charter is a call to bridge those divides. By strengthening belonging in our communities, we can move from fragmentation toward dignity, agency, and shared purpose – and build a future where every person feels valued, heard and connected.
Why this Charter exists
We face a global crisis of belonging.
Too many people are living with deepening disconnection – from one another, from the places they call home, from meaningful agency in their own lives, and from a sense of shared purpose. The consequences are visible all around us in rising loneliness, social isolation, polarisation, inequality, ecological harm, and the erosion of trust.
This Charter exists to help meet that moment. It offers a shared set of principles and practices to guide a growing movement for belonging – one rooted in human dignity, connectedness, and the conviction that everyone has the right to belong.
The Charter at a glance
A right
Every person has the right to belong
A framework
Belonging is rooted in people, place, power, and purpose
A commitment
We strengthen belonging through shared action
Our shared principles
1. The four dimensions of belonging.
Belonging is rooted in four essential dimensions:
People
Reciprocal and meaningful relationships
Place
Natural ecosystems and built environments where we feel at home
Power
Agency, choice, and voice in shaping our own lives
Purpose
The ability to contribute to something greater than ourselves
2. The right to belong.
Every person, simply by being born, has the right to belong. This is not a new standalone right, but a unifying framework that brings together existing human rights and reminds us of our shared responsibility to one another and the planet.
3. Belonging strengthens society.
Societies that foster belonging are most resilient, inclusive, and accountable. When we feel valued, secure, and connected to our communities, we build trust and can collectively solve global challenges.
Our shared practices
Together, we can build belonging by:
Designing for Inclusion
Looking at the spaces, systems, relationships, and decisions we shape – from workspaces and public services to our homes, communities, and digital platforms – through a lens of belonging to ensure they actively prioritize human connection, agency and dignity.
Prioritizing Lived Experience
Ensuring that people and communities who experience exclusion most directly are active partners in designing the solutions meant to support them.
Working Collaboratively
Breaking down silos to work across public institutions, businesses, schools, faith communities, media, and civil society to advance belonging and reflect on what is working and where most is needed.
Accelerating What Works
Actively learning from builders of belonging to identify and scale effective, real-world practices.
Our Collective Action
By signing this Charter, we recognise that building belonging is a shared responsibility. Whether as individuals, communities, organisations, companies or institutions, we commit to:
- Reflect. Consider how the principles of belonging can shape our lives, relationships, work, communities, and the systems we influence.
- Act. Take at least one meaningful step to build belonging – whether in our relationships, communities, workplaces, services or systems – by strengthening what works, changing what excludes, and creating new opportunities for connection, voice and participation.
- Collaborate. Learn with others by sharing experiences, ideas and honest reflections with fellow signatories, communities, partners or peers, so that we can build belonging together.
- Amplify. Use the shared language of belonging, invite others into the movement, and help widen the circle of people and places where belonging is understood, valued and practised.
Together, we can grow a global movement for belonging and support solutions that no single person, organisations or sector could achieve alone.
Sign the Charter for Belonging
Join a growing movement committed to building belonging in communities and institutions around the world.