How to Start a Campaign in Your City

The Campaign for Compassionate Cities has three simple steps:
1. Ask your Mayor to affirm the Charter for Compassion and proclaim your community a Compassionate City.
2. Meet with community members to define what it means to be a Compassionate City and how your city will work toward its vision.
3. Share news, events, ideas, and resources with other cities in the Compassionate Cities group on this network.

In April 2010, the campaign launched in Seattle with the help of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, TED, the Fetzer Institute, and Karen Armstrong. We are grateful for their support. At the launch, Seattle became the first city in the world to affirm the the Charter for Compassion when Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and the City Council signed an official proclamation that declared Seattle a Compassionate City.

The following cities are currently developing their own campaigns (click on the map below to see a larger version of the image):

Al Majara, Dubai
Assisi, Italy
Basalt, Colorado, USA
Bellevue, Washington, USA
Bellingham, Washington, USA
Capetown, South Africa
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Donegal, Ireland (region)
Dublin, Ireland
Eugene, Oregon, USA
Houston, Texas, USA
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Issaquah, Washington, USA
Lahore, Pakistan
London, United Kingdom
Melbourne, Australia
Monterrey, Mexico
New Delhi, India
Portland, Oregon, USA
San Francisco, California, USA
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Syracuse, New York, USA
Tacoma, Washington, USA
Tel Aviv, Israel
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Canada is working toward becoming the first nation to affirm the Charter! Let's unleash the competitive spirit in service of the common good and encourage cities around the world to join the campaign.

The first step is the join the Compassionate Cities group and introduce yourself! You can learn how to use an online service called The Point to build the momentum needed to persuade your mayor and city council to support the campaign. Or, feel free to create your own approach.

Thanks for your interest in the Campaign for Compassionate Cities. Please post comments and questions below.