Finding community together
By Zaira Mughal
“Community is born out of commonality, be it a shared passion, value, ethos or purpose. Beyond having access to like-minded people, I believe that a community is a support system that relies on integrity and trust to prosper.”
Imagine having an idea, yet you don’t quite know how to make it work and would love to get some advice? Or imagine that you’re working on the same issue as someone halfway across the world — you would receive so much value from being able to share your perspectives on the same challenge. Community is important because disrupting the status quo is challenging and takes an immense amount of courage. This courage can be gained from knowing that you’re not alone, and belong to a global support system of people that not only share your vision for a better world, but are committed to rolling their sleeves up to make change actually happen.
Community is a space where you can relate to another’s experience, share best practices and learn from each other’s failures and successes. You can find strength from championing the community’s endeavors, and hold each other accountable to commitments. And most importantly, a community is a safe space where you can practice authenticity and be vulnerable without fear of judgment because we’re all in, or have been in the same boat.
It’s human nature to ‘belong’ — we’re designed to be in community.
The Global People’s Summit is powered by the Humanity Lab Foundation and therefore my role as the Director of Community and Innovation, is to build on the mission of giving everyone a seat at the table, by supporting the very same people to take action and be the change they wish to see.
Our world is filled with people that share the same passion of making the world a better place. Some are actively pursuing their convictions, and others have ideas but don’t know where to start. The Global People’s Summit is a convener that brings people across this spectrum together, to have a conversation. Yet our work doesn’t stop there. Our mission is to nurture our collective capacity to turn conversations, and innovative ideas, into action.
We are creating a movement founded on the values of inclusivity, collaboration and co-creation, to accelerate solutions for global development. At the heart of this movement is the Global People’s Community. Regardless of age, race, gender and socio-economic backgrounds, the commonality of our community is being of service to humanity. Simply put, it’s the mindset of, “How can I support someone else?”
We can create a truly inclusive global conversation by recognizing that humanity is an ever-evolving kaleidoscope and cannot be defined by a single social label, nor can it be restricted to those who have access to the Internet.
People need to be heard. It’s not about ‘giving them a voice’, because they have one. We need to start listening.
Often, digital connectivity means that we are less connected to the realities of what’s happening on the ground. We have to recognize that 4 billion people do not have access to the Internet. If people aren’t able to share their opinions on social media, does it mean that their voices don’t matter and their idea’s aren’t valid?
A truly global conversation is an equitable conversation and that is only possible when everyone is invited to take part.
I reimagine humanity as an equitable world where every human is treated with dignity, has access to opportunities, and accepts their responsibility, both individually and collectively for protecting people and our planet.
Through our global and inclusive community, we’re giving people access to their peers, expertise, advice, mentors, and resources that unlock our potential and capacity to take action together. Together, with you, we can create community.
On 22 September the Global People’s Summit convenes and everyone is invited to be part of the free and 100% online conversation.
One of the areas of focus of the summit is to ask the world to reimagine Earth: To imagine a healthy planet and the power of socially-conscious consumerism.
Via the online summit platform, you can attend the summit, engage with speakers, follow the conversations taking place on social media and share your thoughts — all in one place.
Zaira Mughal is a communications strategist and specializes in translating human behaviors, motivations and business visions into culturally relevant, and holistic user experiences. Zaira is vested in better understanding how to nurture human capital, strengthen shared purpose and foster collaboration for social innovation.
