Our approach
Ethical leadership, built from the ground up.
Humanity1st exists to develop a standard for ethical leadership, rooted in the lived experience of humanity, enabling us to create change from the bottom up.
The Compass
Creating a Humanity1st Compass
Shared principles. Locally shaped. Practically applied.
Every Humanity1st initiative follows the same methodology, but every Humanity1st Compass is unique to the people and the context in which it is created. Humanity1st brings together people from similar or different backgrounds, sometimes around a shared challenge and sometimes simply to better understand one another.
Through dialogue and reflection, participants discover the values they have in common and those that matter most within their own community, organisation or team. This process helps build trust, strengthen relationships and create a shared foundation for working together.
Participants then develop their own Humanity1st Compass: a practical guide that supports decision-making, collaboration and action. Rather than being imposed from above, each Compass reflects the people who create it and the context in which it will be used.
The learning from every Humanity1st Compass is shared across the wider Humanity1st community, helping strengthen the methodology and inspire future initiatives.
Distinctive practice
What makes Humanity1st different?
Many organisations are already working to address challenges such as climate change, inequality, education, health and conflict. Humanity1st provides a shared process that helps people and organisations work together more effectively around these challenges.
The cycle
The Humanity1st methodology
Humanity1st follows a continuous learning process that helps people understand complex challenges, develop practical responses and continuously learn from experience. The approach can be adapted to different countries, communities and contexts.
A continuous cycle
Select a stage to read it in full. Learning from Reflect and Improve returns to Learn and Discover: the process is continuous, not a one-off sequence.
The ecosystem
How learning moves through the ecosystem
Pilots create real-world learning. Grassroots assemblies and thematic labs bring lived experience, evidence and expertise together. Shared learning strengthens Humanity1st principles, future programmes and partnerships across the eight domains.
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Pilots create real-world learning.
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Grassroots assemblies and thematic labs bring lived experience, evidence and expertise together.
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Shared learning strengthens Humanity1st principles, future programmes and partnerships across the eight domains.