The Belonging Forum has embarked
on a major research project:
the Belonging Barometer
This landmark research will provide the basis for Charter for Belonging which will outline simple, proven initiatives communities can take to address social isolation and build belonging in key groups, including students, younger women, renters, older people and people with disabilities.
The Belonging Forum is calling on all people, partners and policymakers to collaborate with each other and with us to learn from the research and help design the Charter for Belonging.
The aim is to develop a useful, practical roadmap to create more connected and inclusive communities. It will include initiatives and ideas that:
Increase opportunities to connect with others
Improve access to green and natural spaces
Strengthen people's sense of personal power over democratic choices
Support them to find meaning in their everyday lives
At its core, belonging, as defined by the Kim Samuel, founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness (SCSC) and the Belonging Forum, encompasses connection across four dimensions:
People: Relationships with others
Place: Relationship with the natural world
Power: The ability to exercise influence over decision-making
Purpose: The quest for meaning
Through these four dimensions,the Belonging Forum aims to understand the crisis of social isolation and loneliness and connect people, policymakers and partners to create real solutions. By convening voices from across the belonging landscape, including the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), the Eden Project, Human Rights Watch, Special Olympics International, as well as religious and cultural figures, regulators and community leaders, the movement is seeking to deliver practical change.