Humanity FIRST
What is Humanity FIRST?
Humanity First grew out of the devastation witnessed in Gaza, it’s wider implications on global governance and with new visions to address the simultaneous collapse of the global order as evidenced by the ‘strong man’ version of leadership we are seeing, which could lead to catastrophic devastation of our planet even quicker than climate change.
It is a series of initiatives designed to tackle the biggest challenges of our time. We seek to ask bold questions of what’s really going on under the surface, to be honest, to have the courage and humility to excavate the needed leadership from each one of us to be part of the change, and to have a larger view of what’s possible, breaking away from the status quo and not afraid to think completely – radically – differently from what has gone before, to where we need to go now.
More and more people are recognising that our global order has to better reflect our essential humanity and our instinctive understanding that there is more to the world than meets the eye. Our human systems must be in line with a higher vison of mankind, something that, we believe, we all understand deep within ourselves. We know that politics, history, religion can never be transcendent unless based on a higher set of principles.
Personal Statement from Caroline
The war on Gaza has had a devastating effect on me. It has been an object lesson in the death of moral courage in our world, a sign of the complete collapse of the global order, and a highly dangerous situation that will have a huge impact on the future of our world. It is a stain on the soul of humanity, and on the leadership of America and the West. It has been transformational in rethinking my leadership journey.
Context and Story
As a child of the 80s, the Ethiopian famine had been an awakening of my social conscience and the start of a profound questioning about our world and the injustices that seemed to be a part of it. Growing up in colonial Hong Kong, acutely aware of the legacy of British empire, yet with a deep and compassionate heart, I questioned from an early age the dynamics of power and leadership in the world. Moving to Europe in my early teens, devouring the literature of the Holocaust, and seeing first hand the atrocities of Auschwitz and the history of two world wars littered across the landscape, have given me a profound awareness of the historical context of the global order and the governance systems to date. Yet, my own background in China has given me a far more nuanced and empathetic understanding of the real forces at play in our world, concealing a truth that is often not told, and a far more refined thought about the real issues at stake.
Fast forward to now and whilst we are now more technologically advanced than ever before, it would seem that our sense of humanity has not progressed one bit. We still fight it out in a world lead by men, where power and ego dominates at the expense of a higher humanity. We elect leaders with not an ounce of moral fibre, yet blame the ‘systems’ that allowed them to grow. Our capacity for truly deep thinking about the state we are in and what is required to get out of it, is devastatingly lacking. Yet I refuse to accept that this is where we are heading. The stakes are very high right now. The capacity for human beings to self-destruct has never been greater, yet we also have a window, however small, to choose to do things differently.
We have an opportunity to look each other in the eye and say ‘There has to be a better way’. We have to be capable of more than this. We have to speak deeply to the truth of who another person really is, and what they are capable of, even if they are not showing it, and speak to that person in our leadership. To refuse to play to the lowest common denominator and go beyond the thinking that got us here that, for sure, will not get us there. We need new horizons of possibility and the humility and lack of self to be in service to something bigger than what we’ve been able to demonstrate so far. To use all the resources we have at our disposal – economic, political, social, professional, spiritual – to bring healing to humanity.
“The cement of a higher humanity will unite all in the one divinity.”-
Mary Baker Eddy
Priorities
To support the emergence of a truly multi-polar world that more adequately reflects a transcendent view of mankind, working together in harmony with others, without judgement, suspicion, aggressivity or a desire to impose human will on others, with no one country or system dominating another. To recognize that we are ‘all in this together’ whether that’s on issues of global conflict, climate change, artificial intelligence, nuclear proliferation, the risks of pandemics and the many challenges humanity will face into the future.
Radical rethinking of our global governance models to reflect a rebalancing of the global order and a truly multi-polar world. This could result in a new global governance system emerging, or a thorough rethinking of the UN system. We don’t know. But we need something radically different than what we’ve got right now.
A deconstruction of our political systems in the West that move away from the two-party binary system, build a more plural, democratic way of getting things done, putting ordinary people at the heart of leadership and decision-making. Engaged citizenship. Direct democracy. Citizen assemblies. People’s Tribunals. Sortition. Whatever it takes to bring power back to the people, not their leaders.
A more mature and sophisticated approach to working with China and countries of the Global South ‘the world majority’, that privileges a more principled and empathetic standard than is currently in place. A recognition that our way of doing things is not necessarily right for others, still less, our job to convince them to do it in a particular way. Rather, it is a deep humility to listen and learn from different viewpoints to arrive at a shared understanding of what supports human flourishing, and to be compassionate partners in working together to achieve good for all.
Taking anything to do with education, learning, human health and well-being, to be taken beyond the scope of the nation state and ‘governed’ in ways that cut across different countries and cultures, uniting us all in a shared commitment towards genuine flourishing of the human race.
Redesigning our economic and political systems to empower human flourishing - the human being as an asset not a liability, and human capital, not the endless pursuit of ‘growth’ in purely financial terms, at the heart of the system
Investment in technology, particularly that developed outside of the US, that is more rooted in finding real solutions to the problems our world faces, and not just tools to make already privileged lives even more comfortable, as the Silicon Valley model and US-based capitalism prioritises
The establishment of a ‘Court of the People’ or People’s Tribunal in service to humanity. A jury of people from around the world, capable of representing humanity , not politics and positions. Capable of holding governments accountable to their people, and the wider global community, through non-violent means, without resorting to warfare. A truly just and fair institution that radically revolutionizes our idea of what institutions are actually built for.
Accountability from our leaders and systems in place to knock leaders out when they break principles of humanity and integrity based on the model of the Nolan principles. Leaders must be in service to their people and a wider scope of humanity, not the other way around. Leadership legitimacy predicated on those that can empower others, constantly in service of humanity, and not self-interest.
Legislation that the Human takes precedence over Machine at all points. Deregulation only when it serves humanity. A focus on innovation to unleash potential, whilst balancing regulation that serves to protect and elevate. Always, always, always putting the people back in charge and central to the conversation.
Investing in the local to power the global. Supporting more innovation at grassroots, building local connections, empowering enterprise as it serves local needs, respecting and honouring the natural world with the full understanding that people know what’s best for their own communities. Bring back the true meaning of what globalization should be – exchange, trade, intercultural, fair, equitable, openness to others, a rising tide lifts all boats, enjoying both our differences and similarities in true partnership.
The quest for transcendence as the true purpose of life and being. Initiatives that aims to explore the true spirituality of each one of us, whether openly religious, agnostic or even atheist. We must support the Abrahamic religions to remind themselves that we all share the one God, with the interpretation of our scripture to be spiritually understood, not literally implemented; and for other systems of thought that support a deeper understanding of who we are to flourish. To acknowledge that the true journey we are each undertaking is fundamentally one of transcendence, and that our spiritual journeys are the only ultimate pathway to get there.
Immediate Actions
An initiative to end the carnage in Gaza, in concert with other members of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders and other Forum communities, yet independent from the Forum itself, includes:
o Working with Israeli opposition to get Netanyahu out of power
o Supporting Palestinian people in their right to self-determination
o Calling US and Western governments to account for their support of Israel, demanding an immediate ceasefire, the end of weapons supplies and sanctions on Israel and Israeli leaders
A series of ‘action summits’ being held on the Clos de Gaye estate each autumn, that bring together world leaders, thinkers, artists, social visionaries, philanthropists and government officials to use bold thinking and doing to both imagine and take action to rebuild our world
Building a ‘swarm’ of action and new movements to fundamentally change the direction of travel on global governance and systems change in partnership with Fellows from the RSA, based in London but with initiatives all over the world
A podcast in partnership with Catherine Zhang – “Shifting the Paradigm: New Horizons of Possibility – and Action”, designed to offer a deeper way of thinking about the paradigms that got us here, what changes need to be made to our patterns of thought, and concrete and tangible actions to build anew that can involve us all
Leadership development through The Centre for the Arts and Global Leadership, using Caroline’s skills in supporting human flourishing, based on two pillars:
1) Bolstering of support for leadership in the Global South and empowering the next generation of visionary leaders;
2) Retraining of leaders in global north with more humility and a deeper-level of understanding of ‘the other’ to prepare for a multi-polar world
Manifesto for a Revolution
‘No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.’ Einstein
We seek to be regenerative in everything we think, say and do
The excavation of the past has a purpose only in so much as it reveals new pathways for the future
Intellectualism is never a substitute for deep thought
The full realization of a deeper humanity is our only concern
By all people, for all people
Multiple narratives for a multi-polar world
Resource allocation solely on the basis of the capacity to uplift and elevate mankind
A clear commitment on the part of each individual for radical self-examination and the removal of ego in all forms
Reciprocal relationships between the individual and society
Principles, not politics
Accountability to the Golden Rule, found in all religions and cultures worldwide
Love, not as an emotion, but as the true identity of who we each are, as the supreme guiding force in all things
(c) Caroline Watson February 2024
