About Humanity Project

We support communities to build the power to shape their own future.

Local organisers are at the heart of this work, rooted in their neighbourhoods.

We’re here to share learning, connect communities and help assembly culture flourish.

Learn about Assembly Culture

The change we want to see

People-led democracy, where everyone has the right to be listened to.

Where communities have a real say in the decisions that affect their lives.

Where politics becomes something we do together, not something done to us.

By us, for us, where we live.

Humanity Project in action

Assembly culture is growing across the UK.

Today, Humanity Project supports communities in more than 20 locations, helping people build trust, share power and drive change together.

And this is just the beginning.

See where it’s happening Get Involved

How Humanity Project began

Like most good things, Humanity Project came about by people listening to each other.

In 2023, after a year of conversations, Humanity Project’s three convenors, Clare, Lee and Nick, knew they needed to join the dots between their communities working to end racism, take action on climate, and tackle the cost of living crisis.

Listening to stories from their communities, they heard what many of us know: that politics often feels done to us, not with us, and that many people feel cut off from decision-making by a system that too often serves the vested interests of the few.

“We asked ourselves: What would happen if the whole nation listened to itself, away from the media? If we came together across the country in our streets and neighbourhoods to hear what others had to say?”

Together, Clare, Lee and Nick knew their role was this: to help create new ways for people to listen to one another, connect across difference, participate in decisions that affect them, and discover their shared power to act.

Not waiting for others to fix things for us, but creating the conditions for communities to come together and shape what happens next.

The ultimate aim? To restore humanity in politics and strengthen democracy from the ground up.

What emerged from these conversations, and the work of many others since, is assembly culture.

What we’ve learned so far

Our conveners

Clare Farrell

Campaigner, designer, active citizen

Clare is a designer, campaigner and co-founder of Extinction Rebellion whose work explores how people come together to create positive social change. She is particularly interested in the role of participation, culture, creativity and communication in building a fairer and more connected society.

Alongside Humanity Project, Clare hosts Absurd Intelligence and Fête of Britain, creating spaces for people to tell stories, imagine different futures and build relationships across difference.

Read: Clare’s Substack

Watch: Organised Love – Clare’s keynote at the Outdoor Arts Festival

Check out: Absurd Intelligence and Fête of Britain

Lee Jasper

Campaigner, community activist and advocate for racial and social justice

Lee Jasper is a veteran campaigner, community organiser and advocate for racial and social justice, with more than forty years of leadership across civil rights, policing reform, equality policy and democratic renewal.

A co-founder of Operation Black Vote, former Senior Policy Adviser on Race and Equalities to the Mayor of London, former Chair of the Mangrove Community Association for a decade, and current Chair of the Alliance for Police Accountability, Lee has played a leading role in national campaigns challenging racism, strengthening community power and advancing institutional accountability.

His work continues to focus on building empowered communities, confronting inequality and helping shape a more just, inclusive and participatory democracy.

Read: Lee’s Substack

Check out: Operation Black Vote

Explore: Alliance for Police Accountability

Nick Gardham

Community organiser and social change leader

Nick has spent more than fifteen years helping people build collective power and take action on issues affecting their neighbourhoods.

He helped establish Community Organisers and the Centre for Participation and Action, and has trained thousands of community organisers while advising governments, charities and public bodies on participation, organising and community-led change.

His work focuses on strengthening democracy from the ground up by helping communities develop the confidence, skills and relationships needed to act together on the issues that matter to them.

Read: Nick’s articles on LinkedIn

Check out: Community Organisers

Explore: Centre for Participation and Action

Humanity Project is hosted by Community Organisers – the heart of community organising training, support and action in the United Kingdom.