BACKGROUND
How Humanity Project Began
Like most good things, Humanity Project came about by people listening to each other. In 2023, after a year of talking and building trust, Humanity Project’s three convenors Clare, Lee and Nick, knew the problems they saw in their different communities was the same problem: democracy wasn’t working. It wasn’t built for us to be heard. It wasn’t designed for us to shape the decisions that affect our lives. So they joined the dots, and created Humanity Project.
We Listened First
That’s why we built Humanity Project — to bring assembly culture to life. A way for people to make decisions together, in the places where people live on the streets they know, on their own terms. Our political culture doesn’t make everyone welcome. We’re setting out to change that. Not everyone thinks “politics is for me”. But everyone has the right to be listened to. Our aim is to remind us that a different way of organising and improving our lives already exists.
Why We're Building
We have built Humanity Project to bring assembly culture to life. A way for people to make decisions together, in the places where people live on the streets they know, on their own terms. Our political culture doesn’t make everyone welcome. We’re setting out to change that. Not everyone thinks “politics is for me”. But everyone has the right to be listened to. Our aim is to remind us that a different way of organising and improving our lives already exists.
What We're Building
Our vision is simple: a country where assembly culture is the new normal. Where every neighbourhood has a space to listen, speak, and decide. Where politics is shaped by the people it affects. Where we don’t wait for permission to make change — we do it ourselves.
We’ve got a lot of work ahead. But we believe in us. In all of us. And if we do this together, we can build a democracy that works for everyone, from the ground up.
Our Inspiration
Assembly culture is built upon the powerful act of listening. Clare, Lee, Nick and the team built trust by listening.
We then 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? If the right we exercised for ourselves and others was not ‘free speech’ but instead ‘the right to be listened to’? And not just to hear what others say, but to listen to why they think it. That’s assembly culture — it’s about people speaking and acting together.
We’ve learned from assemblies around the world, from the neighbourhood councils of Latin America to the citizen-led groups reshaping democracy in Europe. We know that when we come together, listen deeply, and decide collectively, we can transform our lives.