In her acceptance speech she called for help in creating, launching and propagating a Charter for Compassion, claiming to be based on the fundamental principle of the Golden Rule.
[5] The Council of Conscience, a multi-faith, multi-national group of religious thinkers and leaders, then met in Vevey, Switzerland, to craft the final Charter for Compassion.
[6] The Charter for Compassion was unveiled by Karen Armstrong and the Council of Conscience on November 12, 2009, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
That day, more than 75 launch events took place around the globe and more than 60 Charter for Compassion plaques designed by Yves Behar were hung at significant religious and secular sites around the world.
[7] Just a few months after Karen Armstrong was awarded the TED Prize, individuals and organizations around the world began coalescing to bring the Charter for Compassion to life.
CAN's intention, expressed in its founding document, was to create "an association of like-minded programs, projects and organizations that collectively represent the power of thousands of relationships.
[citation needed] With the support of CAN, the Fetzer Institute and many other groups and individuals, the Charter for Compassion grew steadily in scale and scope.
CFC sees networks as the first, critical step in systemic reorganization of the type necessary to make compassion an organizing, luminous force.
Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, president; Dr. James Doty, M.D., vice-president; Toni Murden McClure, treasurer; and the following members: Allan Boesak, Amin Hashwani, Imam Mohamed Magid and Amy Novogratz.
There is a weekly teleconference staff meeting where participants review their work and contribute to and make decisions on current CFC initiatives.
The Charter's growing network of Compassionate Communities encompasses nearly 50 countries and includes cities, towns, townships, shires, hamlets, villages, neighborhoods, islands, states, provinces, and counties.
While the Charter does not prescribe any one path, it does recommend that the process be designed and carried out by a diverse and inclusive coalition of people so that all voices within the community are heard, and the significant issues are addressed.
For example, a community may discover a significant issue related to social justice for women, immigrants or some other marginalized group.
Other communities may want to address issues of drug use, gang violence, the lack of equitable healthcare, or the effects of racism.
One of its signature events is the annual 'Mayor's Give a Day Week', in which the entire city makes time for volunteering, service and compassion.
It encourages groups, organizations, and institutions to join the Charter for Compassion’s network of networks by signing on as a partner, at no cost, in any one of its current sectors: Arts, Business, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Peace and Non-violence, Religion/Spirituality/Interfaith, Restorative Justice, Science and Research, Social Justice, Social Service, and Women and Girls.
[18] In education, partners around the globe have translated the Charter for children and many schools are using compassionate curricula developed for all age levels.
Eventually, CFC will offer courses that address the work of compassion in many contexts—in communities, healthcare, business, education, religion and interfaith, the arts, restorative justice, environment, and science.