The Future Is Human

Recently, at an online launch of the Global Justice Symposium, attendees from around the world were asked to describe, in one word, what needed to change. The word most frequently repeated in the chat was ‘dehumanisation.’ We know the problem. But what would a more ‘human’ justice system look like? Where is this currently happening in pockets around the world that we can build on?

This was the ambitious task undertaken by Nina Champion, Jacob Dunne and Prof. Alison Liebling over the past year. They facilitated three online global workshops with 68 people from 20 countries and held 12 in-depth conversations with changemakers from across Brazil, the USA, Europe and the UK:

The valuable lived, learned, and professional expertise from answering these big questions is summarised in this new briefing, The Future is Human, which can be downloaded below:

The Future is Human Briefing

The project was inspired by Prof. Alison Liebling’s book “Aristotle’s Prison: A Search for Humanity in Tragic Places”, drawing on 30 years of prison research. She shares lessons from the exceptional few environments where people are treated as humans with complexity and potential, and concludes, “We need better solutions. All of us need humanity.”

This project was also stirred by the work of Jacob Dunne and his experience of finding humanity through restorative justice, showcased in the award-winning play ‘Punch’ recently shown in London’s West End and New York's Broadway. As Jacob said, “Accountability doesn’t begin with humiliation. It begins with humanisation.”

Jacob set everyone the challenge: “What if our systems were designed to protect and restore what is most human in everyone involved? What would that look like in practice?”

Drawing together the key themes, this briefing describes the changes needed:

·       On a Human level, a human justice system would prioritise Growth and Potential; Purpose; Choice.

·       On an Environmental and Cultural level, a human justice system would prioritise Healing and Wellbeing; Community Models; Relationships and Co-creation.

·       On an Eco-system level, the focus would be Lived Experience Leadership; Humanising Language and Narratives; Community Investment and Safety Nets:

This hopeful briefing brings together examples of positive, human ‘pockets of the future’ (Bill Sharpe, The Patterning of Hope) happening across the world, from the Center for NuLeadership on Human Justice and Healing to small-scale detention houses, showing that human-centred solutions are possible and can be achieved.

It pragmatically explores barriers to mainstreaming this human work, such as bureaucracy, risk-aversion and competition, but highlights global solutions promoting culture change, counter-narratives, common ground and collaboration. For people with lived experience, barriers to meaningful engagement include financial precarity, exploitation and burnout. Examples of international work promoting equity and co-production, fair compensation, well-being, and authenticity show how it can be done:

The briefing also sets out the key ‘ingredients’ to building a vibrant global community to help make this vision a reality. These include building trust and understanding; belonging; exchange mechanisms; solidarity; resources; and spaces for imagination and possibility. It also identifies several global justice networks working to build bridges across regions and silos, including those led by people who have been in prison or their family members:

There is also a fascinating human library of conversations (via YouTube) with leading global changemakers, links to recordings of workshop discussions and a comprehensive list of recommended books, resources, podcasts, films, plays and documentaries to provide further motivation!

Joining the dots between the networks, ideas and ‘pockets of the future’ identified will be key to realising this ambitious, but achievable, global vision for a justice system that centres humanity. This insightful and inspiring briefing sets out a blueprint to make this happen.

As the word ‘human’ increasingly crops up in popular culture, whether grappling with the future of humanity in a world of AI, or the increased dehumanisation of different groups of people, this briefing is also a timely and important contribution to this wider societal dialogue. 

If you are interested in finding out more, email: nina@championsforsocialchange.com.

(Images on cover left to right: Just Leadership USA, Spark Inside and International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women)