Ten women leaders representing five continents have signed an international charter in Cape Town, placing belonging, inclusion and community participation at the centre of a global commitment to social change.
The signing of the Global Charter for Belonging took place on 4 November at the One Young World Summit, marking the first public commitment by the inaugural Women Building Belonging cohort since its members came together in person in the Mother City.
The initiative brings together women working across fields including mental health, disability rights, climate justice, human trafficking, peacebuilding and Indigenous journalism, with a shared focus on addressing social exclusion and strengthening communities.
The gathering forms part of the wider One Young World Summit, which has brought more than 2 200 young leaders from over 190 countries to Cape Town from 3 to 6 November 2026.
A charter built around four dimensions
At the heart of the initiative is a framework developed by the Belonging Forum, which identifies four essential dimensions of belonging: People, Place, Power and Purpose.
The principles address different aspects of how individuals experience their communities, from establishing meaningful relationships and feeling connected to their surroundings to having a voice in decisions and opportunities to contribute.
The charter seeks to bring individuals and organisations together around practical commitments to address social isolation, polarisation and exclusion.
The Women Building Belonging programme itself runs over eight months and is facilitated by the Belonging Forum in collaboration with One Young World.
It provides mentorship, peer support and shared learning opportunities for ten community leaders drawing on their own experiences to strengthen inclusion and participation in the communities they serve.
Among the participants is Nigerian mental health and disability rights advocate Hauwa Ojeifo, whose work contributed to the development of Nigeria’s National Mental Health Act.
She is joined by Kenyan survivor leader Sophie Otiende, who advocates for survivor-led approaches to ending human trafficking, alongside women from Colombia, Canada, Afghanistan, the United Kingdom, Iran and Germany.
Their respective areas of work include climate justice, disability inclusion, peacebuilding, Indigenous journalism and addressing loneliness among older people.
Kim Samuel, who is the founder and chief architect of the Belonging Forum and author of On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation, said the programme was established to connect women whose personal experiences inform their work in communities.
‘We created Women Building Belonging to bring together leaders who know, from lived experience, what it takes for people to feel seen, valued and heard,’ Samuel highlighted.
She added that the Cape Town signing represents an opportunity for the cohort to become part of a wider international movement while continuing to focus on the communities they serve.
Ojeifo also emphasised the importance of involving people directly affected by social and institutional challenges in shaping solutions.
‘For people like me with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities, belonging is not merely a concept. It is the difference between isolation and dignity,’ she said.
Reflecting on her advocacy work, she added: ‘My work passing laws and sitting at decision-making tables has shown us what’s possible when the people most affected by a problem help create the solution.’
She described the signing as a commitment to making meaningful participation and representation more commonplace.
One Young World partnership brings the initiative to Cape Town
One Young World CEO and co-founder Kate Robertson said the programme reflects the organisation’s focus on giving young leaders an international platform to share their work and experiences.
‘Each member of the first Women Building Belonging cohort has turned personal experience into practical action, and today they have chosen to stand together and commit publicly to a world where no one is left on the outside,’ Robertson said.
She also pointed to Cape Town’s history as a fitting setting for discussions about exclusion and social change, noting that the city’s past demonstrates both the consequences of exclusion and the role of collective action.
The summit’s wider programme brings together emerging leaders and established figures from business, politics and civil society, with discussions spanning climate, peace, equity, health, technology and human rights.
For the ten women involved, the Cape Town gathering marks the beginning of a shared public commitment, with the eight-month programme providing a platform to continue developing their work beyond the summit.
Be the first to know – Join our WhatsApp Channel for content worth tapping into! Click here to join!
Also read:
Four emerging South African artists take centre stage at Cape Town exhibition
Picture: Supplied
