Compassionate Silicon Valley (CSV) is one of over 350 communities around the world that have embarked on a compassionate city or compassionate community campaign. These campaigns usually begin with affirming the Charter for Compassion and then lead to playing in “coopetitions” organized by the Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest. The purpose of these campaigns and Compassion Games is to boost and ignite a communities ability to create healthy, vibrant, thriving places of opportunity and compassion. These campaigns help create the will and the way for making the changes that are essential to a community’s development.
There are other cities that have taken this on and are anchor cities in the Compassion Games movement. In North America:
- Compassionate Louisville has been designated a model city of compassion by the Charter for Compassion for four years in a row.
- Compassionate Seattle was the first city to affirm the Charter for Compassion (2010) and launch a ten year campaign.
- Compassionate Austin has recently affirmed the Charter for Compassion and committed to play in the Compassion Games.
- Compassionate NYC has launched in support of the Global Unity Games: Tomorrow Together and helped pack 500,000 meals.
A city is an excellent unit of change. Mayors and public officials set priorities and a budget and can embrace “compassion as effective public policy”. Mayor Greg Fischer from Louisville Kentucky proposed such a resolution to the US conference of mayors that was unanimously adopted. Mayor Fischer also challenged Seattle to see who’s the most compassionate city in the world and this led to the birth of the Compassion Games.
Compassionate Silicon Valley (CSV)
As part of the 2016 Global Unity Games CSV formed a multi-stakeholder alliance to act as the organizing committee. The organizing committee includes representatives of the Silicon Valley Interreligious Council, Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, Stanford University CCARE, Gaiafield Project, Compassionate California, and Compassion Games International staff and volunteers. CSV produced a launch event to convene the organizers. James Kirby, part of the CCARE team produced a video of the launch event.
CSV Receives the Compassion Torch
On Monday, September 12, CSV received the virtual Compassion Torch from 911 Day co-founder David Paine in New York City supporting a service project to pack over 500,000 meals. Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross was in NYC on 9/11 to interview David representing the 9/11 Day Relay Team virtually passing the Compassion Torch torch to Compassionate Silicon Valley. You can watch the Facebook Live broadcast from Pier 36 in New York City.
One of the CSV kick-off events from the 45th Annual Mountain View Art and Wine Festival. Agents of Compassion were at the festival playing Pass the Torch. Here are some photos from the game:
Stand for Compassion
In the 2016 CSV introduced “Stand for Compassion” as a way to play in the Global Unity Compassion Games. The idea is to have people petition their elected officials to get involved in a local compassionate cities campaign and the global compassionate cities movement.
CSV is taking the idea of a Compassionate City one step further and are looking to become the first Compassionate County by having all 15 cities in Santa Clara County affirm the Charter for Compassion and start compassionate cities campaigns. Perhaps this county-wide approach can become a coopetition between the counties. Cities are already connected through Compassionate California and this friendly-competition can strengthen engagement.
Compassion Games Day 2016
By proclamation from San Jose, Milpitas, and the county the September 11 through September 21 became known as “compassion
days”. 10 the time of the compassion games citizens are encouraged to engage in community service and random acts of kindness.
Call to Action
If you live in Santa Clara County you can sign the online petition here.
To find out more about CSV or starting a compassionate cities program in your city or community
To sign up to play in the Global Unity Compassion Games and each day during the coopetition receive a mission to act and report upon as an agent of compassion.