Facing the ecological, economic, and spiritual crises of our time, Alexander Schieffer and Rama Mani have reached a clear conclusion: political decisions and technological solutions alone are not enough. We must urgently rethink how we inhabit the planet and stop viewing it in terms of resources to exploit or territory to defend. “We must care for one another and for nature, of which we are a part,” says Rama. “The Earth is our common home, and we must become its guardians,” adds Alexander. “That begins in every home and every organization.”
From this simple yet radical insight emerged Home for Humanity, a movement linking individuals and institutions working for local and planetary well-being.
After transforming their own home in France into a “university of transformation,” which has welcomed more than a thousand participants, this couple of thought leaders and futures architects set off in April 2024 on a seven-year journey across all 194 countries of the world. The One Home Journey: is more than a physical voyage. It is a journey of consciousness and a living showcase of transformative practices.
At each stop, they meet people who are crafting courageous, compassionate, and holistic responses to today’s crises: Indigenous elders, innovative farmers and entrepreneurs, engaged artists, women emerging from oppression, marginalized children and youth. Together, they hold dialogue circles and transformative workshops, exchange experiences, and gather stories of hope from children in slums, youth reinventing education or agriculture, resilient women, and refugees reclaiming their dignity.
Everywhere they go, the couple transform these encounters into live performances that blend poetry, theatre, music, and testimony. These performances celebrate humanity’s creativity and cultural richness. In each one, the wounds of the world are turned into sources of healing.
These stories, together with numerous local initiatives experimenting with new ways of living in harmony with one another and with the Earth, feed into their conferences, workshops, and publications. Through digital media, they highlight these initiatives and help them grow, identifying best practices to inspire others. Insights from each community are woven into a curriculum for those who wish to learn not only what to do but how to do it.
After the first year, the results are striking:
20 countries visited across five continents: Egypt, Bhutan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Mexico, the United States, Brazil, Morocco, Turkey, and France
11,000 people reached
1,000 children invited to paint their dreams for the Earth’s future
1,500 youth and women from marginalized backgrounds supported to be future builders
Ancestral wisdom for future generations received from 25 Indigenous Elders, and experienced in 28 Indigenous communities.
40 local organizations honoured with the Home for Humanity award for their local and planetary impact
26 Unity Gardens created in 19 countries symbolizing peace with nature and among cultures, where communities jointly fulfil SDGs.
The Home for Humanity movement now extends across more than 50 countries, from a refugee camp in Uganda to a women’s cooperative in Nepal to a farm in Brazil. Each “Home” is unique, grounded in local culture, context and ecology, yet all share the same values and practices: education that serves life, solidarity-based economies, and participatory governance. Together, they outline the contours of a civilization rooted in care.
These achievements show that anyone and everyone can contribute to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the UN in 2015, while also reconnecting with cultural wisdom and ancestral traditions. Where modernity has fragmented belonging, their project weaves unity anew. Their journey has become a living laboratory of transformation.
Everywhere they go, Rama and Alexander emphasize the connection between the personal and the collective. “The regeneration of the Earth planet begins with the human heart,” says Rama. “If we heal our ways of thinking and being we will heal our institutions and ecosystems.”
Alexander adds, “Each of us can be an Earth Citizen, a co-creator and custodian of our common home. When every home and organization becomes a place of wellbeing, the whole Earth can live in peace.”
Two faces, one vision
Of Indian origin and French nationality, Dr. Rama Mani earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. She has worked for peace, justice, and security across Africa and Asia, advised the United Nations and served other organizations on post-conflict justice and Peacebuilding, and founded the Theatre of Transformation Academy. For her, art is a political act, and imagination is our first source of resistance.
German by birth, Alexander Schieffer is a University professor, writer, poet, and social entrepreneur. He co-founded Trans4m, a community for societal innovation that connects universities and grassroots actors through an integral approach to development. For him, transformation begins when knowledge leaves the classroom and meets life.
Co-founders of Home for Humanity, they received the Gusi International Peace Prize, often described as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, in November 2025 in the Philippines, in recognition of their contribution to intercultural and planetary peace.