Ubuntu and the recent phenomenon of the Charter for Compassion

Arguably for the first time in human history there is now the emergence of an inclusive existential ethical sensibility that claims to transcend religious and cultural categorizations and is accessible to, and potentially resonates with, a diverse and multifarious mainstream majority. Compassion stands at the centre of this project as a collective commonality and a cohesive driver of contemporary imagination and discourse. The recent global Charter for Compassion is a signpost and codification of this new movement. But how does it correspond with the challenges of an African context, where the concept of ubuntu has a long history? South Africa is indeed a microcosm of the rest of the world and our engagement with the questions of a modern-day moral vacuum and religion is important for its significance on a global scale. This article aims to engage with contemporary discourses around ubuntu and the Charter for Compassion in order to investigate possible correspondences between these two humanitarian approaches.