Together We Create Belonging
September 8, 2025
At the Wassmuth Center, we hold a simple but profound conviction: everyone is welcome here. We imagine a world where every person’s dignity is honored and human rights are a lived reality for all. Such a vision grows through the choices we make, the spaces we shape, and the relationships we nurture every day.
To guide this work, we turn to the Wassmuth Powerful Practices. These intentional actions bring human rights principles to life. Each of the six practices remind us that dignity is upheld not only through laws and institutions, but in quiet gestures, deliberate choices, and daily acts that signal welcome, build trust, and forge connection.
This month, we turn to the powerful practice Design for Belonging.
Belonging is more than being present in a room. It is being truly seen, genuinely heard, and deeply valued for who you are. It is the assurance that your voice matters, your presence makes a difference, and you can bring your full self without fear of exclusion. Belonging is justice made visible, requiring us to notice inequities, dismantle barriers, and design systems where every person can thrive.
This call feels especially urgent right now. Some in our community and around the country are actively working to exclude people, casting suspicion on the simple ideas of belonging, kindness, and inclusion. In response, neighbors have rallied. People wear t-shirts with inclusive messages. Families plant signs in their yards. Groups pool their resources to purchase billboard space. These actions are important, affirming our shared conviction that every child, every neighbor, every person deserves to feel welcome, safe, and valued.
The next step is to turn this conviction into daily practice. Shirts and signs declare our values; designing for belonging brings them to life. Belonging comes alive when we shape environments, experiences, and relationships with intention so that every person feels included. When people know they belong, they engage with greater trust, learn with deeper openness, and collaborate with stronger commitment.
And this work belongs to all of us. Sometimes our design choices are grand: the architecture of a gathering space, the structure of a community event, the shape of a curriculum. Other times it looks like slowing down to invite someone into a conversation, rethinking the layout of a classroom, or respectfully acknowledging a dissenting view. Whether around a dinner table, in a grocery store, at a library, or in a school, every interaction holds the possibility of belonging.
When we design for belonging, we are saying: You are welcome here. You matter. You make this community stronger.
And in living this practice, we show that belonging is more than a message to display. It is a promise to uphold. Designing for belonging is how we put justice into practice, ensuring that human rights are not distant ideals but daily realities for all of us.