The Human Dignity Shop
Richard Slaven, Director and Coordinator
This shop has two main parts:
• Part I: Business Ideas that Emerged from within the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Network
• Part II: Alliances with other Like-minded BusinessesHumanDHS is primarily grounded in academic work. We are independent of any religious or political agenda. However, we wish to bring academic work into "real life." Our research focuses on topics such as dignity (with humiliation as its violation), or, more precisely, on respect for equal dignity for all human beings in the world. This is not only our research topic, but also our core value, in line with Article 1 of the Human Rights Declaration that states that every human being is born with equal dignity (that ought not be humiliated).
The corporate sector is central if we are to build a world of more dignity for all. Our HumanDHS vision is that money is important, however, that it needs to be a tool, not an end. Money must serve the common good - if the quest for money is the dominating value, it destroys the common good.
As explained elsewhere on our website, our guiding principle is "Unity in Diversity." Money must serve this principle, and not degrade it to "Uniformity and Division." Nowadays, we observe a marked "uniformity" of style and approaches (from clothes to architecture, and so forth) due to a few wealthy shaping the world, and we observe huge "divisions" between a few haves who live in bubbles of wealth far removed from the masses of have-nots.
Our HumanDHS vision proceeds as follows:
1. We begin our analysis with the human rights ideal of equality in dignity for all.
2. In a second step, we attempt to create products (see, e.g. our clothes project), and make alliances with like-minded initiatives, that resonate with this ideal.
3. We offer our products to you through our website.
4. You are warmly invited to order our products.
6. Please consider our products as something like, e.g., UNICEF cards: you give a donation, and you receive a product in return that is in line with a vision of a better world.
7. You can also contribute to our cause just for its own sake, without receiving a tangible product in return. If you wish so, please click here.
8. Your contributions perform a full circle by feeding back into the very ideal that serves as the starting point of our work, namely the ideal of a dignified world for everybody. For instance, we use your contributions for doctoral scholarships for our researchers who wish to study dignity and humiliation. Or, we support our members from less-privileged regions so that they can participate in our conferences.
Part I: Business Ideas from within the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Network
Office/Internet Cockpit
Sigurd Støren, Director and CoordinatorWorld Architecture for Equal Dignity
Ashraf Salama, Director and CocoordinatorDignity Works
Emmanuel Ndahimana led an initiative, in the 'Open Space' section of our 2005 Conference in Berlin, to build a business branch for Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies, in cooperation with Linda Hartling, Rick Slaven, and Victoria Fontan.World Clothes for Equal Dignity
We look for a director! If you have experience from the world of garments, and wish to dedicate some years of your lifetime to a higher cause, please come forward!World Art for Equal Dignity
We look for a director! If you have experience from the world of art, and wish to dedicate some years of your lifetime to a higher cause, please come forward!World Furniture for Equal Dignity
We look for a director! If you have experience from the world of furniture, and wish to dedicate some years of your lifetime to a higher cause, please come forward!World Design for Equal Dignity
We look for a director! If you have experience from the world of design, and wish to dedicate some years of your lifetime to a higher cause, please come forward!Dialogue Homes for Equal Dignity
If you wish to offer your home as one of our Human Dignity Dialogue Homes, please come forward!Big Events for Equal Dignity
If you wish to contribute, please come forward!
Part II: Alliances with other Like-minded Businesses
See here an ever growing list of businesses around the world that appear to fit the ideal of equality in dignity, the following are but two examples:
Clean Clothes Campaign
The CCC is an international campaign, focused on improving working conditions in the global garment and sportswear industries, and empower the workers in it. There is a Clean Clothes Campaign in 11 European countries. These are Austria, Belgium (North and South), France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Established Clean Clothes Campaigns are autonomous coalitions with NGOs (consumer, research, women's, fair trade and youth organisations, solidarity groups, churches, etc) and trade unions as members in European countries, each with a secretariat, and each sending a representative to the European Coordination Meeting. Countries (2008): Austria, Belgium - Flemish-speaking Belgium, Belgium - French and German-speaking Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK.Dignity Returns
"...in this place, there is no boss banging over or taking advantage of us. There is no threat and insult. Most importantly, here is our own factory..."
The Solidarity Factory Cooperative was created by former Bed and Bath factory workers. This followed a three-month struggle by workers for payment of money owed to them, following its unexpected closure in October 2002.