On Belonging

In an age of social isolation, what does it mean to belong?

Humanity is at an inflection point. Stress, disconnection, and increasing environmental degradation have people yearning for more than just material progress, personal freedom, or political stability. We are searching for deeper connection. We are longing to belong.

On Belonging is an exploration of the crisis of social isolation and of the fundamental human need to belong. It considers belonging across four core dimensions: in our relationships with other people, in our rootedness in nature, in our ability to influence political and economic decision-making, and in our finding of meaning and purpose in our lives, with lessons on how to create communities centered on human connection.

A trailblazing advocate and thought leader on questions of social connectedness, Kim Samuel introduces readers to leaders around the world who are doing the work to cultivate belonging. Whether through sports, medicine, music, business, culture, or advocacy, the people and programs in this book offer us meaningful lessons on building a world where we all feel at home.

Read Satish Kumar’s Review of On Belonging here.

About the Author
Kim Samuel is an activist, educator, and forerunner of the global movement for belonging. She is the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, a "think-and-do tank" that partners with leading advocacy groups and research organizations to combat social isolation and build belonging on a global basis. She is currently Visiting Scholar at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, Visiting Research Fellow at Green Templeton College, Oxford University, and the Fulbright Canada Ambassador for diversity and social connectedness.

Kim has lectured at institutions including Oxford, Harvard, and Vancouver Island University, and during her time as a Professor of Practice at McGill University's Institute for the Study of International Development, she developed and taught a course addressing social isolation and social connectedness through the dual lens of program and policy development. She is the author of the book On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation.