Book excerpt: This book is an outcome of the conversation that occurred during the five days of intense discussion at two symposia initiated by the New Humanism Project. The struggle for a more humane society is both local and universal, and increasingly these are connected in our time. So while the conversation focused specifically on South Africa, the discussion was neither parochial nor insular in its scope and character. Hopefully, then, people beyond South Africa will find the contents of this book of value for them in terms of their own contexts.