About Us

International Association for Human Values (UK)

Founded in Geneva in 1997, the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) was established to rekindle human values across all levels of society. Today we have chapters in 25 countries, projects in over 50 countries and volunteers in over 100 countries. In the UK, we are a registered charity, reference number 1103261.

IAHV volunteers and community members together
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at an I Stand for Peace gathering

Our approach

Restorative wellbeing for hard-to-reach communities

IAHV UK delivers restorative wellbeing through evidence-informed breathwork, bodywork and psychosocial support for hard-to-reach communities, including people in prisons and refugee camps, young people, first responders and service professionals.

Alongside our mental health and psychosocial support work, we run practical programmes in education, climate action, advocacy and youth mentorship. Each programme gives people tools they can use in daily life, while strengthening dignity, resilience and service in the communities around them.

  • Children supported by the Read Library project
  • Clasped hands offering comfort and support
A profound impact

A profound impact

Although the methods seem simple, we have had a profound positive impact on reducing stress and changing mindsets of people affected by disasters, people in prison, young people and children.

In the UK, our Manage Your Mind project is helping people in Wales improve their mental and physical health and has received fantastic feedback.

Our Prison Program and BreatheSMART work supports rehabilitation for people in custody, including at HMP Thameside and other prisons.

What makes us different?

IAHV internationally has special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations

In the UK, projects such as Manage Your Mind and Mind Body Wellness help people improve mental and physical wellbeing through practical stress-management and resilience tools.

Prison Program and BreatheSMART supports rehabilitation by helping people in custody address stress, anger, low self-esteem and patterns that contribute to offending behaviour.

Our wider project work includes education, youth empowerment, women’s wellbeing, climate action, disaster relief and international humanitarian support.

  • Our methods are practical, proven by research and simple.
  • We are fully a volunteer-run organisation.
  • We only deduct 5%-15% from donations for administration and running costs which is comparatively very low, with many other charities deducting well over 20%.
  • One of our key partners worldwide is the Art of Living foundation, whose volunteers extend our reach in over 150 countries.
Projects Volunteer

In their words

What people say

  • “The Thriving Communities team were fantastic in sharing their expertise and knowledge in a way that encouraged us to engage with conversations about holistic wellbeing whilst reflecting on how we look after ourselves and promote holistic wellbeing with our patients. It felt as though we were sat with true experts who guided us to engage with breath work, laughter yoga and chair yoga in such a way we benefitted from the experience personally whilst learning how to apply the learning to our clinical work.”
    Staff Lead, Caerphilly PHP
    NHS Wales
  • “The role of police officer is one of the most intensely demanding and challenging in the arena of public service. The accruing stress of this profession frequently impacts the physical and emotional health. I took the Art of Living Programme to learn some personal stress management tools to support me in my role as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. The techniques are simple, powerful and effective.”
    Charles H. Ramsey Charles H. Ramsey
    Chief of Police, District of Columbia
  • “You send people to a workshop for a week and you figure they're going to feel better. But to see something one year after is pretty amazing.”
    Dr Emma Seppälä Dr Emma Seppälä
    Science Director, Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford; Faculty Director of the Yale School of Management's Women's Leadership Program
  • “I wholeheartedly endorse the IAHV Peacebuilding Programme that you are launching. I firmly believe that IAHV has the promise of bringing something unique and impactful to traditional peacebuilding efforts.”
    Sanjay Pradhan Sanjay Pradhan
    Ex Vice President of the World Bank Institute, currently President of the World Forum for Ethics in Business