Building cultures of care: Difference between revisions

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This page was created to support activists in building towards cultures of care in their groups. Activist burnout continues to be a major problem in movement spaces, leading to increased internal conflict, decreased retention and ineffective efforts, among other issues. This page is a work in progress that will be added to over time. The information included comes from existing organizer databases and resources by movement thinkers, plus thoughts from participants in our care 101 workshop. This page also includes thoughts shared during our self and community care learning circle, and navigating turnover in student groups learning circle. Included are _______________
This page was created to support activists in building towards cultures of care in their groups. Activist burnout continues to be a major problem in movement spaces, leading to increased internal conflict, decreased retention and ineffective efforts, among other issues. This page is a work in progress that will be added to over time. The information included comes from existing organizer databases and resources by movement thinkers, plus thoughts from participants in our care 101 workshop. This page also includes thoughts shared during our self and community care learning circle, and navigating turnover in student groups learning circle. Included are _______________


=Knowledge from the HUB's care 101 workshop=
= Knowledge from the HUB's care 101 workshop =


Participants in our care 101 workshop were asked "Have you ever left, or thought about leaving, the climate movement for a period of time? Why?" They shared the following...
Participants in our care 101 workshop were asked "Have you ever left, or thought about leaving, the climate movement for a period of time? Why?" They shared the following...
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''As someone who started a group during the '''pandemic''', in my experience it was important to designate someone or a group to '''organizing social events.''' When people stopped coming to online social events, we included '''social time in the online meetings'''. People were demotivated from the online time, so we had to include it in the meetings''
 
*''Have a different theme for each meeting (hat, pijamas...)''
*Other struggles take temporary priority (e.g. job loss, family emergencies, caretaking with limited support and capacity, etc).
*''Use interactive online tools to share thoughts''
*Other injustice takes priority and isn't addressed through climate involvement (e.g. police violence, poverty etc).
*Climate movement can feel depoliticized/disconnected from other social struggles
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*Lack of conflict resolution processes/engagement
*<p>Diverging perspectives leading to spending too much energy</p>
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*More privileged perspectives holding more/all space
*Whiteness of climate spaces
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*Lack of COVID precautions and/or care for meeting accessibility needs
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*A never-ending sense of urgency = limited experiences of rest/care
*Burnout<br>
*Lack of free time
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*Lack of clarity on what focus/tactics to take
*Hopelessness (could be attributed to not slowing down to reflect on effectiveness of strategy)
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''Not exceeding meeting '''times''' so as not to exhaust people''
 
*They don't feel participating in their group is helping them live their best life
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*Feeling disconnected from being in a different city than most of the team
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''Extended time for '''check-ins''' and '''check-outs '''with fun questions like “what plant do you feel like?”''&nbsp;
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''Connect through discussing '''emotions''' like shared frustrations and joys''
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''Holding actions without the pressure of going bigger, larger. Hold small actions and''' focus on the relationships''' that actions deepen.''


'' For example, an easy activity to organize is a banner drop with picture taking. The point is to gather people.''
*Imposter syndrome/efforts not acknowledged or appreciated
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''Escalation of '''relationship building tactics''': start by planning things like an email campaign or phone zap (no relationship building), then something like an open letter campaign, distributed and signed (opportunity to build relationships), and then organize a demonstration.''
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Revision as of 20:16, 4 January 2024

This page was created to support activists in building towards cultures of care in their groups. Activist burnout continues to be a major problem in movement spaces, leading to increased internal conflict, decreased retention and ineffective efforts, among other issues. This page is a work in progress that will be added to over time. The information included comes from existing organizer databases and resources by movement thinkers, plus thoughts from participants in our care 101 workshop. This page also includes thoughts shared during our self and community care learning circle, and navigating turnover in student groups learning circle. Included are _______________

Knowledge from the HUB's care 101 workshop

Participants in our care 101 workshop were asked "Have you ever left, or thought about leaving, the climate movement for a period of time? Why?" They shared the following...

  • Other struggles take temporary priority (e.g. job loss, family emergencies, caretaking with limited support and capacity, etc).
  • Other injustice takes priority and isn't addressed through climate involvement (e.g. police violence, poverty etc).
  • Climate movement can feel depoliticized/disconnected from other social struggles
  • Lack of conflict resolution processes/engagement
  • Diverging perspectives leading to spending too much energy

  • More privileged perspectives holding more/all space
  • Whiteness of climate spaces
  • Lack of COVID precautions and/or care for meeting accessibility needs
  • A never-ending sense of urgency = limited experiences of rest/care
  • Burnout
  • Lack of free time
  • Lack of clarity on what focus/tactics to take
  • Hopelessness (could be attributed to not slowing down to reflect on effectiveness of strategy)
  • They don't feel participating in their group is helping them live their best life
  • Feeling disconnected from being in a different city than most of the team
  • Imposter syndrome/efforts not acknowledged or appreciated

Knowledge from learning circles

Self and community care learning circle

Navigating turnover learning circle

When asked about incorporating more social and fun activities to build relationships, students who participated in learning circle suggested…

As someone who started a group during the pandemic, in my experience it was important to designate someone or a group to organizing social events. When people stopped coming to online social events, we included social time in the online meetings. People were demotivated from the online time, so we had to include it in the meetings

  • Have a different theme for each meeting (hat, pijamas...)
  • Use interactive online tools to share thoughts

Not exceeding meeting times so as not to exhaust people

Extended time for check-ins and check-outs with fun questions like “what plant do you feel like?” 

Connect through discussing emotions like shared frustrations and joys

Holding actions without the pressure of going bigger, larger. Hold small actions and focus on the relationships that actions deepen.


For example, an easy activity to organize is a banner drop with picture taking. The point is to gather people.

Escalation of relationship building tactics: start by planning things like an email campaign or phone zap (no relationship building), then something like an open letter campaign, distributed and signed (opportunity to build relationships), and then organize a demonstration.


If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.


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