cultivating collective care within the international justice space
support and solidarity offering
support and solidarity offering
as the emergent justice collective, we co-create and hold safe(r) and brave(r) spaces with others to practice towards co-liberation and justice otherwise as part of our personal and collective transformation and healing journeys.
as we seek to fight injustices and systems of oppression in our work and lives, we often reach a point where we acknowledge that these systems are also active within our organizations as well as within ourselves. the majority of our workplaces are structured as hierarchical systems, anchored in patriarchy and white supremacy cultures. many of us have incurred considerable harm due to the absence of cultures of collective care and support in our organizations.
in October 2022, we launched the Support and Solidarity Offering (SupSol) to collectively hold and facilitate a safe(r) and brave(r) space through regular (virtual) sessions for those working in movements, groups, and institutions in what we might call the ‘international justice space’. together, we have co-created intentional and authentic cultures of care by reclaiming communal spaces where we can practice vulnerability and accountability. we have also nurtured a counterculture of international justice that takes a firm stance against the dominant cultures of individualism, productivity, perfectionism, and competition. we believe that we can only provide strength and support to one another, and work towards truly transformative and liberatory horizons if we are resourced and supported to hold change and transformation in our daily lives.
the support and solidarity offering for cultivating collective care within the international justice space is crucial in this moment of struggle for accountability before the international (legal) system, which comes with collective grief for this system’s repeated failure. the space enables us to grow and practice together towards liberation by harnessing the wisdom of our emotions, especially rage and heartbreak, and working with them as a form of power. we center collective care and solidarity as we aim to practice care-full, needs-based and life-affirming justice between and amongst us.
practising abolition trans/feminisms is about “how we treat each other [...] show up in relationships [...] respond to harm caused and how we respond when we cause harm” (Patrisse Cullors). nurturing relationalities and webs of collective care is a fractal and mycelial approach to abolition that can “produce a shift that can magnify to a system level” and grow and nurture forms of “creative justice” (Andrea Ritchie 2023, p 107). Gloria Anzaldúa reminds us that to change the world, we need to change ourselves.
adrienne maree brown observes: “we will not be able to claim something as a collective that we have not been in the practice of claiming for ourselves, in our bodies, with our time and our decisions”. inspired by HJL’s powerful Rehearsing Freedoms project and Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s life-work, we recognise our collective need to “rehearse the social order coming into being” (Gilmore) so as “to collectively envision and practice futures free from oppression” (HJL).
for this offering we have invited those working in movements, groups and institutions in the ‘international justice space’, broadly defined, in and around the areas of social justice and human rights, international criminal justice and conflict accountability, migration justice, gender and other areas of intersectional justice, and who feel that they long to contribute to and could benefit from such a support network. we have concluded two consecutive offerings with two cohorts who now meet on a monthly basis and have formed and maintain a web of community and care. each cohort includes 8 individuals who meet for 90 minutes on a bi-weekly basis for ⅔ of the year.
we will keep you updated about the third cohort, which is set to begin some time in mid-2025.
as we seek to fight injustices and systems of oppression in our work and lives, we often reach a point where we acknowledge that these systems are also active within our organizations as well as within ourselves. the majority of our workplaces are structured as hierarchical systems, anchored in patriarchy and white supremacy cultures. many of us have incurred considerable harm due to the absence of cultures of collective care and support in our organizations.
in October 2022, we launched the Support and Solidarity Offering (SupSol) to collectively hold and facilitate a safe(r) and brave(r) space through regular (virtual) sessions for those working in movements, groups, and institutions in what we might call the ‘international justice space’. together, we have co-created intentional and authentic cultures of care by reclaiming communal spaces where we can practice vulnerability and accountability. we have also nurtured a counterculture of international justice that takes a firm stance against the dominant cultures of individualism, productivity, perfectionism, and competition. we believe that we can only provide strength and support to one another, and work towards truly transformative and liberatory horizons if we are resourced and supported to hold change and transformation in our daily lives.
the support and solidarity offering for cultivating collective care within the international justice space is crucial in this moment of struggle for accountability before the international (legal) system, which comes with collective grief for this system’s repeated failure. the space enables us to grow and practice together towards liberation by harnessing the wisdom of our emotions, especially rage and heartbreak, and working with them as a form of power. we center collective care and solidarity as we aim to practice care-full, needs-based and life-affirming justice between and amongst us.
practising abolition trans/feminisms is about “how we treat each other [...] show up in relationships [...] respond to harm caused and how we respond when we cause harm” (Patrisse Cullors). nurturing relationalities and webs of collective care is a fractal and mycelial approach to abolition that can “produce a shift that can magnify to a system level” and grow and nurture forms of “creative justice” (Andrea Ritchie 2023, p 107). Gloria Anzaldúa reminds us that to change the world, we need to change ourselves.
adrienne maree brown observes: “we will not be able to claim something as a collective that we have not been in the practice of claiming for ourselves, in our bodies, with our time and our decisions”. inspired by HJL’s powerful Rehearsing Freedoms project and Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s life-work, we recognise our collective need to “rehearse the social order coming into being” (Gilmore) so as “to collectively envision and practice futures free from oppression” (HJL).
for this offering we have invited those working in movements, groups and institutions in the ‘international justice space’, broadly defined, in and around the areas of social justice and human rights, international criminal justice and conflict accountability, migration justice, gender and other areas of intersectional justice, and who feel that they long to contribute to and could benefit from such a support network. we have concluded two consecutive offerings with two cohorts who now meet on a monthly basis and have formed and maintain a web of community and care. each cohort includes 8 individuals who meet for 90 minutes on a bi-weekly basis for ⅔ of the year.
we will keep you updated about the third cohort, which is set to begin some time in mid-2025.