Dish of the Day 3 - Members Collaboration(s) and Building of Capacity
We are glad to see you back here, to get served with the third Dish of the Day, cooked up collectively with all the diverse ingredients that this inspiring network brings into the kitchen.
And why not listening to some good music while you read the Dish of the day? Remember that we are adding songs here throughout the week, please add your own!
Before jumping into the plenary, allow us to share Mary Olver's poem "Don't hesitate", beautifully illustrated by nadege.
The plenary: Members collaboration(s) and building of capacity - The collective future of the network
Wednesday's plenary, facilitated by hvale, gathered 43 participants around the “Collective Future of the Network”. We explored interconnections member-to-member and member-to-staff, putting transformation and change at the core of members' joint initiatives. Example from countries and regions included Cameroon, Bangladesh, South Africa, England, and Europe.
After a few minutes of "chi gong" movement, members were invited to reflect on how APC has impacted the work that their organisations do in their country or region. There was a big chunk of technological glitches related to French to English interpretation, but also a lot of laughter, patience and a lesson (re)learned - as all of the participants and the tech team were collaborating on solving the problem. "This session is a perfect analogy for tech in the world: sometimes we just laugh and laugh and laugh", a participant said.
Once the glitches were solved, participants mentioned the usefulness of grants for research, amplification, visibility, advocacy, and other resource support. "Collaboration between members, including the participatory making grant process has been a wonderful learning experience," a participant said. "In this context of competition and entrepeneurship, staying close to APC keeps us close to our values," another one added.
The importance of self care as collective care was also highlighted, especially but not limited to the pandemic. "A lesson that I need to keep remembering is that the role of health is central, and that out of health come the best strategies and most robust practices. I think that APC's focus on care through their Closer than ever work shows that, and I also see it in our organisation and personally," a participant said. "We have the opportunity for activists to stop burning out, for us to pause, to reflect. And how do we do that in recognition of the power that we do have and what do we do in the next step? We should recognize the vulnerabilities which exist at the same time and within with joy and with laughter," another participant added.
The relationship between time, space, location was also raised as a key issue. "The 'sweet spot of 12 utc' is not so sweet for everyone, it's hard for all of us to be at the same time, so we need to rely on the trust we have on each other," hvale stressed, sharing a practical example from the work of the Women's Rights Programme. "We had planned a feminist infrastructure workshop planning and realised everyone was tired, with the weariness that comes from two years of pandemic. We need to think of ways to engage that are hopeful, staying aware of care and accountable to the resources we have raised."
"We should also realise that a lot of the work we do is still going on even when we are not 'doing' the work right now," another participant added. "Change and action are long term-like plants that are still growing even when they are not growing 'taller', she stressed. "Let's be like the trees - root ourselves and be still."
"I am always humbled and feel affirmed when members speak about your connection with the network and what APC means for your organisations," APC's ED Chat Garcia Ramilo shared. "I really like the picture painted about how they see themselves as part of this community."
The session ended with a turtle-drawing exercise on the drawing board that was beautifully and hilariously reflective of the points discussed.
More highlights from day 3 here!
