VISION

Collective Care Oriented Planning

20.07.2024.

 

WISG's feminist collective has encountered various challenges at each stage of its growth and development over the past two decades. One of the ongoing challenges, both within the organization and in society at large, is the creation of a safe, equal, and nurturing feminist space.

We believe that achieving this common goal requires women’s and queer organizations to critically reassess established management models through a feminist lens. This reassessment should aim to make horizontal, participatory, and caring approaches a fundamental part of organizational culture.

As the Women’s Initiatives Support Group, and as a feminist collective, we want to use this document to emphasize the importance of collective care. We believe that recognizing this value and ensuring its implementation in the daily life of our organization is vital for fostering a truly feminist environment.

Working on the document was both therapeutic and transformative for our team. In the initial stage, we employed the action research method, which gave us the space to engage in a process infused with horizontal, creative, critical, and intuitive reasoning. Over the course of a year, members of the organization, in various groupings, met to discuss individual and collective visions, as well as our shared struggles. We view the development of this document as a continuous process. After some time, we revisited it to reflect on the new experiences and knowledge we had accumulated in recent years.

At the same time, this document is a modest attempt to critically engage with the hierarchical terms present in language. While we recognize the limitations of our efforts, we believe it is essential to make the deconstruction of power embedded in language an ongoing part of our reflection and thinking.

The "Collective Care Oriented Planning" document is not a standardized text. It serves as both a manifesto, declaring the feminist and ecocentric principles that WISG upholds, and a reflection of our organizational experience, adapted to fit the unique nature of our work. We hope this document will inspire feminist and queer organizations, as well as various formal and informal collectives, to recognize the vital role that care plays in their organizational structures and activities. By sharing our approach, we aim to encourage others to prioritize care in their planning and practices.                                                                                                  

 

1. Necessity

As the Women's Initiatives Support Group, we affirm that collective care is a core feminist value and should be reflected in organizational life.

Beyond formal, labor-contractual relationships, we emphasize the importance of building mutually supportive connections within the collective. In this context, we see individual effort and contributions as part of a shared mission. We believe that in pursuing our common goals, it is essential to prioritize one another's well-being, ensuring that time, energy, and emotional investment are treated as equally valuable and balanced resources for everyone involved.

The Women's Initiative Support Group (WISG), as a trust-based feminist space that acknowledges caregiving as work, strives to distribute this responsibility equitably among its team members. For us, caregiving is a multidimensional process rooted in solidarity, one-on-one support, and mutual learning, where common concerns can be discussed collectively, face-to-face, and addressed with informed decisions.

  In order to shift from an egocentric to an ecocentric mindset, we introduce collective care as a feminist principle that fosters personal transformation, safety, and well-being.

 The Women's Initiative Support Group (WISG) applies the principle of collective care at the individual, organizational, and community levels through the following spaces and activities:

A.    Shared physical and virtual space: acting on the principles of collective care and creating such spaces;

B.    Organizational and project activities: consideration of the principles of well-being and safety of employees at all levels of the organization during the planning and implementation of projects;

C.    Communicating with Community Members: Encouraging Participatory and Collective Care Practices.

   Mission

   Providing feminist solidarity and fostering participatory principles and practices through collective care-oriented planning is essential to achieving the organization's mission. This approach ensures that the values of inclusion, mutual support, and shared responsibility guide our efforts toward fulfilling our goals.

 

2. Agreements for Collective Care Oriented Planning

A.         A. Shared physical and virtual spaces:

|A.1 Individual level:

Providing tranquility and comfort for each other in the physical space during the work process.

Cultivating an awareness of personal responsibility for the equal distribution of common resources among team members and practicing appropriate self-regulation.

Respecting each other's professional and personal boundaries within the team.

Being aware of the safety and needs of community members and each other, sharing responsibilities, offering support, and demonstrating active solidarity in both formal and informal environments, whether in outdoor spaces or online.

Fostering a critical understanding of environmental responsibility and recognizing the efforts made toward environmental protection.

 

      A.2 Organizational level:

·           Providing free and safe spaces for discussion and reflection, allowing for a constructive analysis of power dynamics, achievements, and failures.

·           Ensuring a safe environment that takes into account the sensitivity of the community when planning both external and internal activities.

·           Creating a body-friendly and caring office environment, including appropriate furniture, sanitary conditions, opportunities for self-care and relaxation, and consideration of individual needs through a rational distribution of space.

·            Establishing a child-friendly environment by addressing children's needs when planning activities both in the office and outside of it.

·            Adhering to the principles of resource conservation and maintaining a clean environment in the logistics planning for activities inside and outside the workspace.

 

       A.3 Community level:

·           Creating a comfortable environment that encourages community members to participate in the office by organizing a friendly space for meetings and consultations, as well as arranging and hosting this space effectively.

·             Promoting relationships built on mutual respect between community members and team members.

·             Operating under the principle of "do no harm" in both physical and virtual spaces, prioritizing the needs and best interests of community members.

 

       B. Organizational and project activities:

       
       B.1 Individual level:

·            Supporting one another in organizational and project activities as needed and within the scope of possibility to foster collaboration.

·            Encouraging the sharing of ideas, experiences, and knowledge among employees during project planning and through one-on-one learning opportunities.

·            Recognizing the importance of timely information exchange and feedback between employees across different levels of the organization, and actively implementing this practice.

·            Taking into account the abilities, skills, interests, and wishes of colleagues when planning and executing project activities to ensure inclusivity.

·            Considering the needs and interests of various marginalized social groups in organizational and project activities, creating solidarity-driven, intersectional spaces.

·            Acknowledging the limitations of one's own abilities and communicating these within the team, while prioritizing self-care to restore internal resources and strength.

 

       B.2. Organizational level:

       Actively searching for new ideas to facilitate transformational changes within the organization.

·            Considering the emotional well-being and health needs of team members when planning strategies and developing projects to create a supportive environment.

·            Understanding and accounting for the limitations of the organization's resources when planning project activities to ensure feasibility.

·            Offering team members the flexibility to choose their work schedule and workspace, as needed, to accommodate individual preferences.

·            Being prepared for unforeseen circumstances and implementing necessary changes in activities as the situation demands.

·         Facilitating the exchange of information and opinions between team members and external stakeholders involved in the project, such as external contractors, while considering their interests and capabilities during project development.

·            Implementing intersectional, feminist, and care-oriented approaches and methods in knowledge creation to promote inclusivity.

·            Ensuring access to knowledge for the general public as a part of our commitment to transparency and engagement.

·            Upholding the principles of collegiality and equality with other organizations and initiative groups throughout the development and implementation of project ideas.

·            Integrating a green vision into organizational life and promoting the establishment of ecocentric awareness in practice.

 

       B.3 Community level:

·            Implementing a visibility policy rooted in the "do no harm" principle, guided by the best interests of the community.

·            Maintaining openness to the initiatives of community members by considering their abilities, knowledge, creative potential, and desires for involvement in project activities.

·          Supporting the initiatives of informal groups and community members, which includes providing necessary space, offering recommendations, and facilitating activities to empower their efforts.

 

       C. Relations with community members:

       
       C.1 Individual level:

·            Taking into account the diverse socio-economic contexts and challenges faced by community members, approaching them with empathy and understanding.

·            Managing community members' complaints against colleague organizations with a commitment to neutrality and fairness.

·            Engaging in critical reflection on one's own power dynamics and practicing conscientious and compassionate action within those dynamics.

·            Recognizing and sharing the risks associated with indirect traumatization, fostering an environment of awareness and support.

       
       C.2. Organizational level:

·            Clearly communicating the limitations of the organization's resources and the necessity of defining priorities when providing services.

·            Considering the interests of various vulnerable groups in the organization's activities, guided by the principle of solidarity and ensuring their representation.

       Being guided by an intersectional approach when advocating for relevant issues, implementing communication strategies that include visibility policies, participatory knowledge dissemination, and social advocacy.

·         Ensuring participatory practices in the development of the organization's strategy by taking into account the perspectives of community members and sharing the outcomes with the community.

·             Promoting the voluntary involvement of community members in organizational activities.

 

        C.3 community levels:

·             Revealing and recognizing the abilities and strengths of community members.

·             Building bridges of care and solidarity between community members and other marginalized social groups, mobilizing support around each other's needs.

·             Promoting ecocentric initiatives among community members to foster environmental awareness and responsibility.