Community Health Village:
Call for Session Proposals
Deadline September 9
Time to come together around equity, healing and learning! Following the heels of our 2020 Community Health Report, we are launching a Community Health Village and are looking for sessions proposals. Deadline is September 9
Theme: Sustainable Networks & Movements
This year’s Community Health Village theme is Sustainable Networks & Movements. We are looking for sessions related to health and healing through a community lens, ranging from mental health to employee wellbeing to restorative artistic practices.
Topics For Session Proposals
While we are open to a diversity of proposals, all sessions should address the question: How do we achieve healthy and sustainable work environments in the digital rights community?
We will prioritizing the themes and needs identified in the Community Health Report, which found that there is an urgent need for mental health and conflict mediation services in the digital rights and internet Freedom space. Themes and needs include:
Mental Health Support: including traditional therapy, peer-to-peer support, self-care practices, educational resources, and others that help improve individual and collective health.
Conflict Resolution Resources & Support: including how to address ruptures in a community. What does transformative justice look like?
Better Community Infrastructure: that is strong and sustainable allows for collaboration and connection between members across regions and disciplines, and decreases isolation and strengthen community bonds.
Community Leadership: with a focus on building and creating diverse leaders that are reflective of the community, especially folks that come from the most affected communities.
Inclusivity, Equity & Wellness: Folks are still dealing with a host of issues related to inclusivity and equity, from dealing with toxic situations at work impacted by sexism and racism, to experiencing financial instability because they are unable to secure funding because of the barriers they face because of who they are and where they live.
Emergency Needs: Such as providing support and first aid services to people when experiencing emergencies, such as direct attacks against their communities and bodies.
The Village will be overseen by our Director of Community Mental Health Selma Zaki.
What is a Village?
Villages are a combination of private and public gatherings and community initiatives designed to obtain deeper knowledge about a specific issue, while providing space for folks to meet, network, and hopefully find points of collaboration.
The Dates:
While the dates of this village have not been finalized, it will take place in October or November. If you’re interested in presenting, we have an open call for submissions until September 9. All sessions will take place on Big Blue Button platform.
Possible Formats & Ideas:
Knowledge-Share Sessions
For example, tips for managers to increase wellbeing and health of their teams (maybe an operations manual centered on people, the introduction of progressive labour rights in work environments such as a four-day week or unlimited time-off, etc), understanding how to create safe and secure workplaces for folks with disabilities, learning how to identify burn-out in the work setting and/or a session on conflict resolution tools and resources, building psychological and digital safety and how to avoid the gendered load of this type of labor.
Workshops/ Instructional Sessions/ Trainings
These are hands-on sessions in which participants will learn a relevant skill on the topic of healthy and sustainable work environments. Some ideas for these trainings could be: how to set a code of conduct, organizing sustainable movements, self-care topics such as self-massage, breathing techniques and movement therapy, the use of collaborative art to promote creativity in the workspace, etc.
Storytelling
We will be happy to hear your stories, especially about cases in which a group or community was able to overcome organizational obstacles, some topics for a storytelling session could be: How we survived a manipulative boss, or The story of a colleague who did no work and took credit for everything.
Facilitated Conversations
For example, how to shift our communities culture to focus on psychosocial priorities or how to activate progressive policies of labour rights in a global context of capitalist precarization.
Semi Private Facilitated Gathering
For example, bringing together folks from X demographics or working on X issues to process or brainstorm together. Events can be public or semi-private, depending on the goals of each gathering. We can work with you to coordinate both types of events.
The duration of the Village will depend on the number and quality of proposals we receive. However, considering this is the first time we launch this village, we will be co-designing with the community on the length and format in coming months.
Want more guidance on what makes a good proposal? Check out this proposal submission guide.
Art Exhibit:
During the Village we will be hosting an exhibit of artwork, poems, and/or videos, created by community members on the theme of healing. We encourage folks that want to participate in this exhibit to email us as team@digitalrights.community.