Categories
Community conversation Depolarization Gender

Looking for participant for Community Conversation on Gender Identity

Intention

We want to create a space for generative conversation around gender identity and trans inclusion to support increased understanding and an alternative to a ‘who is right’ debate. 

The labels and language used in discussions of gender identity are  painful, polarising and continue the cycles of disconnection. On mainstream media, participants are selected to create the most polarised opinions. 

We want to offer an embodied experience, a different way of hearing what’s important and what’s painful for people. We want to create an experience of mutual understanding, greater togetherness and collective power. We want a sense of progress and greater awareness of the pain of this polarisation and a greater commitment to having this conversation differently.

The Conflict Transformation Weave are hosting a conversation in January with 4-5 people who have strong views around gender identity and are also able to hear and be curious about others. We are looking for another person to join our conversation. We acknowledge that everyone has a different relationship to this discussion, with various degrees of painful impact. We want to find a more healing way forward. 

We have 3 participants so far – a trans male; a woman concerned about the impact of gender questioning on teenage girls; and a cis male parent of a young trans woman (descriptions based on how participants self identify). 

We are looking for a 4th participant who resonates with these questions.

  • Are you worried that the focus on trans inclusion might mean losing women only spaces?
  • Are you needing people to see that growing up in a male body can include being conditioned as male?
  • Are you concerned that the essence and struggles of feminism, as you see them, are under threat?

If you might be willing to step forward to be part of this, please let us know by end December 2022.

Many thanks,

Viv & Ceri

vivslack@gmail.com

ceribuckmaster@gmail.com

Categories
Community conversation Responding to War

Community Conversation: Responding to the Russian War on Ukraine

About

The Conflict Transformation Weave and Laura Harvey welcome you to a space to explore personal and collective responses to the Ukraine/Russian/Current global crisis.

After an introduction, we will break out according to whether you are needing:

 a)   space for empathy

b)   space to grieve

c) space to understand the situation/ talk about it / share perspective

d) space for prayer/meditation

e) other

Request

If anyone is involved in responses to the current crisis which you would like to talk about for 3-4 minutes at the beginning of the session, please get in touch with  Laura Harvey lauraharvey@sharedspace.org.uk or Viv Slack Vivslack@gmail.com  , who will curate a brief sharing session in the opening 20 mins or so of the call. Your actions/information may be useful for all of us as we orient ourselves to this crisis.

Discussions/information

Here are several helpful discussions/workshops about the crisis.

Professor Paul Rogers from Bradford University and invited by Peace News to  gave an overview of the Ukraine crisis and how we got here. 

Demilitarise U – US veterans for peace organisation share perspectives on propaganda and misleading narratives, the dangers of US militarized intervention and how we got to this place

Russian invasion shows risks of fossil fuel addiction – Democracy Now. Highlights the links of this crisis to fossil fuel extraction and transportation.

If you have other resources, please add here.