Artwork by Molly Fair |
'Course Culture' and Safer Spaces
Agreement
Permaculture is based around core
ethical values of Earth Care, People Care and Fair Shares. These are
values that we strive to explicitly reflect within our own practices
as facilitators, teachers and course organisers, and also embody into
the culture of our courses. We aim to create collaborative, inclusive
spaces where everybody’s opinions, ideas, and contributions are
valuable, regardless of their ability, knowledge or experience. We
also aim to provide positive, safe learning environments where, from
the outset, all participants are able to feel valued and respected
without fear of discrimination or assumptions due to their race, age,
class, gender or gender identity, sexuality, abilities, dietary or
lifestyle choices or other beliefs. We are also aware that our own
assumptions, privilege and practices as facilitators, teachers and
course organisers need to be open to challenge.
At the start of our courses and
events we will always spend time as a group creating some shared
agreements (or 'ground rules') around what the group agrees are
acceptable behaviours, as well as building the foundations of a
'Course Culture' that will ensure that all participants are able to
feel safe, and enjoy a positive and inclusive learning experience. In
many ways these agreements will often vary in detail from course to
course according to the particular mix of the participants and their
needs. Participants come from a diverse range of backgrounds and
experiences, and while such a range of different identities and ideas
always makes for an amazing mix of creative and solutions-based
thinking, people can sometimes annoy people or make them feel unsafe
unintentionally – and sometimes intentionally. Therefore, in
addition to any particular ground rules that might be emergent on any
one course or event, we have an expectation that all participants
will have read and will agree to abide by our Safer Spaces Agreement
below. Please note that this is an evolving document, and we are open
to any comments, suggestions or feedback that will enable us to
improvement it in any way.
Safer Spaces Agreement (Current
version September 2015)
The aim of the Safer Spaces Agreement
is to:
-
Remind participants that creating safer spaces is people’s own responsibility, as well as the responsibility of the people around you,
-
Remind participants that words, body language, actions, and behaviour affect other people and their feelings.
-
Remind people to be aware of other people’s personal boundaries and ensure these are respected.
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Enable participants to feel safe and supported in 'calling out' behaviours by others that they find oppressive or discriminatory.
All course or event participants will
at all times agree to:
-
Respect people’s physical and emotional boundaries.
-
Always get explicit verbal consent before touching someone or crossing personal boundaries.
-
Respect people’s opinions, beliefs, differing states of being, and differing points of view.
-
Be responsible for your own actions. Be aware that your actions do have an effect on others.
-
If someone is upset or offended by your actions, you need to take personal responsibility for this, regardless of whether the harm was intended.
-
Take responsibility for your own safety, and get help if you need it.
-
Be aware that there may be times when children or vulnerable people may be in the space, and that their safety needs to be ensured.
-
Not engage in any behaviour or language that may perpetuate oppression, for example being racist, ageist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, ableist, classist, sizeist, or any bigoted behaviour.
If the Agreement is Not Respected:
A space should be inclusive of every
individual where possible, but, if certain individuals are making the
place unsafe, they are making it less inclusive for others. If you
feel that you cannot abide by the Safer Spaces Agreement you should
exclude yourself from the space. Individuals who disregard or
continually behave in ways that contravene the Safer Spaces Agreement
will be challenged about their behaviour, and may be asked to leave
the course or event without entitlement to any refund of course fees.
Any individual or group engaging in violence (including verbal
violence or harassment) will be immediately excluded from the course,
and will not be entitled to any refund of course fees.
Acknowledgements to QC2012
Safer Spaces Agreement from which parts of the above Safer Spaces
Agreement have been adapted.