Principles and practices of participation

Nurturing an environment where each person feels seen, heard, and their experience acknowledged - contributes to a work flow that welcomes shared learning, intersectional conversations, mutual support and creative collaboration. Here are our Principles and practices of participation that we value and apply in our events:

• Create a welcoming, safer and more accessible space for all participants
• Acknowledge and value different histories, diverse identities, lived experiences, and the knowledge everyone offers and brings into the shared space.
• Consent, privacy and confidentiality are non-negotiable and unconditional as a baseline of trust.
• Handle disagreement constructively and non-violently.
• Zero tolerance on disrespect, harassment and violence in any form.
• Embed politics and practice of self and collective care.
• Be collaborative, open and participatory in your approach.
• Be mindful of language, access layers and context diversity, and be supportive of self-expression to the autonomy, extent and pace of each person.
• Self-reflect and recognize the specter of power and different (lack of) participation privileges in terms of situational capacities and structural inequality, including context, access, language, gender, different accessibility needs, public speaking/participation skills, etc.
• Be willing to de-center your perspective and always listen to each other with an open mind and heart.
• Extend compassion and kindness to everyone you are sharing the space with.
• Attribute and give credit to previous projects, sources, contributions and also the investment from everyone in the shared space.
• Adjust your participation pace to your needs. Reach out if you need support at any point.

If you find this useful or resonating with your experience and values, read the extended version of the Feminist Principles of Participation, which inform APC’s Principles of Participation, along with the Code of Conduct and Sexual Harassment Policy.