Tools: Appreciation Exercises Are Great for Collective Work
I spent the last weekend at an inspiring feminist retreat here in Lebanon where a group of 15 young feminists got together to evaluate and strategize their collective work. The group was diverse in its age range from early 20s to early 30s, in its level of expertise from experienced activists to newcomers, and also in its activism strategies from community workers to writers and researchers. It was, therefore, important for us to ensure that everyone had an equal space to express their views.
Besides planning our work for the next six months, we also really wanted to revitalize our energies and rekindle our team spirit because, like all groups, we were going through a bit of a rough patch in working together. And so one of our members suggested an idea that was brilliant in doing just that and I thought I would share it with all of you and highly recommend that you use it in your meetings or retreats. The activity is called Rounds of Appreciation, and here’s how it went.
At the end of every panel, we all took turns appreciating every speaker. In a few sentences, we each expressed what we value most about that person, be it her work or her personality, showing gratitude for all the great things she brings into our lives. It was a surprise to all of us just how much we were grateful for in each other. And to all of us, being appreciated meant so much more than any reward or compensation. We forget, often, as we go through our busy days, trying hard to hand in that article on time, or make it to that meeting, or follow up on that project, or respond to that sexist song, to stop and say thank you to each other. And so it was extremely touching and important to hear – especially from people who are our friends and fellow feminists – those words: I appreciate you.
It led to an amazingly positive retreat and framed all debates and discussions in a loving environment that has spilled over to the dozens of other members of our feminist community. Try it! And let us know how it goes. Also, feel free to share your own activist tools and strategies on the Wire so that we can learn best practices from each other.
Tagged with: appreciation • best practices • collective work • Guides & Tips • shared strategy
Thank you for sharing this Nadine. Indeed this promotes positive energy in groups and seeing as divorcing ourselves from our work is nearly impossible, just being able to voice our appreciations goes a long way in renewing strength and drive and therefore our activism.
It's such a simple yet powerful thing to do, thank you for sharing with us, Nadine.
I've seen a lot of situations where a sort of 'diva' mentality pervades, and you get some speakers/participants who truly see themselves as 'stars' — this seems like a great process to defuse all of that and acknowledge and appreciate the multiple ways in which we ALL make worthwhile contributions.
Thanks Zawadi for reiterating this point – i also feel the same way – appreciation is really important and goes a long way in validating each others' efforts .
Please do keep us informed with what's happening with young feminists in Kenya. We can post many of these things right here on the wire. If you want to write a similar blog post and post it up then that would also be great!
hey,
will try this in DRCongo where we have a long ( bad) legacy of not appreciating the work done by another woman. As i often recall my fellows, we call ourselves "young" feminists to say we are in the struggle but we are bringing new dimension to it. this can include, i'm sure, acknowledging every single little even if not frequent good thing that a sista is doing.
will keep you in the loop.
Thank you for sharing this Nadine. I couldn’t agree with you more. At the end of the day, one thing that all human beings want and need, is to be acknowledged. We all want to feel that our presence on this earth, and the contributions we make are worth something, and simply saying thank you to each other is a huge way to do this. I find that exercises like these go a long way in showing the multiple and significant roles that all the people in our communities, organizations, networks and movements play. It is a way of saying that each of us is an important part of the equation – no matter how large or small, visible or invisible, quantifiable or not, our contributions are. It is a way of celebrating our diversity and making visible the invisible.
So to you and all the feminist sisters contributing to the young feminist wire, I say thank you for all that you continue to do.
The enemies we are fighting seem massive and overwhelming but in our small and creative ways, we can make a difference and transform the world, one feminist action at a time!
Salaams from Kenya, where we are mobilizing young feminists to support the proposed constitution.
More on this soon,
Zawadi Nyong’o