Wondering what we do beyond anti-oppression fundamentals? Here's some examples!
Anti-Capitalism for Collectives and Communities
How do we live a politics of anti-capitalism in our daily lives and communities? How can we challenge the individualism and inequality of capitalism? In this interactive workshop, we will deconstruct some of the lies of capitalism and begin to create a framework that is based in caregiving, interdependence, community, and collective liberation. We'll break down the concept of the "nonprofit industrial complex" and how it has impacted movement building in the U.S., and discuss alternatives that we can be and are using. We aim to create a space for deep and challenging reflection about the ways we are engaging with capitalist structures in our own lives and communities, and to begin thinking collectively about how to build community and movement based in shared resources and sustainability for everyone.
Anti-Racism for Organizers
You are a community organizer. You have a lot of experience organizing. You are new to organizing. You organize with a non-profit, a collective, a co-op, a school, your friends, your house. You have a lot of dreams, hopes, ideas, and energy, and you'd like to strengthen your anti-racism framework in your work: this workshop is for you. Join us for this popular education style workshop, which will be a space for participants to share/learn tactics, concepts, strategies, skills and language that push us further in our work toward racial justice.
Capacity Building for the Long Haul
How do you sustain your vision for change? How do you connect the dots when there is so much to get done? How do you zoom out and look at the big picture? How do you stay strong, keep building power and maintain effective sustainability as an organization? In this popular education style workshop we will break down the elements of transformative organizing -- concepts, structures and tools to strengthen your campaigns, craft coalitions and specifically, create meaningful organizations built to thrive. Participants should come with questions, ideas and ready to participate.
Deconstructing Ableism
Often people with disabilities face discrimination from individuals and systems built without them in mind that prevent them from being able to participate in or access spaces, resources, employment, or housing. This workshop will examine the systems of oppression against people with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities.
We will develop analysis and understanding of how these systems function at individual, institutional, and cultural levels and strategize ways to affect change. We will talk about how to create cultures and communities that are welcoming and celebrating of people of all kinds of abilities. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how ableism operates, how to recognize it, and tools for creating change in their communities.
Dynamic, Anti-Oppressive Facilitation: Making Meeting Awesome for Everyone
Inefficient and ineffective meetings can leave people feeling drained, exhausted or discouraged, rather than inspired and energized. Good meetings help build strong, effective organizations and successful projects. Even organizations with great meeting process inadvertently perpetuate barriers to full member participation and access to democratic process. This happens through group dynamics of power, privilege and oppression that often marginalize women, people of color, queer, trans and gender non-conforming folks, people with disabilities and those with limited access to the cultural cues that come with class privilege.
Whether or not you tend to act as facilitator at meetings you attend, building your facilitation skills will help you make your meetings better, more inclusive, and more fully democratic! In this workshop we will cover the fundamentals of meeting facilitation, from building an agenda to addressing sticky situations and additionally address issues of oppression and liberation. Beginners and pros are both welcome; come to develop new skills or strengthen the ones you have.
Healthy Organizational Communications
This workshop will show how conflict resolution practices, collective care models, intentional meeting facilitation, can all work together to create a culture and practice of healthy organizational communication. Through this framework, we will investigate how strong and healthy communication is key to anti-oppression politics. Participants will leave with concrete tools on how to further their organizations’ purpose, objectives and goals with principled and creative communications processes.
Institutionalized Patriarchy: Framing Our Resistance
In this workshop, we will chart the effects and accumulation of patriarchy in our individual interactions, and cooperative organizations as connected to broader institutionalized structures. We will look at how patriarchy intersects with other systems of oppression. Using popular education, we will share our collective histories of resistance to patriarchy as central to framing our visions of new possibilities forward.
Queer Liberation and Collective Liberation
How do dismantling the gender binary and anti-racism relate to uprooting classism and disability justice? In this workshop, we will explore the intersections of identity and liberation. By placing LGBTQ issues and gender justice at the center, we will discuss how queer liberation is tied up with all forms of liberation. Using a strong anti-oppression lens, this popular education style workshop will give participants a safe place to discuss power and privilege, reflect on the state of their communities, and leave with concrete action steps to challenge and change the conversations and conditions in their communities and beyond.
Resolution Not Ruins: Conflict Resolution In Your Organization.
As in all communities, conflict in organizations is unavoidable. It is also uncomfortable. In working through conflict, the question shouldn’t be, “How do we prevent conflict?” but rather “How do we address conflict in ways that are healthy and build a stronger organization?” This workshop will help participants identify conflict, even when its just a slow burning tension, and help us all distinguish between what healthy and unhealthy conflict look like. In the process we’ll share AORTA’s conflict resolution practices and methods in order to get a jump start in developing processes tailored to your own organization.
Training for Trainers
In this dynamic workshop, we unearth styles of learning and education, break down how to articulate goals, generate a tight agenda, brainstorm and recycle awesome activities, and tailor workshops and trainings to the actual needs of participants. This is a crucial training for anyone who finds themselves in front of a group of people, trying to facilitate some meaningful learning.