WATA COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS

why does WATA use agreements?

Agreements help us reduce harm, model anti-oppression strategies, and “move at the speed of trust" (adrienne maree brown); and
To acknowledge that we are a new and diverse group, all bringing many different perspectives to the event. Agreements help build trust and safety at our earliest opportunity.

We ask all participants to read and adhere to the following agreements:

• WATA events are explicitly committed to serving those who identify as Black and Indigenous.

• Play is sacred! Everything ain’t gotta be serious! Healing needs our humor! (PAL)

• Stay engaged! Remove distractions as much as possible in order to be present. (TDS)

• Accept and expect non-closure, be willing to leave here joyfully unresolved; "Value the process as much as, if not more than, you value the outcomes" - amb  (PAL, WE, amb)

• Practice Yes/and, both/and. Think beyond binaries and create space for multiple truths to exist; (PAL, amb, WE, TDS)

• Honor citation, lineage, & request consent to share what happens here today!  (PAL, YP, WE, FA)

• Honor confidentiality: Take the learnings with you, leaving names/specifics out. (PAL, YP, WE, FA) No recording, no screengrabs. Share lessons learned beyond this group, but sharing stories outside of the group is a breach of privacy.

• Assume good intent, acknowledge what happens, attend to impact (WE, FA, YP)

• Speak from the “I”: Use “I” instead of defaulting to “we” or “you,” speak from personal experience without assuming your personal experience applies to the whole. (WE, YP, TDS)

• Challenge personal assumptions: Practice noticing when you are assuming something about another person. Instead of assuming, inquire. (WE, YP)

• Own your choice: deciding to participate is the easy part, choosing to stay is harder. This is non-required, non-compensated work. It’s your choice, no judgment.

These agreements are drawn from the work of adrienne maree brown (amb), Weaving Earth (WE), Lead to Life’s People’s Alchemy Labs (PAL), Fierce Allies (FA), Youth Passageways (YP), The Decolonial School (TDS), and reflect influences from so many others. We offer these as a foundation, with humility and the willingness to adapt.