- Regenerative Activism: an Introduction

When we decide to challenge any oppressive structure of our society, through social
engagement, art, care work or even simply by disagreeing in a conversation among friends, we
might get exposed to difficult experiences and be confronted with intense emotions such
hopelessness, anger, grief, shame, numbness or isolation. If we aren’t able to deal well with
these emotions, they can not only take us down, but also become harmful for ourselves and
others.

We see the present global systems of violence and oppression based on patriarchy, colonialism
and capitalism as the result as well as the cause of personal, collective and intergenerational
trauma. Though the phenomena of trauma is complex, there is a broad consensus that
unprocessed trauma can cause individuals and groups to remain stuck in patterns of confusion
and violence The reality of burnout, internal power struggles and polarization in activist
communities seems us as a continuation of these systemic trauma structures and a
consequence of working in challenging spaces with a lack of emotional clarity. Therefore we see
the need for explicitly making space for emotions in activist practice.

Regenerative activism is a zone of learning and action in which personal and social
transformation move each other forward. Inspired by Black and Indigenous activist
practices and the idea of inner ecology, it aims to activate our innate emotional and
bodily intelligence, that helps us grounding and feel belonging, responding flexibly to our
environment, being empathic and engaged in the world.

What we offer:

In this introductory workshop series we will introduce tools and methods that can support the
practice of actively processing the emotions that we encounter in ourselves and in the world
while being aware of the social framework and the power relationships in which these emotions
are taking place. The different methodologies that we integrate in our work share three core
principles:

● Simple human presence, listening, and compassion allow us to come into deeper
contact with ourselves and process whatever difficulty we encounter.
● Shifting away from the current overemphasis of cognitive and intellectual capacity of
humans, the entirety of the body or soma needs to be reconnected and engaged to
come into a state of attentiveness, attunement, resilience and creativity.
● Feelings that are traditionally held as negative, such as sadness, anger and shame and
fear, are seen as indispensable in enabling us to navigate complex realities.

We put emphasis on the creation of inclusive and safer spaces to practice vulnerability
and openness where we are curious about each other, allowing for the themes and
emotions that we are all struggling with to connect us. We value empowerment,
community, and an awareness that our resilience capacity manifests in a wider range of
choices and relationships of solidarity.

*This will be a mixed space, we invite people with different identities. Our intention is to create a
“safer place”, exploring cooperation with awareness of our different experiences.

We Raquel and Diana will facilitate the workshop series. 

Looking forward to meeting you!