‽istis
wonders why on earth not‽ (weekending April 13th 2024)
This week ‽istis
has completed some work updating policies for a local voluntary organisation:
‘A community-led
and optimistic sanctuary which champions local residents, builds community
resilience, supports mental health and wellbeing and promotes regenerative
farming practices and environmentally friendly living’; which, across 30 acres,
‘creates, maintains, nurtures and protects a species-rich ecosystem of edible,
native and useful plants, encouraging biodiversity and a safe space for
wildlife and the local community to coexist in harmony.’ It supports ‘local
communities to connect with nature through education and volunteering and come
together around shared values to work, grow, harvest, learn, play, eat and
socialise in a welcoming space.’
‽istis
wondered whether this weekending’s topic should be ‘volunteering’, not least
given that everyone associated with the particular organisation is a volunteer,
but perhaps that topic can be saved until a blog in June when the UK has a
Volunteers’ Week[i],
or early December which sees International Volunteer Day[ii].
But it was
the ‘code of conduct’ for the volunteers and the organisation as a whole that
caught ‽istis’ imagination.
Adapted from
a ‘code’ proposed by Greenpeace UK[iii],
it runs like this:
Respect
We show respect for the environment and for each other. This
includes valuing each other’s time, privacy, opinions and personal space.
Individuals take personal responsibility for their actions in their ***** role.
Environment
Protecting the environment is one of our core values – we
lead by example. This involves avoiding waste (including food waste), using
ethical and sustainable products, minimal use of fossil fuels, leaving no
trace, not littering, recycling, reusing.
Safe
We nurture a space where every member feels part of the team
and feels safe in the ***** environment, both in terms of safe working
practices and not feeling intimidated, bullied, victimised, sexually pressured
or harassed – whether through word or action.
Peace
As part of the ***** community we demonstrate a positive
non-violent, non-aggressive attitude. There is no place for anger or violence
in ***** including in our online presence. Temporary conflicts are dealt with
calmly and quickly.
Equality
We actively work for every community member to feel included
and not discriminated against due to age, gender, being married or
in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race
including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief,
sex, sexual orientation - ‘protected characteristics’ as outlined in the
Equality Act 2010 - or any other aspect that could result in their being
discriminated against purely because they have such characteristics.
Care
Being part of the **** community means ensuring the
well-being of others. This means taking care of each other, supporting each
other, being honest with each other and being open to others’ needs. It also
means taking care of ***** property, finances, images, messages and reputation.
Trust
Members of ***** community are able to trust one another.
They can also trust ***** to provide relevant, timely and appropriate support,
resourcing and training.
The '*****' represents the name of the organisation, but ‽istis’ started to imagine how this might read if other communities’ names and places were to appear instead, if those in leadership roles or even all members were to sign up, promote and strive to follow such a code of conduct. So, here’s a proposed thought experiment:
Part 1: with
some tweaking of the syntax as necessary, you might like to try filling in the
***** with words like:
·
British
·
European
·
‘Holy
Land’
·
Middle
Eastern
·
Russian
·
The
Church of England
·
Ukrainian
·
Country’s
·
The
Post Office[iv]
·
‘Soul
Survivor’[i]
·
National
• Sudan
·
UN
·
NATO
·
International
·
Etc,
etc, etc… perhaps including groups and organisations, communities or
businesses known to you.
Part 2:
perhaps wonder why on earth this might not be something
I/you/all of us would sign up to, promote and strive to follow.
Part 3:
possibly ponder just how different the world might yet be…
©‽istis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this
week’s theme and past blog entries to be found on X/Twitter with replies,
retweets (which don’t necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very
opposite!) and ‘likes’: @Pistis_wonders.
X/Twitter ‘follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue
welcome...
[i] https://volunteersweek.org/
[ii] https://www.un.org/en/observances/volunteer-day
[iii] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rjtg0vzbq6OMgxtcgQA60gMeXdgBRDdXr9l3-13fdB8/edit
[iv] For
those in the UK who continue to be shocked by the revelations about this
institution. Many references including more headlines this week, but perhaps
see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56718036 for
an introduction.
