Quillwood Academy facilitators strive to create spaces where participants feel safe enough to lean into the complexity and the nuance of today’s many converging crises. Quillwood events attract people from various ethnic, cultural, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. Participants bring to these events a diverse array of life experiences, identities, and worldviews, all of which naturally influence how they engage with the world. They come bearing many styles of communication, as well as different goals and intentions. This diversity can breed conflict if not attended to thoughtfully. With this in mind, we ask that all participants who attend Quillwood Academy events abide by the following agreements:
Advice: Do not offer unsolicited advice to anyone, no matter how qualified you believe yourself to be. If someone wants your advice, they will ask you for it.
Agenda: Do not attempt to derail a program or event, use it to further your own goals, or to further the goals of others not participating in the event.
Closure: Expect that meetings may not offer closure on all questions or issues.
Confidentiality: Share what your learn from Quillwood events, but do not name anyone in attendance, share recordings, or share screen captures from them.
Consent: Get consent from another participant before you talk to them about something they shared during an event, or if you wish to share their stories.
Curiosity: Bring your curiosity with you when you attend a Quillwood Academy event. Curiosity is the glue that holds Quillwood’s learning community together.
Discernment: Know that confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in any group space, so practice discernment when sharing vulnerable experiences.
Diversity: Make space in your interactions for varying styles of communication, viewpoints, and experiences. Honor courage and vulnerability, even when expressed in a different way than you would prefer.
Ownership: Share your own experiences using “I” statements. Avoid speaking for others or making assumptions about the experiences of others.
Participation: If you speak often, step back and make space for others. Do not use meetings to seek personal validation, or take take others’ presence for granted.
Presence: Listen to those who are speaking rather than planning how you want to respond. Give other participants the gift of your full presence.
Responsibility: Take responsibility for your intentions, impact, triggers, and biases.
Self Care: Feel free to step away from the meeting to use the bathroom, get food or drink, move your body, etc. Turn your video off so you do not distract others.
Skillfulness: Refrain from blaming or shaming yourself or others. Avoid making generalizations about groups of people.
These agreements are a work in progress. They may change over time, as Quillwood Academy facilitators ruminate on them and receive feedback from event participants. They are inspired by agreements presented by other organizations, including (in no particular order) the Emerging Arts Professionals, the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Collective, the Good Grief Network, as well as online events hosted by Bayo Akomolafe, Francis Weller, and Carolyn Baker.