September 2021, Design Justice Newsletter

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Dear DJN Members, Signatories, and Friends,

Another thank you to the new DJN Communications team, who is working to make these newsletters more concise; The newsletter is fully online below - with some beautiful images and new designs!

Secondly, starting Sept 27 - Oct 3, 2021, our Steering Committee team & staff begin our 3rd week-long seasonal pause, which you can read more about here. An intentional pause is a living expression of aligning #DesignJustice work with practices of care. We won't be posting on social media or answering emails during this time. We are also still combing through the mission, vision, and strategic intentions feedback, and hope to share back with the network soon! 

Also please continue to read this newsletter for updates on our upcoming DJN members Care Circle, an update from Steering Committee member Denise Shanté and her Pause, and of course, DJN events, upcoming paid and volunteer opportunities, and other DJN related initiatives. ALSO as the Design Justice Network continues to expand, in order to be in better communication with our nodes and working groups around the world, we are shifting the Facilitators Connect meetings monthly timing to allow for more and easier participation from non-north-American locations (ET). Read more below! 

Thank you for reading, and if you have any thoughts/feedback or ideas for these newsletters, please do get in touch with us! 

- Taylor Simone and Victoria Barnett, DJN International Network Coordinators, and the DJN Communications team!

Email: designjusticenetwork@gmail.com
Instagram: @designjusticenetwork 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designjusticenetwork 
Twitter: @design__justice (double underscore) 
Web: designjustice.org

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Note from SC Member, Denise Shanté

Hey DJN Community!

For the rest of the year, I’m seeding my first collection of published writings and meditations on my creative lifeswork and ecosystem. It’s beyond time for me to listen (and respond) to this long dreamed vision and I’ll be doing it while traveling to another place—literally and spiritually. I have three intentions during this time: REST. DREAM. WRITE. You can read more about this decision that I shared in my personal newsletter.

As I’m prioritizing this out-breath, I will be taking a pause from the Steering Committee until February 2022 with plans to check in with the team while continuing to model how care is a communal practice and uncompromisable, radical tool for transformation. 

I know that this step back to reflect on my last nine years of persistent design and healing practice will illuminate deeper, fulfilling ways for my role within design justice to take shape. I’m so, so grateful for the phenomenal support from Victoria, Taylor, Michelle, and Corina who will continue our DJN Care Circle for these upcoming fall and winter seasons. 

I truly hope that more of our amazing members will prioritize these care offerings and begin cultivating the conditions that will allow us to create the worlds we want and need from a shared place of aliveness, nourishment, awareness, connectedness, and communal care.  With a whole lot of love + possibility,

Denise Shanté

Latest member story

If you missed it in our DJN 2020 Members Report, this month, we would like to highlight and celebrate DJN Member, William Nickley, a Designer and Educator, Ohio Node member. William uses he/him pronouns, and he currently resides in Myaamia, Hopewell, Shawandasse Tula, Kaskaskia / Columbus, OH, USA.

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What does Design Justice mean to William?

“Design Justice is about acting on my responsibility to critically examine my participation in the world.”

Getting started with DJN

If you’re new to the Design Justice Network, welcome! Here are some resources to help get you started. As we continue to build these resources we welcome your questions and feedback.

DJN Facilitators Connect + Nodes & Working Group Updates

  • October 7: Node & Working Group Facilitators Connect: October 2021 meeting (8 pm ET, GMT-04)

    • Next meeting: Thursday, October 7th at 8 pm ET: As the Design Justice Network continues to expand, in order to be in better communication with our nodes and working groups around the world, we are shifting the Facilitators Connect meetings monthly timing. For the rest of 2021, we are alternating the times of the meetings as follows:

    • 1st Thursday of the month - alternative odd/even month timings:

      • Odd Months: November @ 12:30 pm ET time (GMT-04)

      • Even Months: October and December @ 8 pm ET time (GMT-04)

    • We are alternating the meeting times for odd and even months - to create a consistent schedule, and also, allow for more and easier participation from non-north-American locations (ET).

  • The Design Justice Principles at Work working group can be reached at designjustice.atwork@gmail.com to get involved and learn more. They host two regular meetings a month, with various sub-groups, so please get in touch if you’re interested. This month they are hosting an open event on October 12: Design Justice Principles at Work: Facilitated Journaling Session 9am PT (GMT-07) - please join in! The session is facilitated, and is a space to reflect on experiences with Design Justice and meet one another; If you have not been to one yet, it’s a little space we carved out once a month to be with each other. We will engage in a short, timed journaling exercise that hopes to inspire presence and spontaneity. An opportunity to witness and be witnessed in our lived experiences.

  • If you’re interested in joining the DJN Communications Working Group, please follow this link for more information. 

All of our current nodes and working groups are listed on our website. If you’re thinking of starting your own, learn more about how to organize a local node and read our local nodes zine that was created to support and give guidance to local nodes. (much of it applies also to Working Groups)

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Opportunities

If you know of any upcoming opportunities, please email us or share directly in the Design Justice Network #opportunities Slack channel. Wishing you luck as you look for your next opportunity!

Paid opportunities

Volunteer opportunities

Other opportunities

  • Apply for a Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice grant before October 1st

  • Apply for a Public Art for Spatial Justice grant before October 18

  • Donate to riseup. Riseup provides worldwide services to activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and… us! We use riseup to send this newsletter to you!

  • Zine Participation Opportunity: Students in the graphic design department at Kansas City Art Institute are working on a class project where each of them, individually or in small groups, are designing and producing a zine that captures and presents their own research on a specific DJN principle. They’ll produce multiple copies of a set of 10 different zines, each zine diving deep into a different principle. If you’re interested in volunteering your time to be interviewed remotely, sign up to support students creating zine based on the DJN principle.