Dear DJN Members, Signatories, and Friends,

Spring (in the north-American context) opens new beginnings and growth. We also find opportunities in taking inspired action on the winter possibilities that excite and offer joy! What seeds might you be planting for the upcoming seasons?

We have an exciting DJN member event TODAY: Our 4th seasonal Care Circle: Intuitive Vision Collage - happening today Saturday, April 30th, at 1:00 – 2:30 pm ET (GMT-04). We hope DJN members will be able to join us in this experience! Another upcoming DJN member experience is happening on Tue. May 17 at 6:00 pm ET (GMT-04)- and it will be Member Story Session with DJN members, Rene Benavides & Rachael Dietkus! We can’t wait!

Finally this month, take a look at a new #DJNconnects story/images with DJN members in New York City (NYC)! We’d love to feature these stories and we encourage all DJN members and signatories to share stories and images of when they visit and meet each other in person, across cities, countries, and borders! You can tag us and use the hashtag #DJNconnects

We are excited to announce that this month a Polish translation of the principles is now live on our website! We thank all of those that volunteered on these translations and those that have volunteered on past translations.

Translation Credits: Polish: Marta Kuroszczyk, Dominika Łukoszek, Magda Kołba-Górna // Romaniani:

We would love to hear everyone's reflections on social media using the hashtag #designjusticespotlight and/or on the member slack channel. Interested in translating the principles? The guidelines are posted here.

Taylor Simone and Victoria Barnett, International Network Coordinators, Design Justice Network, 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

"You're raised on the story of the one, the Chosen One, the hero, a founder. But in reality, it's everything that you've ever experienced and all the people you've come into contact with, that have had some sort of impact and you're not alone.”
- KK Naimool

Co-founder and principal of Collective Justice Consulting, Kk is a writer, activist, and educator living in Beacon, NY where they currently serve on the city's Human Rights Commission.

KK Naimool, image of them smiling brightly.

Kk Naimool is a queer, non-binary Indo-Caribbean transplant passionate about creating safer spaces for all. They are an avid advocate for equity and justice, predominantly in the areas of racial justice, gender justice and LGBT health equity. They have over two decades of experience in working with trauma impacted communities and developing curricula for collective healing. As a community organizer and pursuer of justice, Kk firmly believes that any meaningful change must include ALL of us and simultaneously hold space for our full selves. They currently serve in leadership roles in a number Queer AAPI collectives and racial justice collectives. As a former external auditor and trained accountant, Kk leverages their experience and knowledge to help growing organizations build in efficient processes and systems. Kk has helped nurture many grassroots collectives to formalize organizational structure and build internal capacity.

This is an interview with Kk Naimool conducted by Lydia Hooper.
Here is a link to read KK’s full story/interview. Thank you!

This month, Victoria Barnett traveled to New York City, and had an in-person outside meetup with different NYC members and local node coordinators or volunteers! We talked about life, fun plans and what’s upcoming for each of us, about living in and visiting the city, food, drinks, and books (for example, Max Masure’s book launch is coming up soon (and some of us bought the book and had them sign it for us!) Victoria and Hana Gabrielle met the following day for a coffee/tea and walking to Central park!

Take a look at the photos - the hangouts were conversational-based and were a lot of fun - reconnecting in person again, and meeting someone from the network!

Pictured (group photo, left to right): Nechari Riley, Ruben Sun, Victoria Barnett, Mike Harrington, and Max Masure.
Pictured (2 people photo): Hana Gabrielle, Victoria Barnett.

This section in our newsletter highlights DJN members meeting up in person: whether traveling to meet each other, in-person meetings, or chance happenings! We’d love to feature these stories and we encourage all DJN members and signatories to share stories and images of when they visit and meet each other in person, across cities, countries, and borders! If you’d like to submit some images and a brief writeup or story about your meeting or visit in real life, please email them to us at desgnjusticenetwork@gmail.com - or post on your social media platform - tag us and use the hashtag #DJNconnects

Find events happening this month or go to designjustice.org/events for more. If you have ideas on how our events can be more accessible, please send us an email.

Translate to your timezone using thetimezoneconverter.com or timeanddate.com.

Here is a small curated list, to honor April as Climate Action Month, of Organizations, Projects, and Events Month. We hope this list connects you with communities, presents new perspectives, and prompts discussion. Thank you to the members that contributed.

Climate Justice 101 Guide Website link here
Climate in Color (Education Platform and Community) Website link here
Intersectional Environmentalist (Collective) Website link here
Green Dreamer Kamea (Podcast) Website link here
Mike Harringtons Member Story Belonging (Article) Website link here
Native Land Digital (An app to help map Indigenous territories, treaties, and languages) Website link here
Stop the Money Pipeline (Fossil free banking options and resources for moving your money) Website link here
Bank Track (List of sustainability commitments and dodgy deals financed by all banks) Website link here
Mapping Back (Indigenous Mapping, Extraction, & Alternative Representations) Website link here
Support / Reparations for Black Owned and Operated Farms + Organizations that Support Black Farmers (Google Doc) Directory link here

Have resources, Inspiration, or Ideas for themes you want to share?
Email us at designjusticenetwork@gmail.com

DJN Communications Working Group: If you’re interested in supporting the DJN newsletters, please get in touch! Please read more info on joining DJN Comms!

(Call for Entry) The Design Justice Network (DJN) Principles at Work (PAW) Zine subgroup is creating a series of mini-zines around applying the principles in professionalized workplaces. We are looking for visual and written submissions for the second mini-zine in the series, "Design Justice Principles at Work: Neurodiversity".

The topic of Neurodiversity in the workplace is of vital importance to helping Neurodivergent individuals find comfort and function in their daily work life as well as educating Neurotypicals (the majority of the population without neurodivergent conditions) on how to more effectively communicate and work with NDs.
The submission form can be found here.

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.

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)

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!

Design Justice Network opportunities

Translate the Design Justice Principles
Join or start a DJN Working group
Join DJN Communications Working Group
Would you be willing to share your experiences with the Design Justice Network? There are no prerequisites (including a traditional design background), and past stories have featured members working in a variety of fields such as social work, community organizing, and handicrafts. We make the process easy for you (no writing involved!) and will only share what/how you consent for us to. We are particularly interested in hearing from members outside of Europe and the North American East Coast. If you have questions or interests, please contact Lydia at designjusticenetwork@gmail.com.

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.

Read an overview on how to get involved
Watch one of our Welcome to the Design Justice Network meeting recordings (Nov. 30, 2021 session is now uploaded)
Check out our YouTube channel
Learn how to organize a Local Node
Read about our membership benefits
Receive care in our Design Justice Network Care Circle (a benefit for DJN Members)
Review our finances.
Check out some DJN activities (NEW - these resources are being built)

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"You're raised on the story of the one, the Chosen One, the hero, a founder. But in reality, it's everything that you've ever experienced and all the people you've come into contact with, that have had some sort of impact and you're not alone.” - KK Naimool

Design Justice Network opportunities

Manage your subscription

"You're raised on the story of the one, the Chosen One, the hero, a founder. But in reality, it's everything that you've ever experienced and all the people you've come into contact with, that have had some sort of impact and you're not alone.”
- KK Naimool