October 2022, Design Justice Newsletter
Dear DJN Members, Signatories, and Friends,
Staff and the Steering Committee return from their seasonal pause prepared to support an abundance of activity and growth for the Design Justice Network. New Nodes across the world are taking their first steps in meeting and organizing around the Design Justice Principles, established Nodes and Working Groups meet regularly for discussion and direct action – and new signatories and members continue to join the movement as our impact expands.
Are you one of our new readers joining us this past month? Check the next section for Upcoming Events that may be near you or available virtually. Updates for DJN facilitators, Nodes and Working Group organizers follow that, offering great insight into how our community shares work and advances the mission of design justice in action. We also include articles, videos and other happenings from the wider world of design justice in What We’re Sharing.
DJN’s new Communications Specialist now manages our newsletter – share anything you’d like included with Rene Joy via email djnetworkcomms@gmail.com.
Taylor Simone (She/Her), Special Projects Manager;
Victoria Barnett (She/Her), International Network Manager, Nodes & WG;
Rene Joy (She/They), Communications Specialist;
Design Justice Network
Email: designjusticenetwork@gmail.com
Instagram: @designjusticenetwork
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designjusticenetwork
Twitter: @design__justice (double underscore)
Web: designjustice.org
Find events happening this month or go to designjustice.org/events for more. We’re working to make our meetings more accessible – requests for accommodations can be sent to designjusticenetwork@gmail.com
Mon. Nov 7th, Welcome to the Design Justice Network Session, 6pm ET (GMT-05)
Wed. Nov 16th, DJN Australia Node (First Node Meet-up), 1pm AEDT (GMT+11)
Tues. Nov 15, DJN Philly Node Monthly Meetup, 7pm ET (GMT-05)
Hosting an event but don’t see it on our website yet? Fill out this form! Translate to your timezone using thetimezoneconverter.com or timeanddate.com.
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).
Welcome to the Network, new Nodes!
Design Justice North (Northern UK/Manchester) just met for the first time on Tuesday, the 25th of October – they’re using the Principles as prompts for larger design justice discussion, plus making time for show-and-tell presentations of projects related to design justice initiatives.
The Australia Node meets for their first meeting Tuesday, the 15th of November! Their meetups act as spaces to share work and design justice practices, get feedback, and build community with others committed to design justice.
More Node News:
Boston node update: At present, the Boston Node is in stasis so we’re not meeting regularly. If you are interested in taking on an organizing role, contact djn.bos@gmail.com.
Shape your Node and Working Group Experience Update!
The Design Justice Network has been growing and shifting in so many amazing ways! One important part of how we do that is gathering and actioning feedback from our DJN members and folx in our Nodes and Working Groups! Throughout October node and working groups members participated in ongoing "Shape your node and working group experience" sessions and asynchronous participation to gather ideas, feedback and dreams in order to ensure their voices are centered in the Node and Working Group experience of the network, all rooted in a sense of abundance, possibility, and joy! Sometime in the coming months, a report-back will then be shared, with actionable next steps and points of involvement. For now, you can check out some of the experience (with visuals) here!
Resources & References
DevDiscuss: S7:E4 - Should we all be thinking about design justice? on Apple Podcasts - Members of the DJN Steering Committee, Wes Taylor and Boaz Sender, spoke with DevDiscuss about design justice last Nomber – audio is now available!
Did you know that the Creative Commons license for the Design Justice Principles allows you to share them directly on social media or outside of the Design Justice Network, even commercially? Here’s some quick tips:
Make sure to properly attribute DJN and the CC license we use
You can use different formatting (text, colors, graphics) and make some modifications (sharing in excerpts or parts rather than all together, switching “and” for “&”)
Don’t change phrasing or numbering of the Principles (for example, switching out “communities” and using “clients” instead)
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
Do you know organizations or people working with the Design Justice Principles in relation to accessibility? Do you know any that you feel may align with our network? Send them our way! We as staff believe finding those doing this work, listening, and learning is the first step of addressing the needs within our network. Specifically, we are looking for those that offer training, resources, or content. This list will be shared with the network via our resource page.
Submit your entry here or email specialprojects@designjustice.org
If emailing please state if you would like to be listed as a contributor. If yes, include your name, and pronouns, and if you are a current member.
Ongoing Network opportunities:
Join DJN Communications Working Group – new Comms Specialist Rene Joy will be supporting the Comms WG, feel free to reach out directly via Slack or email at djnetworkcomms@gmail.com if you’re on the WG already or interested in joining!
Member Stories
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.
Other opportunities
Support riseup: Riseup provides worldwide services to activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and… us! We use riseup to send this newsletter to you!
A curated sampling of news, events or points of interest that may be relevant for or resonant with our readership. We hope this list connects you with communities, presents new perspectives, and prompts discussion. Thank you to the members that contribute to this list – and for elevating the Network out in the world at large!
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 (July 6th, 2022 is the latest)
Check out our YouTube channel
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)
Manage your subscription
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