{"id":16483,"date":"2023-07-10T14:40:46","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T14:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/actionresearchplus.com\/?p=16483"},"modified":"2023-07-11T05:56:12","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T05:56:12","slug":"are-we-possibly-white-supremacists-workshopping-with-astrid-kunnert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/actionresearchplus.com\/are-we-possibly-white-supremacists-workshopping-with-astrid-kunnert\/","title":{"rendered":"Are we (possibly) white supremacists? Workshopping with Astrid Kunert."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Post by Andrea Rodericks,\u00a0<\/a>who facilitated the workshop as part of our designing regenerative spaces<\/a> coLAB<\/p>\n

For our third session in the ARTist workshopping series we were led by powerful and personal reflections from Astrid Kunert<\/a> who is co-founder and director of Qualitative Mind Research in Munich. Astrid shared her work with public participation, peace building and democratization in East Africa. We focused specifically on the project that had emerged through a partnership with East African colleagues supported by a German Foundation. Astrid explained some of the methods used to seed a participatory civic education initiative with accompanying research, including building a cadre of local community resource persons, supporting them with knowledge on democracy and pedagogical tools such as Forum Theatre, conflict resolution, and traditional dances and songs with modern lyrics.<\/p>\n

There was much to learn from the initiative itself, but Astrid\u2019s reflections at our workshop were more personal, reflecting on herself as an action researcher in this context. As a white person from Europe she wondered what legitimizes her presence and perceived power in this work in East Africa. She asked:<\/p>\n

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\u00a0\u201cDoes my presence possibly trigger the prejudice that \u201caid from the global north\u201d is necessary to bring about change in African communities?\u201d She also reflected on the dynamics that triggers the flow of money from Europe to Africa. And, engaging her inner critic, she asked herself, \u201cDo I embody white supremacy?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Holding these questions within, Astrid wondered whether questions such as these should be discussed with project participants, and the influence that may have on building a transformative learning space. What may be the implications of addressing and\/ or not addressing these issues? She welcomed the wisdom and reflection of the ARTist workshop group as developmental friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Astrid\u2019s courageous and deeply personal reflection touched us all. Few people are able to get in deep under the surface of power dynamics that include themselves, and further, engage others in this reflexive thinking. Her invitation triggered many reflections and questions from participants\u2019 own experiences and perceptions of power, powerlessness, and identity.<\/p>\n

In the words of a workshop participant, the conversation itself \u201cfelt, well, transformational.\u201d Some key insights follow:<\/p>\n

Colonization and decolonization in context<\/strong><\/p>\n