Creating a Network of Support How do we best get support for ourselves and the choices we make? And how can we support each other more in our personal lives and in our work? These were questions we discussed enthusiastically at the 1993 Australian Nonviolence Gathering. Support was talked about mainly in relation to affinity groups as we had already decided that the most appropriate way to organise ourselves and meet individual and collective needs was through some sort of system of affinity groups. But since affinity groups were not yet generally established we talked broadly about what were our needs for support and how we could meet them in the near and middle future. What we need Different needs were expressed. Some of us expressed the need for a sense of belonging. "We want a tribe to belong to, a mob to hang out with, kindred spirits with similar values and visions to work and live with", we said. We thought it was important that we should be able to help each other to find and know our role in the group. This might mean knowing what skills we had to use and share; and knowing what needed doing so we could do it; for example, acknowledging that someone is good at bringing people together and breaking down isolation and separation amongst people, and recognising this as a valuable role. People also expressed a need for a place to find 'tea and sympathy' - support, care, love. And yet there was also need of a place to be 'taken out of ourselves,' - parties, celebration and fun; away from the despair, urgency and overwork that a life in social change can sometimes get bogged in. We felt a need for supportive debriefing both for general despair and hopelessness, and for post-action or campaign feelings. The BIG B.O. (burnout) was a topic avidly discussed. People asked for burnout monitoring and intervention. We talked of a need to become accountable to each other. Being accountable would build safety and help people feel valued. Accountability would mean greater clarity in the goals of the different collective endeavours in which each individual is involved. It would mean greater clarity in who was responsible for what, in communication, in participation, and in decision making. People had a need for empowerment and empowering education; for a place to develop skills for organising and carrying out plans on one hand but on the other, to push boundaries and break through personal blockages. People wanted better financial reward so that we can have some security and feel valued for what we do. Addressing the needs We then went on to look at ways that we could collectively, as the Australian nonviolence community, begin to address these needs. Firstly it was felt that we could form systems to monitor individuals' workload and life balance. For example, small "Personal Support Groups" within or alongside or across affinity groups could help people pay attention to and reduce their propensity for burnout and aid each other to move toward their personal and collective goals. It was felt that affinity groups would help address accountability. Affinity groups offer the possibility of trust, vision sharing, honest and assertive communication and clear expectations. In affinity groups keeping agreements and accountability are essential components for effective functioning. Everyone needs, we said, to live within a culture of affirmation. This would mean acknowledging and valuing the contributions that each individual makes. This culture of affirmation would permeate all aspects of our lives. We emphasised that everyone needs affirmation, even tall poppies and elders. And alongside this we wanted to show that we value skills by finding ways to recognise, use and develop them. We wanted workshops, courses, actions, get-togethers and creative experiences for developing our skills within the network. We wanted time built into all the different facets of our work for acknowledging and dealing openly with feelings. We want to build an inclusive culture respecting the varying degrees of energy people have and the varying choices people make. A culture of feelings and belonging. Commonground could be used as a resource for time-out, skill sharing, meditation and for action and logistics support. We wanted to develop interregional activist exchange, where people in the Network go round visiting, making friends, building relationships, finding out about each other's interests and involvements. This system is already up and running and is being promoted by James Langley and the Centre for Nonviolence at Commonground through contact lists and a nonviolence database. We hoped that some of the more practical needs such as resources for education programmes, contact lists and for campaigning will be met by various Centres for Nonviolence the first of which is based at Commonground At the Gathering, we proposed to develop the notes from this discussion into a thoroughly useful and extremely helpful guiding pamphlet about fostering support and creating affinity groups. Perhaps we can talk about this further at the 1994 gathering. Margaret Pestorius with Gavan Thomson and Glen Alderson