Project members share their takeaways from the project’s storytelling workshop and describe their Ustopias. They also share some favourite examples of tech justice.
We’re using these blogs to share insights from Catalyst's Tech Justice Road Trip. We’re reflecting on what we’re learning, our experiences on the project and the relationships we’re building.
Ustopias: a world of equity and justice, where we’re free to be ourselves
We considered Ustopias in the storytelling workshop. It’s a term borrowed from Margaret Atwood that,
“Ustopias... represent a collective imagination where we shape the future together. Unlike utopias or dystopias, ustopias acknowledge the interconnectedness of our struggles and aim to prioritize collective well-being over wealth concentration and exclusion. It envisions a society where everyone has what they need to thrive.”
Nikita Shah, Hyphen Poetry: providing support to the partner organisations and Circle. And holding reflective spaces for circle members
“My Ustopia still feels quite broad in that I want an equitable world as a baseline. In imagining a future, creativity, joy, healing, and care feel exceptionally important. As does a better-interconnected society that centres communities and people affected from ideation to design and delivery to sustainability.
I've started reading Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruhan Benjamin. In her work, I see the links to equitable practices and decolonial futures.”
Kayleigh Walsh, supporting sociocracy in the project
“My version of an Ustopia is influenced by the Zapatista belief of “un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos”, a world where many worlds fit. Where we can be ourselves. Where we don't live under capitalist pressures to decide who is valuable in society. Where we spend most of our time not at work but playing, learning, creating and sharing. Where there isn’t one form of existing or being. And, without doubt, a world without prisons.”
Siana Bangura, freelance practitioner, initiator of the tech justice research work and report author: storytelling lead
“My Ustopia is a world where there is justice. People, wherever they are and whoever they are, have what they need to live and thrive, not just survive. Bigotry and excessive greed are no longer fashionable.
In my Ustopia, billionaires and megalomaniacs are long gone. We’ve finally reached an understanding that living justly among ourselves as human beings, as well as being in just relationship and partnership with the earth, means we will all make it to the future.
An Ustopia does not mean there are no problems and challenges. But it does mean we have new ones, not the same ones we've been churning around for epochs. It means we understand deeply that to find the answers to these challenges we'll need to work together, rather than in constant opposition. This Ustopia does not need to flatten our differences in an attempt to make us 'one'. But instead it honours, celebrates, and respects these differences as necessary parts of a resilient whole.”
Hannah Turner-Uaandja, Catalyst Co-Director: steward of the Road Trip
“For me, an Ustopia is a world where everyone is free to create and grow together. Where technology supports and inspires us to grow together. I've seen a lot of sparks between people this week. I think an Ustopia would be full of exciting conversations about our shared stories.”
Reflections from the storytelling workshop: making the best use of our time, co-ordinating our work and creating tech-just communities
Catalyst organised a storytelling workshop as part of the Road Trip. It enabled attendees to explore how storytelling is used in this project.
Facilitator’s thoughts
Siana: “As the storytelling workshop’s facilitator, I was really pleased with people's engagement. There were lots of gems and profound soundbites which will, hopefully, serve this project well, and other work folks are involved in too. The workshop helped to solidify how all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle are coming together. And how the comms and evaluation work build on the storytelling approach and complement what's being produced.
We were keen to not duplicate work for the sake of it. And to ensure everything being created is intentional and adding the right sort of value to the project. We're being creative and ambitious, whilst understanding we have very limited time on this project for delivery. This adds some pressure.”
Participants’ views
Hannah: “The main thing that stuck with me is how beautiful it is to have so many different offerings weaving together. And how thoughtful Siana’s approach to the narrative of the work is.”
Kayleigh: “It brought me back to imagining how many communities and groups all over the world have created their own Ustopias. And whether or not they have been archived, or their stories are still told. It also made me think about how 'tech' can be considered as something specifically digital, but really it's just using something for practical purposes. The version of tech as we know it is so young, and has been colonised just as so many other things have.”
Nikita: “The role of courageous imagination in creating a vision for an Ustopia resonated with me.
During the workshop, Camden Giving (one of the project's partner organisations) asked how community co-design and co-production lead to more inclusive technologies. And how this helps bring forth a tech justice world and build our Ustopia. During this conversation, we discussed how co-design and co-production start from the point of inclusion, equity and accessibility, which help create more tech-just communities.
We mapped the Tech Justice Manifesto against Camden Giving's work and approach, and we learned this would be a helpful framework to tell their story.
We also discussed how each organisation could benefit from creating its vision of an Ustopia.”
Tech justice in action
Here are a few recent and inspiring examples of tech justice that have captured our imaginations.
Kayleigh: “The cybersyn project by the Allende Chilean government is a short-lived example of what happens when the government wants to use technology in the best interests of the people.”
Hannah: “I recently read about Father Vincent Nigwira, a Catholic priest in Zambia, who started off buying and selling solar powered tech for his local community after witnessing house fires from candles. After news spread of his work he teamed up with an international organisation (Solar Aid) to run workshops where people learned to repair solar tech as they were very hard to replace.
I love this example because it demonstrates that you don't have to be a technologist to use technology for justice work. It also reminds me of the work that Multitudes are doing with their focus on community technology. And it shows how movements can uplift people and the planet at the same time.”
Siana: “I appreciated the backlash (led by journalist Karen Attiah) to Meta’s very weird digital Black-facing of Black women through their chilling AI bot, Liv, who has now been taken down.”
Books we’re inspired by
Hannah: I've been reading and exploring the book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture with a community of other women as part of a course hosted by afrofuturist Anatola Araba. It's been an important deep dive for me in further understanding the importance of our histories to build better visions of the future.”
Here’s more information about:
Thanks to Kayleigh, Hannah, Nikita and Siana for taking the time to contribute to this blog.
---
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood.
We’re using these blogs to share insights from Catalyst's Tech Justice Road Trip. We’re reflecting on what we’re learning, our experiences on the project and the relationships we’re building.
Ustopias: a world of equity and justice, where we’re free to be ourselves
We considered Ustopias in the storytelling workshop. It’s a term borrowed from Margaret Atwood that,
“Ustopias... represent a collective imagination where we shape the future together. Unlike utopias or dystopias, ustopias acknowledge the interconnectedness of our struggles and aim to prioritize collective well-being over wealth concentration and exclusion. It envisions a society where everyone has what they need to thrive.”
Nikita Shah, Hyphen Poetry: providing support to the partner organisations and Circle. And holding reflective spaces for circle members
“My Ustopia still feels quite broad in that I want an equitable world as a baseline. In imagining a future, creativity, joy, healing, and care feel exceptionally important. As does a better-interconnected society that centres communities and people affected from ideation to design and delivery to sustainability.
I've started reading Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruhan Benjamin. In her work, I see the links to equitable practices and decolonial futures.”
Kayleigh Walsh, supporting sociocracy in the project
“My version of an Ustopia is influenced by the Zapatista belief of “un mundo donde quepan muchos mundos”, a world where many worlds fit. Where we can be ourselves. Where we don't live under capitalist pressures to decide who is valuable in society. Where we spend most of our time not at work but playing, learning, creating and sharing. Where there isn’t one form of existing or being. And, without doubt, a world without prisons.”
Siana Bangura, freelance practitioner, initiator of the tech justice research work and report author: storytelling lead
“My Ustopia is a world where there is justice. People, wherever they are and whoever they are, have what they need to live and thrive, not just survive. Bigotry and excessive greed are no longer fashionable.
In my Ustopia, billionaires and megalomaniacs are long gone. We’ve finally reached an understanding that living justly among ourselves as human beings, as well as being in just relationship and partnership with the earth, means we will all make it to the future.
An Ustopia does not mean there are no problems and challenges. But it does mean we have new ones, not the same ones we've been churning around for epochs. It means we understand deeply that to find the answers to these challenges we'll need to work together, rather than in constant opposition. This Ustopia does not need to flatten our differences in an attempt to make us 'one'. But instead it honours, celebrates, and respects these differences as necessary parts of a resilient whole.”
Hannah Turner-Uaandja, Catalyst Co-Director: steward of the Road Trip
“For me, an Ustopia is a world where everyone is free to create and grow together. Where technology supports and inspires us to grow together. I've seen a lot of sparks between people this week. I think an Ustopia would be full of exciting conversations about our shared stories.”
Reflections from the storytelling workshop: making the best use of our time, co-ordinating our work and creating tech-just communities
Catalyst organised a storytelling workshop as part of the Road Trip. It enabled attendees to explore how storytelling is used in this project.
Facilitator’s thoughts
Siana: “As the storytelling workshop’s facilitator, I was really pleased with people's engagement. There were lots of gems and profound soundbites which will, hopefully, serve this project well, and other work folks are involved in too. The workshop helped to solidify how all the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle are coming together. And how the comms and evaluation work build on the storytelling approach and complement what's being produced.
We were keen to not duplicate work for the sake of it. And to ensure everything being created is intentional and adding the right sort of value to the project. We're being creative and ambitious, whilst understanding we have very limited time on this project for delivery. This adds some pressure.”
Participants’ views
Hannah: “The main thing that stuck with me is how beautiful it is to have so many different offerings weaving together. And how thoughtful Siana’s approach to the narrative of the work is.”
Kayleigh: “It brought me back to imagining how many communities and groups all over the world have created their own Ustopias. And whether or not they have been archived, or their stories are still told. It also made me think about how 'tech' can be considered as something specifically digital, but really it's just using something for practical purposes. The version of tech as we know it is so young, and has been colonised just as so many other things have.”
Nikita: “The role of courageous imagination in creating a vision for an Ustopia resonated with me.
During the workshop, Camden Giving (one of the project's partner organisations) asked how community co-design and co-production lead to more inclusive technologies. And how this helps bring forth a tech justice world and build our Ustopia. During this conversation, we discussed how co-design and co-production start from the point of inclusion, equity and accessibility, which help create more tech-just communities.
We mapped the Tech Justice Manifesto against Camden Giving's work and approach, and we learned this would be a helpful framework to tell their story.
We also discussed how each organisation could benefit from creating its vision of an Ustopia.”
Tech justice in action
Here are a few recent and inspiring examples of tech justice that have captured our imaginations.
Kayleigh: “The cybersyn project by the Allende Chilean government is a short-lived example of what happens when the government wants to use technology in the best interests of the people.”
Hannah: “I recently read about Father Vincent Nigwira, a Catholic priest in Zambia, who started off buying and selling solar powered tech for his local community after witnessing house fires from candles. After news spread of his work he teamed up with an international organisation (Solar Aid) to run workshops where people learned to repair solar tech as they were very hard to replace.
I love this example because it demonstrates that you don't have to be a technologist to use technology for justice work. It also reminds me of the work that Multitudes are doing with their focus on community technology. And it shows how movements can uplift people and the planet at the same time.”
Siana: “I appreciated the backlash (led by journalist Karen Attiah) to Meta’s very weird digital Black-facing of Black women through their chilling AI bot, Liv, who has now been taken down.”
Books we’re inspired by
Hannah: I've been reading and exploring the book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture with a community of other women as part of a course hosted by afrofuturist Anatola Araba. It's been an important deep dive for me in further understanding the importance of our histories to build better visions of the future.”
Here’s more information about:
Thanks to Kayleigh, Hannah, Nikita and Siana for taking the time to contribute to this blog.
---
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood.
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