Accessibility & Awareness

1. What is Awareness?

“Awareness” comes from “to be aware” and means something like “to be conscious, to be sensitive to something.” It is mainly about being mindful and attentive in situations where you and/or others experience invasive, boundary-violating or discriminatory behaviour. Practical awareness work has its origins in Black and indigenous movements. It is a form of self-organization, so-called “transformative” or “restorative justice”, that seeks to resolve conflict outside of the violent punitive logic of the state.

As a concept, awareness is an anti-discriminatory practice that opposes all forms of discrimination, such as racism, queerphobia, ableism, sexism and classism, as well as violence and the violation of boundaries of all kinds. Ideally, being aware of discriminatory structures can help prevent border violations and transgressions in advance. However, structural discrimination is deeply anchored in our society. No one is entirely free of bias, prejudice or discriminatory behaviour in how they relate to others. That’s why conscious reflection and a specific structure are needed to address discrimination. It is impossible to create a space that is completely safe for everyone. However, we do try to make our camp a safer space, for which awareness work is essential.

We therefore want to encourage you and all of us to look after ourselves and the well-being of our fellow human beings and to show consideration for each other. Pronouncing a name correctly or using the right pronoun can make a big difference! Reflect on yourself – we are all never done learning.

2. The Awareness Team

There are always situations in which we feel uncomfortable, especially in spaces with lots of other people. On the one hand, this can happen due to discriminatory or boundary-crossing behavior of others, but also because certain triggers remind us of past situations in which we personally experienced something hurtful. These reminders are called triggers and they can come in many forms – smells, sounds, images, behavior, and much more. These memories can then have a strong emotional impact on us.

If you and/or others are triggered or experience discrimination, the awareness team is there for you. This may involve, for example, experiences of power imbalances, exclusions and disadvantages, boundary violations, and coping with acute triggers. The awareness team is there to help prevent repeated discrimination. You can also contact the Awareness Team if you feel that you currently need emotional or physical support. You can also make use of the services offered by the awareness team at any time, regardless of any events. They are always approachable for all and easy to recognize by their purple vests. The team consists of five to six people and can be found in the awareness space. There are also mobile team members present in teams of two at individual events and especially at parties. You can also approach other people at the bar or at the info point who can contact the awareness team for you. Additionally, there is an awareness phone that is available around the clock.

The awareness team actively supports you as someone affected by boundary-violating behavior and acts in solidarity with you. This means they listen to you and do not question the experience of the affected person. You have the power to define what has happened. This means that only you can decide where your boundaries lie and therefore, only you can define when they have been crossed. The awareness team follows the wishes and needs of the affected person, is partial with them and stands on your side. This means that we will always think about and decide together, if desired also with trusted persons, how you as the affected person can best deal with what happened.

The awareness team offers advice, active intervention, clarifying conversations and information about possible assistance and support services. All conversations are always confidential. In conflict situations, the awareness team takes a de-escalating approach and tries to help resolve conflicts. It advocates non-violent communication and does not seek to punish people for their behavior, but rather to encourage all parties to take responsibility for their actions.

3. The Awareness Space

There is an awareness space where you can go to talk to the awareness team in a safe setting. You will find it signposted and clearly marked. It is a place to go to in order to not be alone during or after a distressing situation. It is also a good place to initiate a conversation with the awareness team. The awareness space serves generally as a place of retreat after triggering and/or discriminatory experiences. You can use the awareness space without making direct use of the services offered by the awareness team, but there will always be at least one team member present.

If you just need a moment of peace and quiet and want to be by yourself, there is also a quiet space. It is also signposted and marked. The quiet space is always open and can be used as a retreat at any time.

Both the awareness and the quiet space are spaces where consumption is not allowed, including smoking and alcohol.

We also have a paramedic team on site, which you can find in the medical room. The paramedics help with all forms of physical discomfort; this does not generally fall under the responsibility of the awareness team.

4. Trigger Warnings and Content Notes

Depending on your personal background and experiences, certain situations can be uniquely triggering for you individually. Unfortunately, we cannot completely prevent that. Topics such as flight and the European border and asylum regime are extremely violent and can be very triggering for you as an affected person. In order to minimize triggering situations, content notes will be given before each event, listing potentially triggering topics, so you can adjust to the topic and decide for yourself whether or not you want to stay and engage with them. Of course, you can leave any event at any time, even right in the middle.

And now – have a great time at our camp!

GETTING THERE

The Camp will be in Biesenthal. The nearest train station is Bernau. The station is step free accessible and has floor indicators and tactile guiding elements

(https://www.bahnhof.de/en/bernau-b-berlin). To get to the camp you have to then take the bus and in addition we have a shuttle from the bus stop. Sadly, the shuttle won’t be accessible with a wheelchair. From the bus stop it is an additional 20 minute-walk around a lake via unpaved park paths. Alternatively, you can take the longer route via paved streets for about 30 minutes.

We ask you to avoid arriving by car due to limited parking. But if needed, it is possible to get there by car and park close to the entry.

AREA

OUTDOOR

The Camp is at the edge of a lake and surrounded by trees. The ground is natural ground, mainly grass. Most of the program as well as meals will be held outside. There will be lights especially at night. But we can not cover the entire area, and roots or generally uneven paths might be hard to see. We would advise to bring a flashlight.

The lake at site has shallow shores and is only accessible via a sandy beach. The sauna is an uneven, narrow space and only accessible via steps.

Two of the houses have porches. They are made out of wooden planks with gaps in between. Both are accessible via ramps that are 85 cm wide and have a about 2 cm high edge.

INDOOR

Some workshops will take place indoor. Sadly, some of those room are only accessible via steps. The steps are not highlighted. Let us know beforehand if you want to join a workshop that is not accessible to you so we can try to rearrange the location or support you in other ways.

The doors are light-weighted and have door handles not knobs but most of them are not wider than 80 cm. That applies as well for indoor sleeping.

SLEEPING

If you can’t sleep in a tent, there is the possibility for a bed in a shared hut/room. You would have to bring your own bed sheets/sleepingbag. Please let us know if you want to use on of the indoor sleeping places. As mentioned above, these are only accessibly via steps.

SPACES

There will be a quiet space for people to be able to calm down and get rest. It will be open to all at any time.

On site will be a bar where alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks are served as well as a coffee cart.

We generally have benches without backrest in the eating space as well as during workshops. But you can get folding chairs at the info point.

SANITARY FACILITIES

There will be a wheelchair accessible toilet and shower and a charging area.

MEDICAL CARE

For any medical emergencies on site we have a first-aid team to help you. We will have a fridge on site where you can store your meds.

Food will be vegan. During registration you can let us know any allergies so our kitchen crew can provide an additional meal if needed.

CHILDREN

There will be a kids space at the camp – it’s an open tent located in the center of the site. Childcare is part of the participatory concept of the camp – the childcare shifts will be taken on by participants of the camp. If you need childcare, please state so when buying your ticket – we will send you more information closer to the camp.

LANGUAGE

The main languages of the camp will be German and English. The language of the program events will be indicated on the program board.

We will try to provide simultaneous translation if necessary so that the content is accessible to as many people as possible. During the registration to get a ticket you can let us know if you need translation or if you can support with interpreting.

During the camp, please come to the info point to let us know if you need translation.

Unfortunately, we probably won’t be able to provide interpretation in sign language.

AWARENESS

There will be an awareness team present at the camp the entire time as well as a designated awareness space. The team will also be reachable via phone 24/7. The awareness shifts will be done by participants of the camp, and there will be some experienced people in the background to coordinate the shifts and give briefings.

You can find more information about the awareness team and their work in the awareness concept.

REACH OUT

Generally we want to make the camp as accessible as possible. Let us know if you have specific needs or need further information via camp@sea-watch.org