The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is an alliance of domestic and household workers in the United States and is a vehicle to build power nationally as a workforce. Many of its member organizations, such as Mujeres Unidas y Activas and Domestic Workers United, have been long time partners of the DataCenter and have led cutting edge research projects that have supported campaigns and organizing efforts to improve the living and working conditions of domestic workers. The Alliance is now launching a national participatory research project on the domestic work industry and the weekend of November 13-15 it is holding its first West Coast Domestic Workers Congress in Oakland, CA. DataCenter will lead a workshop with its members on creating, designing and implementing a national survey.
The motto “be the change you want to see in the world” has manifested in DataCenter’s Shared Leadership Model since 2006. With a Design Team comprised of representatives from Bay Area social justice organizations, we convened a monthly three part-series of dialog with more than thirty other organizations to document our diverse experiences – both successes and challenges – exploring alternatives to a top-down leadership structure as a social justice movement. We listened to each other and exchanged tools and resources, as well as wisdom. The knowledge capture using participatory methodologies imparted insights appreciated by grantmakers, capacity-builders, and organizers alike. Check out the powerpoint summary of this experience, recently presented at the brownbag hosted by Learning Leadership Community – the funder of the series – available on our websites!
For more information and resources, visit the Leadership Learning Community Bay Area Learning Circle wiki at: http://leadershiplearning.pbworks.com/BayArea_10212009
A Three-Part Series of Facilitated Peer Learning Sessions that raise critical questions about, and (re)affirmations of, reflecting our social justice values internally in our organizations.