By entering any of the physical or digital spaces of the COP26 Coalition, you agree to our Care and Justice policy. 

WHY CARE AND JUSTICE IS IMPORTANT

• To build healthy, reflective and self-sustaining social movements that collectively challenge and confront structural issues of violence, exploitation and oppression. 
• Build new political cultures that actively hold community members to account for their actions.  
• To develop forms of community infrastructure that create a welcoming, participative and supportive space for everyone to organise and take action together. 

GROUND RULES

• We do not accept any verbal or physical violence. We will challenge behaviors that exclude, threaten or disrespect others. As such, we do not tolerate or perpetuate any form of oppression and discrimination against others. 
• We avoid using oppressive language, that includes no verbal abuse, blaming, shaming, and making generalized assumptions about people’s experiences.
• We aim to create a resilient community that is based on justice and mutual care. We work towards open communication and honesty in both living and working.
• We actively challenge our privileges and watch out for invisible hierarchies.
• We seek to co-create safe and accessible spaces which empower the voices of marginalized groups and ensure participation of all. We seek to be clear about accessibility limitations.
• We value active listening and learning through reflection. As such, constructive criticism and feedback offer us opportunities to learn collectively. We seek to ensure that we don’t leave it to marginalised people to explain their challenging experiences to us but take proactive steps to learn about them. 

ACTIVE SOLIDARITY IN PRACTICE

• We encourage people to introduce themselves with their pronouns in new spaces/groups to promote inclusivity..
• Navigate spaces with awareness of our different privileges; identifying the power our personal identity brings to a space or context goes a long way in challenging the reproduction of hierarchies within our homes as well as political spaces.
• Seek to practise honest communication, respectful language and active listening.
• Recognise that we all have different capacities and skills within the spaces of justice movements that we inhabit, so value every participant for their contribution.
• Communicate your personal boundaries for participation and capacity to engage on the ground and digitally. 
• Embody kindness and care by treating the space(s) and environments we share and work with openness and respect. 

What are we doing to ensure our spaces are accessible, safe and anti-oppressive?

As part of our commitment to care and justice in our climate justice activism, the COP26 Coalition considers issues around accessibility seriously and aims to provide inclusive and friendly spaces. We are aware that the needs of people with disabilities, neurodiversities, and medical conditions are often neglected in activist organisations and spaces. We are also aware that these people are more at risk to suffer from the looming societal collapse tied to the climate emergency than many other social groups. As such, we believe that including people with disabilities and their voices in the activities aimed at preventing (or mitigating) this emergency is essential.

To work towards this aim we are providing the following: 

• A designated Accessibility and Disability Coordinator who will work with a team of volunteers to deliver our access support. 
• Level of Interaction: All events will be marked with a traffic light system indicating the level of engagement needed to participate in them. This will allow the people who may struggle with social situations to make their choices in regards to attending an event. 
• Sensory Sensitivities: additionally, we are working to make our COP26 events friendly to those with sensory sensitivities and will be providing noise-cancelling earplugs. 
• Quiet Places: We plan to have Quiet Places across our venues, where possible, to help people unwind. We anticipate providing private rooms that will allow people who may need to undertake a medical treatment, change their clothes and others to do this in a comfortable set-up. Where possible, please bring prescription medication in its original packaging. 
• BIPOC and Queer spaces: We intend to provide safe spaces for people from the most marginalised intersections of our community to relax and reflect. 
• Nursing Bay: We will offer a private space for mothers and parents to nurse children. 

Regenerative and Non-Violent Communication at COP26

• Encourage active listening and empathetic discussion: We understand that we may encounter people or groups that share different opinions. Foreground the act of listening as a precursor for speaking and to ease any tensions. 
• De-escalation: We are working towards avoiding and resolving conflict and disagreement by hearing each other out and meeting each other with respect, authenticity and kindness. Refrain from blaming and shaming. We acknowledge our different realities which add to diversity.
• Take a breath before speaking and try not to take up too much space to empower different voices. The acronym WAIT (Why Am I Speaking?) can serve as a good guideline for yourself. Use hand signals of dis/agreement in larger groups rather than words to allow everyone’s voice to be heard.
• Sharing experiences and responses, remain cautious about expressing generalised assumptions about other people’s experiences and avoid speaking for a whole group.
• Don’t forget! We are working towards a shared vision and purpose. When we work together with integrity and openness, we become closer to producing the generative space needed to realise our shared horizons and dreams.