We have introduced some new changes to allow even more liberation to occur.
You might have seen over the past few years an increased interest in liberation (which has been amazing!) but that means that we have also had an increase in the number of liberation campaigns we run. Due to liberation campaigns being passed via a policy and then return yearly, as more campaigns are passed, we have found we are now limited by the months, weeks and fortnights in the academic year available and have no space in our campaign calendar for new campaigns.
Therefore, over summer we have had to rethink how we run our liberation activities to be as flexible as possible to allow for the increased liberation activities our diverse community wants to put on.
So, we have introduced some new changes to allow even more liberation to occur.
What will liberation look like?
More liberation! We wanted to change our system to allow for more liberation to occur. However, it now looks and works a bit different. This means we will no longer be doing our policed liberation campaigns every year, moving away from monthly and weekly liberation campaigns. Our liberation activity will be chosen by you and our elected representatives, instead of our usual calendar of campaigns. The regular months and weeks and fortnights will no longer occur, instead we want liberation to happen throughout the year, encouraging more liberation.
What events can you do for liberation?
We have a definition to help specify liberation going forward. Liberation initiatives must meet all of the following criteria:
- Directly linked to groups that face oppression or marginalisation either in the UK in general or at Queen Mary.
- Aim to foster inclusion of all students and promote community cohesion.
- Create positive change through awareness raising, preventing misinformation or breaking down barriers.
- Open to all students regardless of whether they identify as part of a liberation group or not.
In addition to the criteria listed above, we encourage intersectional approaches, but this is not a requirement.
What is not changing?
Liberation will always be for students, by students. Two of our values are inclusivity and student-led, this will always be at the heart of our liberation work!
Safe Spaces Projects
We have developed a new project to allow for creation of safe spaces. With our new liberation definition, all students are able to attend liberation events. However, we recognise the need that some marginalised groups need to have a safe space created for them. We have a separate funding pot for this; the maximum funding is £50 per safe space activity as these are expected to be smaller events.
The following criteria must be met:
- The funding should be used to create a safe space for a group that isn’t covered by existing societies.
- Activities must be organised in a way that creates a safe space for the participants.
- We cannot fund anything over £50
- You must have a plan or an approach for promotion and connecting to this particular group
- You can only receive this funding once per term. (if you are looking to have a more regular event/ activity, feel free to use this funding as a way to get the first meeting organised and get interest)
How do i get involved?
We are launching a brand new liberation website that will have all form links and information on how to get involved, so head to www.qmus.org/liberation for more information!