Deep Adaptation Forum

= "an international space to connect people, online and in person, and in all spheres of life – to foster mutual support, collaboration, and professional development in the process of facing societal collapse". [1]

URL = https://www.deepadaptation.info/

Description

"It is time we considered the implications of it being too late to avert a global catastrophe in the lifetimes of people alive today. By July 2019, over half a million people had downloaded the Deep Adaptation paper on this subject, written by Professor Bendell (founder of the DAF and co-author of this proposal). As people from all walks of life awaken to this realisation, a sense of fear and unease is becoming more prevalent. As the effects of climate chaos continue to unfold, panic could bring about extreme forms of collective “othering,” even fascist responses.

The overarching mission of the DAF is to embody and enable loving responses to our predicament, so that we reduce suffering while saving more of society and the natural world.

The DAF is an international space to connect people, online and in person, and in all spheres of life – to foster mutual support, collaboration, and professional development in the process of facing societal collapse.

In service of this mission, we aim to create spaces for constructive dialogue and support community-building, while fostering a spirit of equality, mutual support and care around the breakdown of societies. We are acting on all channels available to us: online and in person; with individuals, professional communities, and institutions; on blogs, social media, and mainstream media; and we are both exploring and explaining the “why” (why we need to take action), and the “how” (ways to do this purposefully and with joy, courage and compassion, regardless of what the future brings).

Given that the implication of societal breakdown or collapse is such an all-encompassing agenda, and not something that anyone can claim much experience or expertise on, we have not followed the typical route of identifying a specific professional or stakeholder group to serve. Instead, we are responding to the rapidly increasing concern about the risks of climate-induced societal breakdown and Deep Adaptation by channeling it into networks of peer support. This is leading to projects that we would not necessarily have imagined at the outset.

Almost a year after its launch, the associated social networks of the Deep Adaptation Forum convene as many as 15,000 participants, with five paid freelancers and over fifty volunteers, supporting a wide range of activities, located around the world.

The Facebook and LinkedIn groups provide spaces for mutual emotional support and professional outreach, from which people join the Professions’ Network if they want to commit to collaborate with others to contribute to the creation of professional resources, such as new guides, databases, trainings, advisory services and so on. Affiliated Groups are in-person and online communities, aligned with the principles wider DA movement, with specific foci such as themes (parenting, practical preparedness, or countries/regions).

The plan is for the DAF never to charge fees for participation, so its overheads need to be carefully considered. It is currently funded with small private donations, with sufficient resources to support the existing human and IT resources until July 2021.

Our approach to enabling emergence is informed by research into networks, and extensive experience amongst core team members and volunteers in leadership for sustainability, community building, participatory planning, as well as our attention to the values we wish to promote as we face likely breakdown or collapse of societies. We are seeking to enable connection, dialogue, and generative collaboration, rather than just information sharing. We are supporting free-of-charge, open-minded, open-hearted, cross-disciplinary, multi-local, and personal (i.e. including video and in-person) interaction. Our aim is not to build a large institution. Instead, we believe that within a few years each profession in each country could have their own groups and initiatives on aspects of promoting readiness for societal breakdown and Deep Adaptation. In addition, communities around the world will have their own initiatives to cope better with a breakdown in their normal way of life.

We have been working with the support of small grants and volunteers. Given more support, we have a chance to reach a critical mass, and make Deep Adaptation blossom into a genuine social movement with impacts reaching far and wide, beyond borders, cultures, and social classes. We have the opportunity to become a catalyst for peace and positive transformation in an increasingly fragmented world."

(https://www.deepadaptation.info/about/)

Discussion

==The Palestine Censorship Debate--

• The post on the issue of censoring discussion of Palestine and recommendations on that: Our Humanity Dictates that the Collapse of Other Societies Matters to Us – including Palestine

DAF was created by Jem Bendell, then let go of it, due to the censorship of the topic of Palestine,

Here is one of his interventions:

Jem Bendell:

"I was pleased to see wide international support for improvements on this matter, including many people who have played key roles in the DA movement worldwide, including DAF itself. More information on what you can do to help follows at the end of this email.

After the moderators of the main Deep Adaptation Facebook group did not provide me with a complaints process and said they considered the matter closed, my public commentary on the situation led to new information being provided to me. This new information included that there had been a dispute on this subject of Palestine between moderators over a year ago, which led to one moderator resigning from the team. That further highlights there is an issue relating to Palestine, but also the need for better processes for dispute resolution i.e. disagreements between people with a diversity of viewpoint are essential to avoid ideological blinkers - the challenge is how such disagreements are managed. I was only provided with one more example of blocking posts related to Palestine, in addition to the one from Freya that I mentioned in my original public recommendations. Therefore, it appears that the lack of engagement on this topic is not only due to the views of moderators.

I was informed that the relevant DAF circles for me to engage with on this matter are the Moderators Circle, the Weavers Circle and the General Circle. The Moderators circle was not meeting at the time of my complaint and recommendations. I am pleased to hear that it is now meeting, and is working on a complaints/appeals process to support moderators of various online groups connected to DAF.

I have not been told by anyone on behalf of any relevant DAF circle, that any of the recommendations, now endorsed by yourself amongst 338 people, are being considered. I have not received any response to those recommendations. After a month, I was asked if I would discuss the issues with the Weavers Circle, and agreed, but they have not followed that up. In addition, I have not had any reply from the General Circle or the Deep Adaptation Facebook Moderators to my letter of May 13th, where I provided substantial detail on this matter.

The response of the Weavers Circle, as indicated by the minutes of their meetings and email to me, demonstrated that they consider the main issue here to be the emotional wellbeing of the moderators of the DA Facebook group. Therefore, the existence of public criticism was the focus of their attention rather than its substance. This appears to me to ignore the absence of a complaints process, my asking moderators for that, and that the Moderators Circle was not even meeting/existing at the time.

The DA Facebook Group moderators blocked a post that linked to my complaint and recommendations, and instead accepted a post that did not link to my post, which led to a lot of misinformed discussion. The moderators then issued a public statement about this matter in the group which misinformed members in a few ways, including with the claim there was never a ‘blanket ban’ despite their own words to that effect, sent to Freya and quoted in my post on April 28th.

Since my complaint, there have been some posts mentioning Palestine. The way that the moderators consider the issue can be raised appropriately is open to question. For instance, I have not seen anything similar to my post (which was blocked), where I recommended we try to normalise discussion in our shared public spaces about what we can do to reduce help, or at least reduce our complicity in the harm. I did that to invite people beyond exasperation and into grounded action - something I considered the core of the DA approach to societal collapse.

The ownership of the DA Facebook Group is currently unclear. I established the group in early 2019 and gave it to DAF in 2020. It was promoted by the DAF as the easiest way to engage, and the moderators were supported by people working for DAF, paid for by charitable funds, through The Schumacher Institute. Some people involved now claim that the Facebook Group is not owned by DAF anymore. Without any formal process of divestment of that asset, then DAF and its charitable fiscal sponsor would be in breach of relevant laws in the UK. I asked for clarity on this from Weavers, as well as the Facebook moderators - requests which have gone unanswered for many weeks.

Due to the misinformed discussions about this matter occurring in public online spaces, both amongst people involved, as well as active participants looking on, I feel it is my duty to share the relevant correspondence for those who wish to look deeper. Therefore the emails between myself, the moderators and the Weavers Circle can be found here. I say ‘duty’ because I regard this issue to not be about me or the people corresponding with me, but how DAF can be suited for its role as a hub and catalyst in an international movement on positive responses to societal collapse. Any discussion on that question of what DAF is and isn’t today should be open to anyone interested and where they can be properly informed if they so choose - and the correspondence on this matter is part of that.

Unfortunately one of the DA Facebook Moderators resigned soon after my public complaint and recommendations. Stuart Smith did a great job over many years and it was a pleasure working with him on the Deep Adaptation Q&As. Unfortunately that means two moderators I was told disagreed with the blocking of content of Palestine have now quit the moderation team. In addition, I was told the moderators refused offers of very experienced moderators to join their team after this dispute arose. Therefore, many people remain concerned about the wellbeing, capacity, transparency, and accountability of remaining moderators. I wrote in my initial public complaint and recommendations that I am not seeking any individuals to change roles, but that systems need to be better for the DA Facebook Group to serve its role as a key hub in a global movement.

Some of the commentary on my actions has been exaggerated and misleading. By making one complaint about something, for the first time in years, I am not challenging the existence of DAF, nor assuming that I have power over DAF, nor ignoring the valuable contribution of many volunteers over many years. Public requests for basic transparency, sufficient capacity, accountability and complaints processes, are not threats to the wellbeing of volunteers or participants. I regard any responses which focus on a critic to the exclusion of the substance of the criticism, as helping to undermine social dialogue and potential action against genocide, whether or not that effect is intended.

In order to allow time for them to discuss issues, I told the Weavers Circle that I would wait until the end of June before any further public commentary on this matter. As you have now read, there is little positive to report on at this time. Therefore, I will wait another month before public commentary. In the meantime, I am sharing this information with the people who endorsed the recommendations i.e. you. I will also share this email with the relevant groups in DAF, as an update, and with the hope for attention to the substance of my complaint and to our recommendations to them.

This matter arises and continues while intentionally-caused huge suffering and murder of innocent people is being funded, supplied, and obscured by the countries that many of us call home. We aren’t disconnected from that, even if we choose to think we are. That can create great anger and sorrow. But such emotions don’t validate us or necessarily lead us into ‘right action’. Instead, it is important to do the work of identifying what is ours to do. In my case, I know that continuing to report on this process will create some further antagonism towards me. However, amidst that, there will be people who will do the right thing, and there will be the opportunity for better understanding and action."

Proposed Recommendation by Jem Bendell

In light of past censorship of commentary on the conflict in Gaza in the main Deep Adaptation Facebook Group, we ask the convening circle of the DA Forum to:

1) immediately direct the moderators to stop censoring the topic of Palestine and Israel

2) investigate the extent of censorship and report on it publicly

3) create more transparency, by instigating a new system for moderators to list on a public space the links or commentary they are blocking from the group (e.g. a public googledoc)

4) clarify with the moderators the broad spectrum of content that can be posted, including non party political commentary on matters of political or cultural dispute;

5) work with the moderators to rapidly achieve a more racially and religiously diverse moderation team for the main DA FB group

6) regard this an opportunity for learning about improving systems and supporting volunteers, rather than commentary on the beliefs or characteristics of individuals involved in this disagreement

7) communicate this response to all other DA online space moderators and invite discussion if there is disagreement"

More information

Join the community space, if you haven't already, and ask for engagement on this matter. https://community.deepadaptation.info/login

Express your opinions in the DA Facebook group, in a civil and constructive manner: https://www.facebook.com/groups/deepadaptation

Email your thoughts to both moderators@deepadaptation.info or any members of the Weavers Circle (especially if you know them): https://www.deepadaptation.info/weavers-circle/