Tipping Points for Everyone?

Recognizing and questioning barriers and exclusion mechanisms. An interim assessment for transparency and for discussion.

For some time now, we in the Tipping Points team tried to address the topics inclusion and diversity. Activist and left-wing spaces are often very homogeneous. White-dominated spaces are often open to everyone in theory and aim to be inclusive. In reality, however, there are many physical or cultural barriers, and power relations are reproduced. As a result, discrimination is also an everyday occurrence for many people in activist spaces. Breaking down barriers and dismantling power structures requires a great deal of reflection, resources, and willpower, and is a process that will never be complete. We are writing this text not only to report our efforts, but also to inspire other initiatives or events.

Tipping Points aims to be a space as safe and accessible as possible for everyone who is committed to changing the existing system. This process takes time, progresses step by step, and is certainly not always without mistakes. We want to be transparent about this process and are happy about feedback.

External Support

In recent years, we have received input and support from two expert organizations:

• Wir sind auch Wien
• Grenzenlos (within the Erasmus+ Projekt: Inclusive Organisations)

In addition, we exchanged ideas with individuals and contributed our respective experiences. We drew some inspiration from the paper „White Supremacy Culture in Organizations“ from CoCo. We also try to take corresponding feedback into account that we receive during Tipping Points weekends starting with the next edition.

Goals

As part of the “Inclusive Organizations” project, we approached the topic in six different sub-areas and set strategic goals for each:

• ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: An organizational structure and culture in which social exclusion mechanisms are not reproduced but actively combated. The organization's goals are clear to everyone, yet there is room for different opinions and perspectives, and hierarchies are handled well and transparently.
• POLICIES, GROUP AGREEMENT: Policies and guidelines on anti-discriminatory interaction with one another are in place, written down, understandable, transparent, and (where appropriate) publicly accessible. This also includes measures that will be taken in the event that these policies are not adhered to.
• ACTIVITIES: Tipping Points events are anti-discriminatory and inclusive, and as far as possible do not reproduce social mechanisms of oppression, but actively combat them.
• RESOURCES: Diversity and inclusion are not afterthoughts that happen if there is time and money left over, but are consciously provided with financial and time resources.
• NETWORKS: Tipping Points works in cooperation with various organizations representing affected individuals in order to make events more inclusive and to raise awareness of the needs and realities of affected individuals among the Tipping Points target group. (This can take place in various forms of cooperation, which are structured according to the capacities and needs of the organizations representing affected individuals.)

What we are already doing

Sometimes there is talk and little action when it comes to inclusion, diversity, and reflecting on privilege. We don't want to just talk the talk, we want to walk the walk! Even if that means making mistakes along the way, we will learn from them.

Measures we already take:

• Team:
  • We value diversity in our team so that we can have different perspectives. With a small team like Tipping Points, this is not always easy. So far, the team has included men, women, non-binary people; many white people, few people of color; one person had a child, no one has physical disabilities, some are neurodivergent and/or have mental illnesses. So far, everyone has had a university education, and the socioeconomic background is heterogeneous. Politically, we come from the climate justice movement, queer-feminist contexts, no-border groups, and we are involved in political adult education.
• Logistik:
  • Nicht immer können wir voll barrierefreie Locations garantieren. Wir beschreiben die jeweiligen Barrieren allerdings auf der Website. Diese Information bezieht sch auf physische Barrieren, induktive Hörschleifen, Leitsysteme, …
  • Das Essen ist vegan (bzw. manchmal teilweise freegan). Auf Allergien und Unversträglichkeiten nehmen wir – so es uns möglich ist – auf Anfrage Rücksicht.
  • In Bezug auf COVID sind wir eher auf der Vorsichtigen Seite, da wir auch für Menschen mit Immunschwächen (oder pflegende Angehörige) zugänglich sein möchten. Masken und Tests stellen wir zur Verfügung.
• Sprache und Kommunikation
  • Die Abendveranstaltungen und Plenare werden auf Englisch, bzw. Deutsch simultan übersetzt.
  • In jedem Zeitslot gibt es mindestens 1 Workshop auf Englisch.
  • Die allermeiste Außenkommunikation (Website, e-Mail Aussendungen, Messenger-Channels) findet auf Deutsch und Englisch statt.
  • Die Website kann durch ein accessibility-Plugin relativ einfach mit verschiedenen Schriftgrößen oder Kontrast dargestellt werden.
• Erfahrung der Teilnehmer:innen
  • Mindestens an 1 der 3 Tage gibt es Kinderbetreuung.
  • Es gibt ein Awarenesskonzept. Dieses umfasst einen Leitfaden, einen Rückszugsraum, einen Team an geschulten Menschen und einer Notfalls-Telefonummer.
  • Wir fragen nach den Pronomen, mit denen Menschen angesprochen werden.
  • Wir fragen nach Feedback und versuchen dieses in Zukunft einzuarbeiten.
• Programmgestaltung
  • In jedem Zeitslot gibt es mindestens 1 Workshop auf Englisch.
  • Bei jedem Tipping Points Wochenende gibt es mindestens 1 FLINTA-only und 1 BIPoC-only Workshop
  • Wir achten bei den Referent:innen auf ein ausgewogenes Geschlechterverhältnis.
  • Referent:innen bekommen einen Leitfaden zur barrierenärmeren Gestaltung ihrer Workshops mit Mindeststandards und weiteren Empfehlungen. Dieser ist hier auch veröffentlicht, kann übernommen, kommentiert und ergänzt werden.
• Finanzen
  • Es gibt mehrere Spenden-Vorschläge, sodass Menschen mit mehr Geld eingeladen werden, mehr zu beizutragen. Gleichzeitig soll eine Teilnahme auch ohne finanziellen Beitrag möglich sein!
  • Workshop-Referent:innen möchten wir für ihre Arbeit ein Honorar zahlen. Da die Hintergründe und finanziellen Abhängigkeiten von dieser Arbeit sehr unterschiedlich sind, weichen die tatsächlichen Sätze oft nach oben oder unten von unserem Standard-Honorar ab.
• Outreach & Inclusion
  • In the Outreach & Inclusion working group, we are constantly striving to reach new target groups and create the conditions necessary for them to feel comfortable at Tipping Points.

What we are currently working on:

• We strive to ensure that our program does not exclusively feature perspectives centered on (Central) Europe.
• Reaching new target groups is an ongoing task. Those who are affected by discrimination in society often lack the mental, temporal, or financial resources to participate. We constantly strive to reach new target groups and create offerings that are useful to them.
• All images on the Internet should be provided with alternative text to make them accessible to screen readers.
• We are publishing this statement in the summer of 2025 and will add to it as we continue to learn and grow. In doing so, we hope to support others in becoming more inclusive and encourage them to provide feedback.

Do you have any tips or questions?

Do you also organize events? Feel free to draw inspiration from our efforts, copy, adopt, critique, supplement us, start your own discussions and initiatives!
Please contact us by email: tipping-points@humus.live