As a toast to the New Year, on January 19th to the 22nd we seized the opportunity as women and gender non-conforming people to come together for RISE: Resilience In Shared Endeavour.
The RISE experience aims to cultivate a safe space where healing can begin for a community that remains so vulnerable, overlooked and in desperate need of connection. ‘’At RISE I learned that sharing your story enables more healing to take place, love conquers all and women & gender fluid people can heal just by being themselves around each other”
It is no secret that as women and gender non-conforming people we face diverse challenges and intersectional inequality throughout our lives. ‘’My intention at RISE was to engage with others, feel free to be more of myself amongst them without feeling judged by anyone. RISE helped me begin my healing process- I am forever grateful” RISE exists to serve as an environment to be present, honest and find power in our unity.
RISE is a participatory experience – there is no distinction between givers and receivers. We all show up to learn from each other, it is a co-created process.
Together we explored “Embodying trust through movement”, “The Unsafe Journey”, Doll Making, “Victim to Survivor”, “Making Bad Art”, Indigenous Sound Bath”, Story Sharing, “Mental Health Awareness”, “African Cooking Stories”, “Winging it: Being brave with power tools’’, ‘’Flipping your script through clowning” and “Linking cycles, wisdom and seasons”.
As a branch of the Afrika Burns Creative Projects, RISE follows the 11 guiding principles of the Organisation see guiding principles aiming to empower womanhood and queerness through grounding and informative workshops, self-expression and collaboration. A radically inclusive process that centres traditionally oppressed voices so that they can be amplified both in our community of participants and in the default world. “Coming into RISE I was excited to be part of creating a space for important and challenging intercultural work, in a space that is absent of the male gaze” As RISErs we all do our part to share, listen and learn about each other.
RISE TOO 2024 was held at Soetwater Environmental Education Centre near Kommetjie. It was funded by Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport. Against the backdrop of the ocean, we were grounded by the theme of water and fluidity- and we felt it! We flowed together as a raw and beautiful synergy of cultures, identities and complex journeys. It became a “Siren Call”
‘’I felt equal. It can be hard sometimes to feel completely embraced in a diverse environment..there are many barriers… and I felt like the women really embraced me-and I broke through some of my own mental barriers in how I relate to myself in being embraced by them-which actually makes me tear up. It’s something I have longed for for many years”
In both solo and group adventures to the seaside and around the campfire, we were able to playfully bond with each other outside of workshops. Whether it was for downtime or a candle ceremony, the ocean gifted us a space to swim, pray and reflect on the breakthroughs and challenges of our weekend together.
“I’m honoured to network with amazing female and fluid creatives that have opened up my mind and abilities. Every single person is extraordinary!! I’ve learnt that it’s okay to ask for help!!”
We hope that the RISE experience encourages us to remain open to connection – our strength as a community lies in our voices and relationships!
Although RISE is only a long weekend, we hope to extend the RISE ethos and culture through upcoming Community Days, Volunteer Days and RISE gatherings!
