The RENEWAL Credo
We had a meeting of the minds in 2016 when Erin Dobson crafted the combined total wisdom of special “travelers” who had come together to find this statement:
A community of diverse, yet like-minded edge dwellers who are anchored in openness and generosity, value authenticity, embrace diverse experiences, and are fearless in pursuit of their visions.
—What’s Design.Co RENEWAL?
And because we knew that when large groups of people come together, it’s always useful to have a few guiding principles for how to best conduct ourselves as a community.
So we use the three principles of inclusive design that traveler Kat Holmes had developed as her key set of practices to serve as our guidelines:
- Recognize exclusion
- Learn from diversity
- Solve for one, extend to many
Each of the principles are useful to consider in the conduct that travelers bring to RENEWAL:
Recognize exclusion: Be sure to let those voices that are not being heard get heard. If you find yourself talking too long and taking up too much space, then let yourself be reminded by your peers. Alternatively, if you have something you really want to say but don’t know how or when to express it, ask someone for help. Don’t let yourself be not included.
Learn from diversity: We have a wide range of folks from different walks of life and varying stages of their careers. As such we can learn from each other. So let’s be sure to not assume that there is any form of asymmetry in knowledge or wisdom across all participants. Be open to learning — no matter how wise or accomplished you may be.
Solve for one, extend to many: This event is going to be made up on-the-fly. It’s not an Art Basel or a World Economic Forum or anything fancy like that. We’ll need you to help put things together because there isn’t a giant staff supporting this event — you are all co-creators of this event. Be sure to scale and share whatever solutions you imagine. Lastly, we will ask all attendees to observe common standards of acceptable behavior. And please be sure to follow the platinum rule, “Treat others the way they want to be treated.”