This year has been an odd one and what we have seen from our membership has been nothing but astounding as they rallied together, very early on, to compile a useful, relevant set of COVID-19 resources. The small Jedi (working group) who came together quickly and fercely to achieve this knew intrinsically that they did not need to ask anyone’s permission, they just needed to do what was right and act for the common good! This is true dispersed leadership!
Apart from the obvious challenges this year, including some of our members being part of the Victorian and Tasmanian lockdown, our members saw the opportunites and possibilities of working differently and developed their own ways of staying in contact virtually.
- The CoBu (community building) Team met every morning at 10am for a 15 minute “agile” meeting on zoom where each person would check-in around 3 questions.
- The admin team created a member roster to host the fortnightly Culture Jedi catch ups where members joined once a month to discuss an organisational theme or topic.
- Our teams of support coordinators met monthly in Sydney and the Northern Rivers region to share and reflect.
- Multiple Jedis met weekly around various organisational improvements, amendments, proposals and innovations.
- Organised Friday cheese, wine and trivia nights which were randomly “called” by members throughout the year, and more…
These were the times that kept us all going and supported those of us who were more geographically isolated to feel connected and create a deeper sense of belonging! For many of us, we felt more connected than we had when face to face was a possibility!
In November, we held our second annual Gathering online and presented a new role, the Roving Listeners. Identified by our support coordinators and behaviour intervention support workers, the Roving Listeners will be a conduit to Jeder’s community building team and will be a connector for people experiencing vulnerabilities to connect in deeper ways to their community. This role is currently being trialled in Bendigo, Victoria and the Northern Rivers region, NSW.
We’re doing all of this on a more streamlined foundation thanks to the backend administration and management skills of a small group of members who have kept us all chugging along!
We call ourselves “The Bored” because we believe that even though our role is important, we are really in charge of the boring stuff, compared to the incredible work and lives of all of our members! The Bored is an important component of Jeder, not only for the way we work horizontally but, also, to be a reminder to our membership that we are here to serve them and not the other way around. We take our Aquamarine Governance Framework seriously but with a light touch and encourage our membership to make bold, brave decisions about our growth and innovation, without permission!
So, for 2021 we see enormous potential to support more individuals and communities in Australia (& potentially the trans-Tasman bubble) face to face, as we gather our 2020 experience, wisdom and knowledge and lean into our Generosity of Spirit philosophy! We also look forward to continuing to share, learn and communicate with our friends and partners around the world through our online platforms!
We hope to see you at the heart of change!
– The Bored
Over the holidays season most people will be taking a well deserved break. If you need to get in contact please e-mail info@jeder.com.au.
Until next month, please enjoy our Jeder Yarns.
Yours in Community,
Team Jeder
