The Ubuntu Pairing System
Current and past wars, racism, genocide, imperialism, and colonialism have led to unequal Internet access throughout the world. Especially in the Global South, Internet access can be unstable due to poor weather, limited infrastructure, wars that cause power outages and lack of bandwidth, and more. This can make it difficult for Co-Counsellors in this region to fully participate in RC workshops.
The following is about a buddy system we’ve developed in South Africa to increase people’s access to RC workshops. We’ve called it the “Ubuntu Pairing System.” [“Ubuntu” is a Nguni Bantu term that means “humanity toward others.” It is sometimes translated as “I am because we are” or “I am because you are.”]
Almost half the participants at the 2021 Healing from War Workshop were from Africa. We knew that Internet access would be difficult for many of them, and we wanted everyone to have full access to support groups, classes, demonstrations, sessions, “hanging out” spaces, interpreting, and more.
So we formed an Internet Access Team of sixteen leaders. Each leader led a small group, organized mostly by country and connected to each other via WhatsApp. The leaders were also connected with each other in their own WhatsApp group. Questions and information could be shared quickly, both before and during the workshop.
Before the workshop, we conducted a survey to find out whose Internet connections were stable and whose were not. Then we created “stable Internet” and “unstable Internet” pairs. Regardless of any other workshop jobs they had, almost everyone with stable Internet had a buddy with unstable Internet. We explained the system to everyone and encouraged the pairs to get in touch with each other before the workshop and begin building a relationship. We also asked everyone to download WhatsApp.
At the workshop, the pairs stayed in touch with each other from the beginning of class each day. Whenever someone’s Zoom connection failed, their stable Internet buddy would call them from a phone on WhatsApp Audio. The buddy would put their computer loudspeaker on high and hold their phone close to it, so the person whose connection was weak could hear what people were saying in the class. Connected in this way, unstable Internet people could interpret, ask questions, and be in demonstrations. They could also participate in mini-sessions during the class—if they fell out of Zoom but were connected on WhatsApp, they could go to a breakout room with their buddy and form a three-way session.
Support groups and “sharing our stories” groups had been set up in advance. If someone with an unstable Internet connection couldn’t get into their breakout room, they could be there via WhatsApp with one of the group members calling them.
We asked the stable Internet people to be creative; to stretch themselves; to go beyond shyness, irritation, or reticence; to not let fear of making a mistake keep them from helping a partner. We asked them to share their Internet connection in the spirit of accessibility, equality, and inclusion. And we asked the unstable Internet people to overcome their shyness and fear of asking for help.
WHAT WORKED WELL
Here are some of the things that worked well:
- Many unstable Internet people were able to stay at the workshop because of their buddy’s support. They were also more able to keep trying to stay, especially when there was no possibility of reconnecting with the Internet, like during a complete power outage. (People can sometimes feel like it’s not worth coming back later for only part of a class.) More people stayed connected to the workshop for significant periods compared to what had happened at previous events.
- It worked well when a pair built a connection before the workshop.
- It helped when the stable Internet person checked in with their buddy from time to time.
- The system slowed the pace of the workshop and made it more inclusive.
- People from the Global North learned that something they take for granted is precarious in many parts of the world.
SOME CHALLENGES
These were some of the challenges:
- People on the Internet Access Teams needed to discharge on racism prior to the workshop activities.
- The system was complex. It took time to teach it to the team leaders and the stable Internet participants. Some people figured it out quickly and contacted their partner before the workshop, some found their partner during the workshop, but some did not make any contact with their partner at all.
- The leaders’ WhatsApp group was dominated by postings from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. We want the system to be increasingly steered by the beneficiaries of it, which will usually be people of the Global South. (In the case of this workshop, they were Black Africans.)
Poland
(Present Time 208, July 2022)