The Care Revolution network - activities from its foundation until now

Even though the Care Revolution network was not constituted until a few weeks later, its foundation was finalised with the success of the action conference in March 2014. Around 500 participants ensured that the meeting room in the ND-Haus and the rooms for the workshops were overcrowded, and those present were also able to realise how stimulating and necessary discussions are that are held across different care experiences and political backgrounds. The events and working groups that preceded the conference are outlined here. But Care Revolution was also a topic on the streets even before the action conference: there was already a first appearance with the Care Revolution logo at the Blockupy actions in Frankfurt/Main in June 2013.

As can be seen from the cooperation partners, the Care Revolution network was very diverse right from the start: It included feminist women's groups, trade union organisations, church groups, projects of self-representation from a common situation, e.g. as carers or people with disabilities, or groups from the radical left. The discussions were correspondingly lively right from the start. On the one hand, a pragmatic approach to the existing differences was sought out of mutual curiosity and the desire to take action. On the other hand, there was a great need for clarification.

Pragmatic solutions were needed, for example, to ensure that the common ground of the network remained recognisable despite the differences in positions and language habits - or rather, to ensure that the diversity of voices was maintained despite the consensus. So we quickly decided that the network as a whole would not sign any appeals, but that this would be left to the regional groups in the network, which could reach internal agreement quickly. These regional groups first had to be set up and quickly became the actual mainstay of the Care Revolution network. Originally intended as local networks of the groups involved in Care Revolution, they turned out to be a suitable way for interested individuals to get involved. These individual activists connected in regional groups soon made up the image of the network. In addition to this strong role of the regional groups, which each decide on their own topics, content or alliances, it was important that we agreed on a consensus principle that applies to all important decisions, that individual network members are free to present their respective understanding of Care Revolution in workshops or articles, and at the same time no one can act as a spokesperson for the network.

Regular discussions are particularly important to ensure that everything does not fall apart on this loose basis. These discussions were particularly intensive at the biannual network meetings, which have been held since autumn 2014. For example, activists in need of assistance were quick to demand that we stop talking about care givers and care receivers and instead recognise that, despite the asymmetry that exists in care relationships, everyone involved actively contributes to their success. Intensive dialogue was also needed to sharpen the focus on the fact that, on the one hand, care work is omnipresent and largely unremunerated, yet devalued and overlooked, while on the other hand, highly qualified professional care work exists that is devalued because its professionalism is downplayed. Adopting these sometimes unfamiliar positions meant a learning process for trade unionists and feminist groups, for example. In addition to the network meetings, the Care Revolution workshop in Buchenbach near Freiburg, which has been held annually in autumn since 2015, was a place of exchange and position formation where around 20 activists met for a weekend.

The biannual network meetings were organised in ever-changing cities. Above all, however, there were plenty of activities organised by the groups represented in the network. Anyone who takes the time to look through the articles on the website will find this impressively confirmed: Right from the start, Care Revolution groups were on the streets at Blockupy actions and care flash mobs, on 1 May or on 8 March. Local groups have also been involved in supporting labour disputes in hospitals, daycare centres and schools from the very beginning. In this context, Care Revolution representatives regularly try to ensure that the perspective of patients, carers or parents, for example, is also taken into account. New alliance opportunities are also constantly being sought, e.g. at local action conferences such as those held in Freiburg and Leipzig in 2017.

There were not only Care Revolution appearances and alliance actions. The cooperation groups run their own projects and report on them. One example from previous years is the 'Lichtermeer' events, which combined the expression of political positions with offering disabled children an appreciative and enjoyable experience. Contacts in the network ensured that what Nicos Farm e.V. started in Hamburg was taken up in Frankfurt/Main. Related groups such as Poliklinik Veddel, which contributes to neighbourhood care that is both inclusive and politically activist, also reported on the website. In addition to these public campaigns, there were also repeated discursive interventions that emphasised the scope and diversity of care work - this view was much less accepted a few years ago than it is today - and that attacked the distribution of care work according to gender norms and showed how the assumption of care tasks in this society produces poverty and poverty in old age.

Many individual activists also played a part in the development of the Care Revolution positions, presenting our approach in books and articles, lectures and workshops. Gabriele Winker's book "Care Revolution. Steps towards a society based on solidarity" from 2015. All of these contributions led to the further development of our ideas. There were fewer joint attempts to update our positions. A joint paper was written before the 5th anniversary in 2019. We celebrated this anniversary as part of the big Feminist Futures Festival in Essen, with a workshop, care catwalk, presentation of the network and birthday party.

During the coronavirus pandemic, much of what had happened in conference rooms and cafés, at demos and at stands moved online. This also affected our network meetings and the activities of the regional groups. However, some activities continued, including in alliances. One example is the participation of the Dortmund regional group in the popular initiative "Healthy hospitals in NRW - for everyone". As frustrating as this period was in this respect, we also made new attempts here. The "A place for care" campaign was a large-scale endeavour in which we attempted for the first time to connect local alliances through a joint, but locally adaptable appeal, a joint logo and parallel campaigns. The aim was to literally create public space for care workers, who gained more visibility during the coronavirus pandemic and at the same time became even more overburdened. This campaign, which was implemented in various ways in eleven cities in 2021, published a brochure in which it looked back on the year's actions.

Gabriele Winker's book "Solidarische Care-Ökonomie", which followed on from "Care Revolution", also emerged from the pandemic in 2021: During the pandemic, the link between disasters in social relationships and ecological cycles became even clearer. This topic is currently also receiving more attention in the network. In particular, activists from Care Revolution and the climate movement are meeting in the Care - Climate - Revolution working group. The war in Ukraine is also putting the link with other social movements on the agenda: some Care Revolution groups not only took part in the 8 March and 1 May and climate strikes in 2022 and 2023, but also in the Easter marches of the peace movement.