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10th anniversary of the Care Revolution network

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On the weekend of 18 to 20 October, we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Care Revolution network.

As a team, this was the first time we had organised an event of this scale, and for most of us it was the first time ever. We are therefore really happy with how everything went. As far as we could tell, so were the 100 or so registered participants and some day guests.

The three days began on Friday evening with a panel discussion. After a brief opening by two co-organisers of Care Revolution, Liska Beulshausen (Wirtschaft ist Care) discussed with Antje Schrupp, Mike Laufenberg and Nadia Shehadeh what the Care Revolution means to them, what has been achieved in ten years and what has not. Antje Schrupp described, for example, that we have achieved a lot in terms of publicising the neediness and dependency of people on each other as a positive starting point. The counterpart is how far we are from a society in which neediness is not a risk. Mike Laufenberg showed that "care" has now become a mainstream term, but that the care movement has become quite good at demonstrating the contradictions of capitalism in an understandable way using the poor framework conditions for care. Nadia Shehadeh was disturbed by the fact that activities that used to be taken for granted were being stylised as self-care. However, this shows that people are often so overwhelmed that coping with everyday life cannot be taken for granted at all. Opening up the discussion to the audience brought in further facets, such as the fact that our task as care revolutionaries is to reach and connect with those who are currently not being heard and who are suffering from the status quo - many times more people than those we currently reach.

A lot could be written about the really good catering provided by the "Kitchen for All" team and the drinks provided and brewed by people from the organisation team, as well as the many small and large, often barely visible tasks. Another care-relevant experience: when people know what is important for everyone, the washing up works and there is enough food for everyone. Also relevant to care: People are still needed who take on the task of looking after the setting and what is left lying around. Care also means enabling everyone who wants to take part. This included asking for donations instead of fixed participation fees, reimbursing travel costs if necessary and endeavouring to ensure accessibility at the various locations. This was sometimes complicated, so thanks to the co-operation and good nature of the two wheelchair users!

We have learnt a lot from the processes. Also from the discussions and the many workshops that took place on Saturday - six parallel events in each of three time slots. There was a wide variety on offer: readings, discussions on practical political topics such as strikes in care facilities or care centres, as well as background topics such as socialisation or the terms we use for care. We were also able to get our heads moving by getting our hands and feet moving - in a handicraft workshop, a care walk and a dance workshop.

We danced on Saturday night anyway. The 10-year birthday party was lavish and was really lovingly organised by people from the Leipzig regional group.

On Sunday, those active in the network took a few more hours to discuss important issues internally. In particular, we focussed on what is not going as well as we would like. Although the network as such is stable, there are far too many people and groups that we do not reach or lose along the way for various reasons. It is also not easy to fulfil the desire to remain polyphonic and politically diverse while at the same time being visible with clear positions. First of all, this requires a framework in which we can meet, discuss and plan across the groups, a framework in which all of this is fun. We have agreed to create this in the coming months - as a birthday present to ourselves so that the Care Revolution can continue successfully.