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RC Points of Unity

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Proposal Title 

Creating a Point of Unity document for RC

Person or group submitting

  • Katelyn + [tbd]

Proposal History

  • This proposal builds on the Points of Unity Research Group that emerged during the Emergency Council process. It reflects some learnings from that moment and a desire to establish a longer-term, community-generated articulation of our shared commitments.
  • Vote date: 11 September 2025
  • Vote result:

Motivation (why are you proposing this?)

  • To provide a collectively authored statement of our shared values, practices, and political commitments that can guide decision-making and help resolve tensions.

  • To support onboarding, orientation, and alignment across Ridgewood Commons working groups by creating a document that reflects the ethos of the space.

  • To create a living framework that can evolve, be amended, and serve as a reference in moments of growth, conflict, or confusion.

  • To give us a helpful roadmap for navigating future interpersonal and structural conflicts by grounding participation in clearly defined, collectively shaped expectations.

Proposal summary

  • To establish a participatory process that will result in a collectively drafted and spokescouncil-ratified Points of Unity document that reflects the shared commitments, mission, and political character of Ridgewood Commons.

Details

Background info

The Emergency Council process identified the need for shared values and political clarity across working groups. Many members voiced a desire for an agreed-upon set of “Points of Unity” to ensure that Ridgewood Commons remains a politically principled and autonomous space. While the current Mission Statement offers broad goals, a Points of Unity document would operationalize and contextualize those values in practice.

This process will be inspired by other autonomous spaces but rooted in our particular context in Ridgewood, draw from existing documents such as working group charters, and capture collective experience.

Group(s) this proposal will affect

  • All current and future working groups & admin collective 

  • New participants and potential members

Labor required

Initial Labor (3–4 months)

  • Recruit community members interested in the process (6–10 people?)

  • Develop survey for all working groups

  • Facilitate 1 public assembly/ discussion session

  • Draft and refine the Points of Unity document

  • Circulate draft for open comment

  • Revise and prepare final version for Spokescouncil proposal/ vote

  • Define a process to review/amend 

Individual or group doing labor

- community members interested in the process (6–10 people?) plus individuals from working groups to complete survey and attend discussions as interested; support from tech & comms to circulate, support from conflict support group ?

Money required

none

Proposal Description (and variations)

This is a proposal to initiate a collaborative writing process open to anyone in the Ridgewood Commons community who wants to co-create a Points of Unity document that will be a tool for shared orientation, clarity, and collective accountability -- to anchor our work in shared purpose.

The process will include:

  • Gathering reflections from each working group through short surveys or conversations.

  • Hosting a few open writing sessions (probably virtually) where community members can contribute thoughts, language, and questions.

  • Drafting a living document that draws from earlier efforts (like the Emergency Council Points of Unity work or the WB Mission Statement), but speaks to our current moment.

  • Circulating the draft for community comment and revision.

  • Bringing a final version to Spokescouncil for ratification, with a process for future amendment.


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