And another thing: receiving and responding to harm


When boards and orgs don’t provide the accountability each other needs, it may fall on us to do so.

This month’s ‘and another thing’ vlog was inspired by Creative Australia, whose self-combustion over last few weeks has made international news headlines for rushing through a dodgy governance decision that seems to have gone directly against their purpose and values, and used ‘social cohesion’ as an excuse to censor artistic expression, harm individual artists and the broader sector (as well as its own reputation, peers, board members and staff), while setting a terrifying precedent in the lead-up to the upcoming federal election.

Which has got me thinking, amongst many other things, about power and powerlessness, and how we receive and respond to harm – not just within organisations (which is what most of this series has focused on so far), but as individuals, those of us on the receiving end of bad decision-making who rely on the funders, governments and organisations whose actions, increasingly, seem to harm us and our sector as much as they help. A reliance that also makes it really very scary for many of us to speak out.

Here’s Part 1:

And Part 2:

Read more

The episode draws from or references:

Further reading: Palestine as a governance issue

You can check out all of the articles and resources in this series, which include:

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Author: katelarsenkeys

Writer. Rabble-rouser. Arts, Cultural and Non-Profit Consultant.