Update on Project Activities
Interview team
Audio team
What We Observed and Learned A minor challenge has involved adapting to AEMP’s organizational style. Since the organization is volunteer-based and horizontally run, there are some inefficiencies in how they organize files in Google drive. For example, the oral histories clips are located in multiple folders, named different titles for the same clip, and new folders are being made. So, it has been difficult to keep track of all the places that Sustainable Cities members are supposed to upload their edited clips and edit database spreadsheets. Brett addressed this issue and acknowledges that it can be confusing to locate all the relevant folders and clips. However, we also understand the inevitability of there being some disorganization among a team of multiple people who don’t have the time to agree on a clean, consolidated storage structure. With so many moving parts and projects that arise over time, it makes sense that there would be some digital clutter. We’ve also noticed some miscommunication about what strategy will be taken to organize files, since not everyone attends each meeting. For example, in one meeting we agreed to have a directory that provides links to all the deliverables, and in another meeting we agreed to create yet another new Google drive folder for all of Sustainable Cities’ contributions. As we enter the final week, it will be important for the team to communicate their plans so that we can all be on the same page about database organization. Critical Analysis/Moving Forward At the past two AEMP meetings, we have been listening to the edited 5-minute clips produced by us and other AEMP volunteers and providing feedback. Hearing various narratives of housing injustice and resistance has underscored the continued importance of this work as the pandemic progresses, and as the future of tenant protections in California and the US continues to be unclear. An important part of the map this AEMP team is working on is highlighting housing justice actions across the world by making it easy for interested parties to engage with the various actions people call for in interviews. Hopefully this function can serve an important role in sustaining and activating actions like rent strikes and anti-eviction campaigns. The oral histories team discussed with our AEMP contact, Cindy Reyes, about the possibility of continuing our involvement with AEMP after the quarter ends. In particular, she noted that the Spanish language skills that our team currently possess could be of great support in the future. This discussion underscored the importance of continued partnership when dealing with issues of injustice, particularly during such difficult circumstances of the pandemic. Working with AEMP has exposed us to many ideas and methodologies around ethical, community-based work in a horizontal organizational structure, and we hope to bring those lessons to future, related work. Comments are closed.
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