At the last meeting of Team Recruitment & Onboarding we talked about the limited access to the Facebook page standing in the way of acting fast when we need to cancel.
To avoid too much back-and-forth I have taken the liberty to share access to our page with my R&O fellows that I know are on Facebook, namely @mieke and @alberto. @ChrisM feel free to ping me if you would also like access? @reef-comms I hope this is ok, and grateful if you could continue to take on the coordination of our Facebook page.
Another thing that we discussed, was the need to make our presentations look a little less marginal (currently there’s not much more than 3 people confirming their attendance). To this end, I was wondering:
Can it be an option to set up a chat group “Friends of The Reef”, which we would swear to only use to ask our friends (former Reeflings or other) to share an event or status update every once and while?
Can it be an option to have another look at the text and graphics that we use for the presentations? If only that we mention that we do actually welcome 25-35 people at each and every presentation, so that nobody should worry that they’ll be alone.
there is nobody in @reef-comms that can take care of that. if we set up a chat or group in facebook someone needs to community manage that and moderate.
Are you ready to embark on a journey towards a new way of living? The Reef invites you to our upcoming presentation, where we’ll introduce you to our visionary cohousing project in Brussels.
Who We Are:
The Reef is a community of individuals dedicated to creating a sustainable, socially connected living environment. We’re open to new members of all ages who are eager to invest their time and resources in building a cohousing community. If you are looking for a more socially connected way of living, we welcome you with open arms. We would like to extend an especially warm welcome to people with a special vulnerability as well as to families with children.
Why Join Us:
By joining The Reef, you become part of a diverse and resilient community committed to collaboration and mutual support. While we’re still in the process of securing a site, joining our project involves dedicating 2-3 hours of work each week. As a self-managed project, every member has a voice in shaping our collective future.
Event Details:
Date: [Insert Date]
Time: [Insert Time]
Location: [Insert Location]
What to Expect:
During the presentation, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about our project, meet current members, and ask questions about how you can get involved. Typically, we have around 25-30 people in attendance, creating a vibrant atmosphere for discussion and connection. Drinks will be available for purchase, so come ready to mingle and engage with like-minded individuals!
Don’t miss this chance to explore a new way of living and investing in your future. RSVP now to secure your spot and take the first step towards joining The Reef community!
For more information or inquiries, feel free to contact us at [Your Contact Information].
We look forward to meeting you and sharing our vision with you!
It’s interesting that I didn’t pay much attention to this term when Mieke and I looked into all this the other night, because I’m often inclined towards being highly pedantic when it comes to phrasing and vocabulary. Now that I think about it, the term ‘disadvantaged groups’ does sound very broad, and has a bit of a socio-economic vibe about it. However, if it is disabled people we’re encouraging, then I’m not sure many would identify with ‘vulnerable’, and those that did may not consider their vulnerability particularly ‘special’. The most widely accepted term today is ‘people with disabilities’. Which is part of a larger grouping relating to social exclusion, which includes gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity. So if we’re serious about diversity, and I strongly believe that we are, we should be choosing our words both appropriately and thoughtfully (so thanks for bringing this up Lie).
My pitch is: …people with disabilities and other marginalised groups.
If we go ahead with Chris’ suggestion, could a native FR-speaker give a translation of that sentence? @Sarah?
For NL: @Lee → mensen met een beperking of mensen die behoren tot een kansarme groep… Does this sound OK?
It’s been (lovingly) pointed out to me that my phrasing sounds weird and academic. I’m happy with it, being weird and academic myself, but I’m not attached to it if anyone else wants to take a swing…
Referring to the “inclusion” section in the Blueprint, in my view it is clear that we aim for people with a vulnerability. The text says
The Reef’s choice to include a couple of “inclusive” units is partly inspired by societal concerns. What we see is that many people with one or the other “vulnerability” - elderly people, people with a disability, youngsters in precarious situations, asylum seekers, low-income households etc - are having a lot of difficulty finding a home.
With a footnote that says:
The official term is “vulnerable people”, but we make it a point that we are all vulnerable in one way or another
So to be clear: we are not targetting people with a disability. The idea of the inclusive units, as per the Blueprint, is to make space for people with a special vulnerability.
I am not a native speaker, but I did research this thing quite a bit. Putting in a random Google search for “vulnerable people” these are two results that follow a wider definition of “vulnerability”:
So if “people with a special vulnerability” is not acceptable, I’d be grateful for an alternative term, but I would object to “disadvantaged people” and definitely the term “marginalised groups”.
It turns out that we are coming from two completely different directions on this then. I understood that we wanted to increase diversity in the group of people occupying the 25 regular households, and that was why we were tweaking the language of the social media posts regarding the presentations. I didn’t realise that people occupying the inclusive units would arrive via the presentations, as I assumed that whoever ending up owning each inclusive unit would already have an idea about who it was for, and therefore take responsibility for connecting with them.
So if I’ve understood correctly now, the issue of diversity that we’re discussing and paying attention to here is about connecting with people for the inclusive units, In which case there’s nothing wrong with the term ‘people with a special vulnerability’ (tagging @mieke and @manuelpueyo to go ahead with the publicity).
Isn’t it! I’d love to have a video of the diversity discussion from the last meeting, to see how a group of people who pride themselves on their Olympic-level communication skills could have got to the end of it with completely different conceptions of what we’d decided
To be honest @Lee I also totally misunderstood the concept then. (I was thinking the same like @ChrisM).
So @manuelpueyo I made the necessary change in the text above, so go ahead with the FB event & newsletter.
Join The Reef Cohousing Project Presentation! 
Who We Are:
Why Join Us:
Event Details:
What to Expect:
. I look forward to digging into it!
