Awareness Concept

With our concept, we aim to ensure that any forms of violence and discrimination are not tolerated at the re:FUSE Congress and ideally do not occur at all. We want everyone to feel comfortable at the event and look forward to a solidarity-based interaction and exchange during the congress. It is important to treat each other with respect and to be aware of others' boundaries.

Therefore, we work in a solution-oriented, victim-oriented, and preventive manner.

1. Fundamentals - Our Idea of Awareness

a) The power to define lies with the affected individuals themselves: Only the affected person can decide whether a situation was crossing boundaries or not. Therefore, we act in the interest of the affected. Crossing boundaries or discrimination can also occur without malicious intent.

b) We are not judges; rather, we focus on ensuring that participants feel comfortable and can be themselves, that there is a respectful coexistence, and that physical and emotional boundaries are respected.

c) We do not tolerate any forms of boundary violations, (sexualized) violence, or discrimination.

d) We see our work as victim-oriented: We advocate for the protection and support of the affected. We are not an authority to process or reflect on perpetrator behavior.

If consequences need to be drawn for boundary-crossing behavior in individual cases, the Awareness Team will formulate a recommendation for action, possibly in cooperation with the affected person, and present it to the organization team of the re:fuse congress. The responsibility for exclusions or other forms of intervention lies solely with the organization team.

2. About Us:

a) For identification, we will wear identifiable markers. How these look will be explained to you at the Info Point during registration for the congress (where you will also receive all information materials, such as the program booklet, awareness flyers, etc.)

b) We assure that we remain sober and capable of reasoning before and during our shifts.

3. Our Field of Work and Approach

a) We adhere to confidentiality; we will not act without the consent of the affected individuals or pass on private information to third parties. The protection of affected individuals takes precedence.

b) At the entrance, there will be an awareness briefing for attendees. This will briefly explain what we are available for, when and where they can reach us, and how we are identifiable. If participants violate the principles of awareness during this briefing, we have the option to refer them to the event security. The reason for this is the preventive protection of the event and other participants.

c) We want to be on an equal footing with all participants so that no power imbalance arises and everyone feels comfortable approaching us. Therefore, it is important for us to be approachable and authentic. We do not want to appear intimidating or frightening to anyone. The Awareness Team is always available to all visitors of the congress.