16 Experiential knowledge as a driver of change
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Har Tortike
Abstract
Domestic violence, child abuse and violence against women are deep-rooted problems in our society with a far-reaching impact on the lives of all those affected by them. In addition to feelings of shame and/or guilt, many victims encounter taboos in their search for safety, legal support and assistance. User involvement against these types of oppression can take many forms, as the projects of the author of this chapter, Har Tortike, prove. Since 2005, Har has been involved in numerous creative projects in cooperation with young people and women who have experienced oppression, domestic violence and violation of their rights. Besides videos, books, curricula, blogs and television broadcasting, they organise forum theatre and workshops. All projects are intended to make people realise that they are allowed to throw off the ‘blanket of shame’, to speak openly about oppression and to organise new ways of living without it.
Since the voices of the experts by experience have a strong impact on practitioners, policymakers, teachers and students, Har and his groups are always looking for opportunities to influence the policies of civil society organisations and governments.
After being a Dutch cameraman and documentary filmmaker for 25 years, in 2005 Har started working with young people and women who experienced oppression. In this work, he combines three sources of knowledge: an academic expertise in psychology, which he studied for four years, a ‘professional’ expertise in film and theatre developed at the Psychopolis Free Art Academy and an ‘experiential’ expertise through his experiences of forms of child abuse as a child of parents traumatised by Japanese imprisonment during World War II. In later life, Har managed to refer to his childhood experiences as ‘trans-generational traumatisation’, and wondered why ‘no one had ever told him this before’. This question became the foundation of his later creative work.
Abstract
Domestic violence, child abuse and violence against women are deep-rooted problems in our society with a far-reaching impact on the lives of all those affected by them. In addition to feelings of shame and/or guilt, many victims encounter taboos in their search for safety, legal support and assistance. User involvement against these types of oppression can take many forms, as the projects of the author of this chapter, Har Tortike, prove. Since 2005, Har has been involved in numerous creative projects in cooperation with young people and women who have experienced oppression, domestic violence and violation of their rights. Besides videos, books, curricula, blogs and television broadcasting, they organise forum theatre and workshops. All projects are intended to make people realise that they are allowed to throw off the ‘blanket of shame’, to speak openly about oppression and to organise new ways of living without it.
Since the voices of the experts by experience have a strong impact on practitioners, policymakers, teachers and students, Har and his groups are always looking for opportunities to influence the policies of civil society organisations and governments.
After being a Dutch cameraman and documentary filmmaker for 25 years, in 2005 Har started working with young people and women who experienced oppression. In this work, he combines three sources of knowledge: an academic expertise in psychology, which he studied for four years, a ‘professional’ expertise in film and theatre developed at the Psychopolis Free Art Academy and an ‘experiential’ expertise through his experiences of forms of child abuse as a child of parents traumatised by Japanese imprisonment during World War II. In later life, Har managed to refer to his childhood experiences as ‘trans-generational traumatisation’, and wondered why ‘no one had ever told him this before’. This question became the foundation of his later creative work.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
