To Be a Forest in the Struggle for Rights

Sometimes, remembering that we're not alone is the most important thing we need to keep going.

The Civil Voices Festival , held in Ankara , was a gathering where hundreds of people, organizations, and ideas fighting for rights in different fields came together. Seeing diverse issues—from women's rights to children's rights, from disability rights to ecology, from labor struggles to disaster relief—find their place in the same space, reminded us once again how vibrant and creative civil society is, despite all the challenges.

The care taken to create a safe and inclusive environment in the festival area was also an important part of this experience. The presence of children in the area, the provision of audio descriptions for visually impaired participants, the consideration of quiet areas for neurodiverse individuals, and the establishment of a framework where different identities could freely coexist demonstrated how the idea of "a space for all" can be reflected in everyday practices.

One table, many stories.

As ÇemberDE, we also took our place in the festival with our works, publications, and stories we brought from Adıyaman.

At our booth, we shared the work that ÇemberDE has produced in different periods, from the Feminist Solidarity and Support Guide in Disasters to our field studies, and to Fortuna, which makes women's productions visible. But the best part of the festival table wasn't so much what was on the table, but the conversations that started around it.

We met new people, listened to what other organizations were doing, and discussed how those dealing with similar issues could find each other. Once again, we saw that this is partly how civil society grows: a conversation that begins around a table can transform into another idea, another collaboration, or sometimes simply a feeling of "we are not alone."

Our notes on the festival reflected this very feeling: while loneliness makes one feel powerless, knowing that we are not alone is incredibly empowering.

Not a single tree, but a forest.

We deepened our gathering at the festival with the workshop "Being a Forest in the Struggle for Rights" .

In the workshop we held at Pirate Zone, we first paused, took a breath, and refocused on our bodies. Then we asked participants to imagine their presence in civil society as a tree.

Our roots were the sources that nourished us. Our trunks were where we are today and the challenges we face. And our branches were our productions, our hopes, and our dreams for the future.

Then the weather changed.

The wind picked up, a storm began, it snowed, the sun came out. Just like in the civilian sphere.

Each of us considered what our own tree would need in these conditions. And in the end, we rediscovered something very simple but powerful: A single tree struggles to withstand a storm alone. But when we come together, we become a forest.

Being able to stay side by side

Those working in the civilian sector often forget their own needs in their focus on the needs of others, crises, human rights violations, and the work that needs to be done.

Sometimes we need to stop, put down roots, catch our breath in each other's shade, and remember that we're not carrying this burden alone.

Some of the words that stood out at the end of the workshop were hope, friendship, solidarity, and growing by putting down roots .

This is the feeling that stayed with us most from the Civil Voices Festival.

The struggles for rights may differ. The cities we work in, the issues we address, and our methods may vary. But if we can create a space where we can draw strength from each other's presence and lean on each other when needed, we can transform from individual trees into a forest.

And perhaps this is precisely one of the things that civil society needs most today: the ability to coexist.