Why Awareness at the Klangtherapie festival and what do we want?

In a nutshell: We want techno - love - utopia!

We know how techno works. Love is a topic in itself, but what about utopia?

It is our heartfelt wish that EVERYONE feels safe and comfortable. That EVERYONE can leave pressure, worries and fears behind for at least a few days (4) a year and simply be who & how they are. That EVERYONE can let go and merge with the music.

Unfortunately, this doesn't happen on its own.

Structural discrimination is real and can be measured in numbers (e.g. pay, health and wealth gaps). Oppressive, patriarchal, racist practices are part of the cultural heritage of our society and still contribute to our relative wealth today.

What does Awareness@Klangtherapie do?

We try to dismantle discriminatory structures and establish new, actively anti-discriminatory, enabling, empowering structures at various levels and with all those involved, in 2 areas:

Culture: festival structure, activist awareness
Support: Awareness as an attitude towards affected persons

1. culture: awareness for an actively anti-discriminatory festival structure

If awareness structures are to be effective, they must be supported by as many participants as possible. This results in an educational mandate: sensitivity towards discrimination and other behavior that violates boundaries.

There is no such thing as a "neutral" attitude towards an unjust and discriminatory system. With "neutrality" you will always be an accomplice.
Non-negative people in particular are often unaware of injustices and ensure the stabilization of hundreds of years old systems of oppression through unreflective reproduction. One starting point for practising awareness is to confront one's own privileges. Knowing the areas in which you have a privileged position enables you to gain an overview of the pain that you may never fully understand and of the areas in which you have power and therefore responsibility to stand up against injustice.

Even those affected often do not realize that their personal experiences are not just individual, but structurally affect an entire group of people. In this case, practicing awareness can initially be a huge relief. Learning that traditions of oppression function systematically is a prerequisite for effective change. We can only effectively change the flaws in the system if we also refer to the underlying system in each "individual case", address it and expose the patterns.

We have set up an online awareness practice group for self-taught, active awareness practice. Every Thursday at 18:00, we take on a topic for which we develop our approach and concepts together using various (scientific) sources and prior research. Everyone is invited. The new knowledge flows into festival-structural considerations of the AK Awareness and is prepared for passing on to the entire crew and crowd:
During the set-up, every evening in the plenary there will be an awareness input, e.g. on enthusiastic consent, critical whiteness, toxic masculinity, the positive concept of safety...

Previous concepts of Awareness@Klangtherapie deal with sensitivity to cultural heritage and diversity in booking, feminist perspectives on infrastructure and security, transparency and the removal of barriers, e.g. through "equalization of disadvantages":

- The core orga, is informed about some awareness-relevant topics in general meetings months before the festival and invited to the external anti-racism workshop together with other representative crew members.
- The entire crew, including set-up helpers, are involved in Awareness@Klangtherapie work during the evening plenary sessions.
- Not only awareness team members, but also (multiplying) helpers from all areas of work and all other interested parties are invited to the first part of the online awareness basic training.
- Shift helpers are informed by the employment office when they register and given access to the online awareness training group.
- Bar staff receive a written guide with information on awareness work, the no-nipples policy and the safeword procedure ("Is Kim here?").
- A new security concept provides for close cooperation with employees (of the progressive security company) and stewards.

We strive for diverse representation in all areas and reflection on our own positioning, both by individuals and by the organization as a whole.

2. support: awareness as an attitude towards people affected by discrimination or other border-violating behavior during the festival

Awareness@Klangtherapie takes care of border crossings, discrimination, experiences of violence that are related to social power relations (e.g. sexism, racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, sexualized violence, etc.).

Safer space:
We provide a safer space for people affected by discrimination or other abusive behavior. (Safer because a space will never be completely safe and free from discrimination). The needs of the person affected are the starting point for any action:

Partiality: The need to stand in solidarity with the person affected. Knowledge of existing power relations arises from constant reflection on one's own position and experiences.

Authority to define: The person affected defines what has happened:

- Central to the definition of violence is the personal perception of a transgression of boundaries.
  For those affected, assaults produce experiences of powerlessness, powerlessness and self-efficacy. Questioning the perception of the person affected creates pressure to justify themselves and can further reinforce the feeling of powerlessness that is supposed to be reduced.
- The right to define is not about doing justice. It is about shifting the focus away from the perpetrator towards the person affected and their healing, in the sense of political agency and self-determination.

Sanctioning power: The person affected decides what will happen:

- What an affected person needs for political agency, self-determination and the (re)establishment of trust, only they can decide.
- In order to make an informed decision, various options and their possible consequences are discussed together IF REQUIRED.
- The power of the person concerned to impose sanctions is within the personal limits and capacities of the members of the awareness team.
- The sanctioning power of the person concerned is within the limits of criminal law relevance.
- The sanctioning power of the person concerned is within the limits of awareness work that stands up for and strives for social justice, the reduction of structural discrimination, social participation, human rights and the Basic Law in order to prevent discrimination and other assaults by the awareness team.

Support work:

- Awareness task consists of empowerment and enablement.
- It must also always be the autonomous decision of the person concerned as to whom they tell , when , how much and what.
- We strive to avoid reproducing discrimination, e.g. by using (gender) sensitive language.

Specifically:

- Warm, friendly, welcoming charisma
- Being present, active listening, enduring silence and stillness: Giving space and time to talk instead of taking up space yourself
- NEVER touch an affected person (not even to comfort them on the shoulder or similar) unless this is expressly requested (enthusiastic consent)
- make contact on your own initiative with people who appear to be seeking help, confused, extremely intoxicated or unsettled
- state their own name and involvement in the "awareness team"
- ask "How can I support you?" instead of "What happened?"
- document the interaction with the person concerned anonymously in the logbook, including the time and name of the awareness person on shift
- Under no circumstances should the documentation be able to be traced back to the specific person concerned. (This is particularly important and difficult in contexts in which everyone knows each other at least through corners).
- If the person concerned finds it difficult to formulate needs or wishes, the A-team can suggest various options IF REQUESTED.

Examples of acute support:

- Use of the quiet room: food, drinks, distraction, conversation
- Jointly assembling and involving a support group of selected friends and family and integrating them into the support work; forming a circle of support with and around the affected person to catch them, support them and help them, for example, to establish clarity for themselves.
- Referral to professional support services
- Arrange for security to keep an eye on the perpetrator
- Arrange for the perpetrator to be ejected with the involvement of the awareness organization
- Calling in repressive state authorities as a last resort: arranging for the emergency services or police to be called, support in talking to officials

Area of activity

- Exclusions from the event are not carried out by the awareness team itself but by security.
- Paramedics and emergency medical staff are available on site to provide medical care .
- Unfortunately, we do not have sufficient capacity for intensive work with offenders. We concentrate on empowering the people affected.
- Awareness is not a grievance box for dumping minor or major complaints, disputes and sensitivities that are not related to social power structures.
  In principle, everyone can be approached, including the Helfiorga.

Infra & Personnel:

- The members of the extended awareness team have taken part in the basic training ofAwareness@Klangtherapie, are emotionally stable and have the confidence to take on the task. They are sober during their shift and agree to maintain confidentiality in writing before the start of the event.
- The awareness tent is equipped with a screened sofa corner, blankets, cushions, heating, fan, selection of books (several languages), kettle, (warm) drinks, snacks, stimming toys, painting materials, hearing protection and menstrual products.
- A radio and awareness phone are stationed in the tent. The phone will be answered by a female voice if possible.
- There is always a Spring person from the awareness organization who can be reached via the private telephone.
- Awareness persons are recognizable by their radios, pink vests and labeled jute backpacks.

TripCare:

- Supporting people with insecurities or crisis situations during the consumption of legal or illegal substances contributes to the guests' effective sense of security.
- This area is located in a separate room and is supervised by peers.
- To protect people overwhelmed by consumption, the TripCare service is not advertised; the awareness team acts as the first point of contact from where people are referred.

Visibility:

- The existence and concept of Awareness@Klangtherapie is publicized in advance on various channels and information is provided about the No Nipples Policy, for example. (Instagram, Facebook, website, newsletter)
- During the festival, notices will be posted at toilets, on the campsite, at bars and stages.
- Feld-Schichten will be present on the grounds and campsite, inviting people to exchange ideas with the awareness trolley in front of the tent.
- Thanks to its high visibility, the awareness tent also serves as the first point of contact for people who are overstretched due to consumption (TripCare).

Glossary:

affected person: we prefer the term "victim". The latter implies the individual case, passivity, necessary, irreparable helplessness and creates "victim identity". The term "affected person" focuses more on the process of transgression, emphasizes the structural component and the system behind it: "affected person" indicates the everyday, while the "victim" of an extraordinary, one-off event has no choice but to become a victim of their fate.

cis-gender: refers to people whose gender identity corresponds to their sex as recorded in the birth register, which is usually assessed on the basis of the visible physical sex characteristics of the newborn. (wiki)

Critical whiteness refers to the critical examination, reflection and utilization of one's own privileged position in the context of structural racism.

Enthusiastic consent is not the absence of a "no". Only "YES!" means yes.

FLINTA*: Women, lesbians, inter*, non-binary, trans*, agender people. The term thus includes everyone affected by patriarchal disadvantage and discrimination.
=> all except cis men

No Nipples Policy is a small but powerful idea to act in solidarity with female-read people. Female-read people cannot simply remove their upper body clothing in the heat without having to fear sexualization, objectification, stigmatization, staring, secret video recordings, harassment and exposing themselves to the risk of physical assault (for which they are then also "themselves to blame").

Patriarchal system "refers to a structurally male-dominated society in which violence and discriminatory behavior has been made the norm and is seen as part of a culture that must be maintained. There, people positioned as men are inscribed in a hierarchy in which they are ascribed the power of interpretation and action, as well as the power of disposal over female bodies and other people identified as non-male, as well as the right to exploit them. This also includes the bourgeois justice system and its penal system. There, it is not only the persons concerned who name and decide on an offense, but also judges, courts, criminal justice and the police, as well as the public that is created for this purpose. In a male-dominated society, (sexualized) violence against those affected is often relativized, toned down and doubted, which serves to maintain patriarchal normality. This also leads to further painful and retraumatizing experiences for those affected, which also has the effect that they often fall silent, feel helpless and remain alone with their anger. In this context, the concept of defining power involves the attempt to achieve a structural reversal of power by, among other things, not questioning a person's credibility."

The positive concept of security focuses on the subjectively perceived security of people at events instead of limiting itself to infrastructural security, e.g. through compliance with fire safety regulations or the presence of security personnel.

Privilege: not 100% deserved, disproportionate advantage over other people (groups)

A safer space is an inclusive environment in which people should be as free as possible from discrimination (including structural discrimination) and in which discriminatory and abusive behavior is actively dealt with. A safe space can be a social space (e.g. a group) or be organized and defined in the form of a physical space (e.g. by excluding men*). As complete protection from discriminatory and abusive behavior cannot be guaranteed even in such spaces, we speak of a moreprotected space or a safer space.

Perpetrators: In the vast majority of cases (70-98%), sexualized violence is perpetrated by men. Against the background of patriarchal power structures, we prefer the more realistic image instead of gendered language.

Dealing with perpetrators @ Klangtherapie:

While perpetrator work deals with the reality of the perpetrator's life and environment in the long term in order to bring about profound change, perpetrator intervention focuses exclusively on the person concerned:

Our perpetrator intervention attempts to (re)conquer a safe space for the person concerned, i.e. to (re) open a space , to (re)establish trust. In this sense, a safe space is not a sanction against the perpetrator. Restoring this space does not necessarily mean that the perpetrator will be expelled, but it can mean it. In addition, contact with the perpetrator can include confronting the perpetrator with his behavior or communicating demands and checking compliance with them if this meets the needs of the person concerned.

Toxic masculinity describes the current Western role model of men, which harms people of all gender identities and urgently needs to be abolished.

Utopia: the design of a possible future way of life or social order