The Cyber-Quilting Experiment

The other day I received an email about this great article, which contains an interview with Adele Nieves about the Cyber-Quilting Experiment, a project that aims to bring attention to violence against women of color.

The project examines how the Internet can be used for social justice work and movement building activities. Cyber-quilters help communities that struggle with utilizing technology for movement building by providing access to technology, education and networking resources.

“Cyber-quilters are the thread, the middle person for areas that are marginalized or simply unsure about how to use technology,” explained Adele Nieves, a journalist, activist, writer and cyber-quilter.

Cyber-quilters assess the needs of the community and connect them to resources, either directly or via an online resource center. Resources include computers, education on using available technologies, translation and editing services, studio time, utilizing workshops and seminars – and more.

“It’s kind of a pay it forward mentality,” said Nieves. “For example, if a cyber-quilter puts on a self-care workshop, she might offer [the workshop itself] to the community, teach the community so that its members can bring it to other people.”

[. . .]

It might be tempting to say something cliché like it’s “not your grandmother’s quilting.” But here’s the twist. Cyber-quilting emphasizes history and those who came before. Cyber-quilters value the “stitching” together of stories to build an intergenerational movement. There’s active outreach to both older and younger generations.

Which works beautifully when considering that violence is an intergenerational process. Personal and societal narratives reflect the power of the intergenerational transmission of trauma, oppression and victimization.

The Cyber-Quilting Experiment began in late 2007, and I can’t stress enough how brilliant and revolutionary the project seems.  Go read the whole article, and learn more about the Cyber-Quilting Experiment and how to get involved.