Article
Background
Charlotte created a workshop to help participants recognize and understand power dynamics within collaborative projects. The design is based on her own Fellowship experience and her learnings about group interaction and dynamics.
In her workshop, Charlotte addresses key topics she believes are essential when beginning collaborative projects that involve power dynamics, such as colonialism. By guiding participants to reflect on their own intersectional identities and social positions, the workshop creates a safer, more cohesive environment for group work.
These reflections are the first steps towards individual and communal reflexivity which are necessary to address and ultimately dismantle systems of power.
Approach and Methodology
“Let’s Talk About Power” emerged from a desire to create intentional, reflective spaces for new groups engaging in collaborative projects. In contexts like Fellowships and activist collectives, participants often arrive with diverse experiences and uneven power dynamics. Recognizing this, Charlotte designed the workshop as a starting point for building shared understanding and cultivating social safety, particularly for those most often marginalized in group settings.
Drawing from her own participation in the Fellowship and other collaborative spaces, Charlotte’s approach weaves together literature research, conversations with other Fellows, and critical self-reflection. These steps shaped a framework that actively invites participants to examine their own positionality within group contexts. Through a blend of reflective exercises, guided discussions, and interactive presentations, the workshop fosters early communal reflexivity and equips participants with tools to navigate group work more intentionally.
Impact
Charlotte’s workshop is part of her educational platform Beyond the Buzzword, that teaches critical thinking around (de)colonial topics. The first execution of this workshop was during the 2025 Amsterdam Fellowship, where Fellows particularly appreciated the introduction to different systems of power and how they intervene in daily life. The workshop lays the groundwork for further exploration. This is one of a selection of workshops that Charlotte offers to organizations and collaborative projects with her platform Beyond the Buzzword.
Follow @beyondthebuzzword for updates and future sessions.