Authored by: Jesse Eaves & Claude Gatebuke

For the past two years, the Governance Futures Network has held a space called the Ritual Studio. This collection of individuals from around the world meets every month to explore how to meaningfully embed rituals and repetitive practices into governance processes to create cultures of care that can help us tackle complex problems in a more sustainable, inclusive, and holistic way.

For the past few months, Ritual Studio has been exploring how rituals and repetitive practices can create a healthy container for the work of the network to thrive. We believe that ‘the work’ does not cause burnout. It is the container the work is held in that can either create burnout or create healing and renewal. If there’s one thing that we’ve all learned these past few years, it is that governance (aka the agreements that a group of people make together to accomplish a shared goal) is essential and it is hard. Collaboration can be difficult and so we need to have agreements, rituals, and practices that foster relationships that can allow generative conflict to create something new and deepen the relationships between people. This deepening starts from the moment a new person enters the space.

In September, we welcomed Claude Gatebuke, Executive Director of the African Great Lakes Action Network (AGLAN), who talked about how the network welcomes new members into their space of healing and constructs a web of love and care for people who have suffered through violent conflict. This conversation centered on a practice the network uses to bring in new members called “the family tree” – when you enter the network you are assigned a “family member” who helps you relationally and operationally navigate the space. This practice is repeated for each new person that joins. The conversation then expanded to explore how this welcoming model of accompaniment contributes to the larger focus. As Claude Gatebuke explains:

One of the key players in this family tree ritual is Delphine Yandamutso who introduced and stressed the need to focus on healing, wellbeing and ongoing support. Prior to her centering these important aspects of our work, building a community and a network as well as expanding it did not include mental health or wellbeing as a stated desire. She introduced a process she coined “gukira ibikomere by’amateka” which means “healing from wounds of our history/lived experiences”. Through this process, she opened a different angle through which individuals can share difficult experiences as part of a healing process and a way to build empathy, confidence and foster support among both new family members and existing members of the family.

Storytelling and story-sharing as part of healing has also added the value of attracting professionals who share information that not only resources family members but also helps the community and network at large. It provides solid support where we can count on each other. Our family tree ritual has created strong links and a network across all continents. One of the top highlights of this family tree ritual was having dozens of us gather in person in the spring of 2024 to commemorate 30 years after the Rwandan genocide. When we met, we all felt like we had/have known and seen each other for many years even though many were meeting in person for the very first time.

Lastly, as has become regular practice for us, we partnered with the frayedjacket creative agency in Accra, Ghana to create an “audio capture” of the conversation. This song, titled One Big Family, captures the moods and themes of the conversation and seeks to invoke how we can pass on knowledge and wisdom beyond the written word. Take a listen here and share your thoughts with us.