Virtual Xenia: Outreach

Xenia has always aimed to give women a space to feel welcome, to connect, share and learn from each other. Since the start of 2020 and the subsequent nationwide Covid-19 restrictions, Xenia has continued to deliver upon that mission. While Outreach is something we have always done at Xenia, never did it feel so urgent as it has during the last year. Moving online, like most of the world, has made us all the more aware of how we connect with and support others in our community. Our outreach work has not only changed but expanded in effort and scope significantly. 

Here we share how our outreach has changed over the past year and what we have learnt to be the most effective and how we have approached challenges to accessibility, sociality, and regularity. 

Phone Calls 

Phone calls are perhaps the simplest and most important part of our current outreach work. It is accessible for participants, familiar and one of the quickest ways to relay information and gauge how participants are. 

At the start of lockdown, all participants were called directly to explain how to access the virtual sessions and to assess if they had any other needs,  such as accessing  food and essentials. 

Some participants received more regular individual phone support as lockdown continued and were referred to food banks and other support groups when needed. For example, one Albanian participant, who found herself very isolated and without a smartphone, was referred to a specific Albanian community group. 

Long term, some participants continue to receive phone support, especially when they have queries about accessing other services and information online. Some participants have been unable to access online sessions, or choose not to, and so receive regular catch-up phone calls from Xenia organisers to see how they are doing and connect them to relevant services. 

All new participants have received a personal phone call before attending a virtual session, welcoming them, seeing what they need and discussing further what Xenia is and can do for them. 

Whatsapp Groups

Whatsapp is the social media platform most used by our participants, whether used within their local communities or to keep in touch with family and friends abroad. Setting up a Xenia Whatsapp group has not only given organisers an efficient and interactive channel to relay information about upcoming Xenia workshops or official information and guidance.It has also provided a space for participants to continue conversations with each other outside of sessions. During Diwali, for instance, participants wished each other a Happy Diwali,  with one woman sharing a photo of the floating flower displays in the Jubilee Place Garden at Canary Wharf, recommending others to visit. 

Accessibility

Accessibility at Saturday Xenia sessions is something that we are continuing to review and working to improve. We currently pay  for a Zoom phone service, which allows participants without internet access to phone into sessions for free. We are now looking to switch to a data voucher system for individuals as we have found that participants have a much better experience when connected by video.  

Wednesday Craft Sessions

Speaking to participants, one of the things that they missed the most about in-person Xenia workshops was the physical activities that we did together. Whether it be cooking, skill-sharing, making or crafting, participants missed sharing and creating together. 

During the summer we ran  supplementary sessions that focussed on craft activities. We sent participants a box full of all the materials they would need for this series of sessions, including macrame, poetry and finger clay pots. While not always as successful as in-person sessions, the extra session on a Wednesday afternoon had a less formal feel than the Saturday sessions and provided a consistent space for the women to chat and socialise while in lockdown - even if none of us could quite figure out the macrame! 

Partnerships

Partnerships have helped Xenia  provide successful sessions and outreach over the last year.We have worked with partners to imaginatively rethink what collaboration could look like and how it can serve our participants. 

In collaboration with Bloody Good Period, we created the Xenia Period Club, which meets once a month to discuss menstruation and decolonise our thinking around such topics. The sessions have not only provided more chances for participants to connect with each other but a safe space to talk about their experiences with menstruation openly. 

Another notable partnership has been with UCL Public Arts on Trellis 2. This has involved a series of workshops exploring topics such as composting, plastic waste and citizen science. Its main focus has been the Citizen Science Project in which some participants have been recording and sharing their learning on their experience of composting in their own homes. The physical and interactive elements of the project have been hugely rewarding for them. Supplementing the largely conversation-led weekly sessions, the composting and recording have been a quite literal chance to get their hands dirty!

Official Information and Guidance 

As discussed in one of our previous blog posts, Xenia has made it a priority to ensure our participants can access and understand official information and guidance. We have delivered dedicated sessions to contextualise and decipher the government’s most recent updates on Covid-19 measures. We also directed participants to other official, accessible sources, such as the Doctors of the World [hyperlink]website, which provides translations of official guidance in a multitude of languages, such as Arabic, Kurdish and Farsi, amongst others. 

Communication and accessibility have been at the heart of our approach towards outreach this year. While Xenia’s sessions moved online, it was a friendly phone call which allowed us to respond quickly and effectively at the beginning of the pandemic and continue to connect regularly with participants, making sure their needs are met. The telephone has allowed participants without access to the internet to continue coming to Xenia virtual sessions, but it was also through social media platforms like Whatsapp that we managed to keep the lightness and fun of Xenia, battling social isolation while distributing official information and guidance instantly. 

Using familiar forms of communication and technology for outreach alongside less familiar technologies, such as Zoom, for our workshops, means Xenia can support participants in these unprecedented times. By building a web of support and outreach outside the weekly sessions, Xenia virtual sessions can continue to be a safe and optimal place to share, connect and learn from each other.