How to join our community
The Qultura community is a very small but developing community. It was a bit larger prior to COVID when we were focussed on being a real time community, but three subsequent lockdowns and the closure of community space put paid to that. So we're essentially rebuilding the community from scratch from old and new members.
How to join the community
Having learned lessons from the previous lockdowns we decided to centre the community on our Community Message Board.
Therefore all you need to do to join the Qultura community and get involved is register on our Community Message Board. The Community Message Board is designed to function just like any social media platform, you get a profile which you can fill out, a discussion board to post on, and direct messaging capabilities.
This doesn't cost you any money as it's all free of charge and no money changes hands between members of the community or between Qultura Core and community members. It also doesn't generate spam emails or constant notifications, unlike social media platforms. If you're prepared to do some reading and interact with others either online or in person then you're all set.
How to get involved with Qultura Core
Qultura Core is essentially the core of the Qultura community and is also freely accessible to any member of the Qultura community who wants to get involved and help us develop the community, either through community volunteering or through reverse participation in the community.
Reverse participation is something you do when you need community support or you want to develop your own community support network from people in the community. Reverse participation is essentially designed for people who are in some way affected by social stigma or social exclusion, who are isolated, lonely, without friends or family, and as such reverse participation is connected to our Human Library project.
Now normally what happens when you become affected by social stigma and social exclusion is that you tend to be judged by other people, avoided, shunned and excluded. There is not much out there in terms of community support to help you overcome either stigma or exclusion, and that what there is is usually offered on the basis of conditionality. This means you have to somehow fit in somewhere but quite often you can't fit in, because of the stigma and judgment coming from other people. For sure you can get a job, somewhere to live if you're homeless, and maybe even counselling or 'talk therapy' for a mental health issue or to help you beat an addiction, but nothing to help you deal with the stigma or exclusion you're experiencing.
Therefore reverse participation is about first contact unconditional community support. You come into the community, move into Qultura Core by reversing your participation in the community. You can network and get to know people, participate in Human Library events, find community support volunteers and other community volunteers for support, and we can signpost you further and support you in getting material and financial support if you need it. You can also share your experiences via our Community Blog and even create a community appeal via the Community Blog, either for yourself or to address some social or community issue or bring about change.
You can also become involved in Qultura Core to do some community volunteering and directly support other members of the community, particularly those who are affected by social stigma and social exclusion.
