Our Story
The behind-the-scenes work for the Centre for Liberating Practices was initiated in 2021 in response to the increasing demand and need for a space where people involved in everyday activism and community work, unwaged forms of caregiving and domestic labour, therapeutic and healing practices, and creative, emotional, sexual, and intellectual forms of labour could come together. People around the world shared with me their yearning to exchange insights and build skills for non-violent, non-coercive, and creative forms of personal and collective resistance to all forms of violence and oppression. After extensive listening, growing, and hard work, our first course enrolments began in January 2024 and, the following month, our first course began.
Founded by Dr Gávi Ansara (He/him) while working on unceded Wurundjeri Country in the Kulin Nations, the Centre seeks to integrate theory with practice throughout our work in the manner described by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. Freire believed that it was not enough for people merely to come together to gain knowledge of the societal realities of oppression. He felt it was essential for people to take collective action in their environment as part of critically reflecting on their reality and thus to transform their environment through further cycles of action and critical reflection known as praxis. This means attending to processes, not just outcomes.
Our story continues to be created and transformed by each person who participates in our work. You can become part of it, too!
You can find out more about our values and our policies below. Get involved in our community.
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”
Maya Angelou (she/her)
Our Values
The Centre is guided by 4 sets of anti-oppressive values:
★ Cultural humility and reverence
★ Centring people and communities
★ Practising and prioritising non-violent forms of resistance
Cultural humility and reverence
★ Cultural humility: People are the best authorities on their own lived experiences. As the South African disability rights movement saying goes, “Nothing about us without us is for us.”
★ Cultural reverence: Valuing the sanctity of people’s understanding of their own lived experiences and celebrating how their stories and insights can enhance our own lives and communities.
★ Everyone is a teacher and a learner: Even when we have advanced knowledge and experience in our recognised specialty areas, we reject “expert” narratives as part of the colonialist, ethnocentric legacy of white supremacy. We do not offer “lectures” or a “sage on the stage” approach to our programming and events. We are passionate about deep listening and dialogue.
★ Lifelong learning journey: We aim to be continually open to learning, growth, and change. We know that communities and our world are constantly shifting and adapting. We are learning not for the sake of being able to claim we know it all. We do not want to tick boxes of knowledge acquisition, treating learning the way that capitalist societies treat the acquisition of wealth and capital. We strive for learning that can guide our actions to be increasingly values-driven and reflective of justice, compassion, and care. We hope to continue this learning journey for as long as we exist.
“We adopt the means of nonviolence because
our end is a community at peace with itself.”
Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr (he/him)
Centring people and communities
★ Grassroots action: We believe in the power of local people joining together to take responsibility for action in their communities. We aim to support you in making a beneficial difference by cultivating anti-oppressive, liberating practices and initiatives in your own communities.
★ People over profit: We explicitly reject the mentality of prioritising financial profit or wealth for the sake of personal gain. Instead, we seek to use our limited financial and other resources to benefit the people and communities who need them most. We know that genuine and sustainable wealth lies in relationships and communities, not in the acquisition of money, material possessions, or capital. We invite everyone who interacts with the Centre to experience this reality with us.
★ Valuing creative spirits, including non-speaking people: We know the transformative power of authentic narratives and creative expressions. We create opportunities for original and innovative ways of challenging oppression and nourishing creative spirits. We challenge the white supremacy and classism of privileging written words over all other forms of communication, and the ableism of devaluing communication methods used by non-speaking, situationally non-speaking, Deaf, Blind, and DeafBlind people. We value the wisdom and insight that are expressed through imagery, dance, storytelling, oral history, sculpture, beadwork, music, and more. We seek to create spaces and events where these forms of sharing and being are respected.
“Nonviolence does resist and it is revolutionary.
It resists with strategic attention to defeating injustice
and not to dehumanizing others,
even those who are doers of injustice.
It drives a love-centered revolution.
Nonviolence affirms that means and ends must align.”
Dr Bernice A. King (she/her)
Practising and prioritising non-violent forms of resistance
★ Kindness as a way of being: In a world with many options for violence and cruelty, we actively choose to centre kindness in all our work. Kindness is distinct from what white supremacy culture considers “nice”; it does not mean politely sweeping injustice under the rug or passively tolerating oppression because it would be “rude” to disrupt it. Kindness means courage and caring enough to say something, do something, to notice and take action for beneficial change. We ask all people attending our events to practice kindness toward each other.
★ Accountability with respect and support: We believe in disrupting and challenging oppressive behaviour and systems. We strive to do this with kindness and clarity. Just as no one is exempted from responsibility for unintended harms caused by their oppressive practices, no one is beneath deserving dignity in how we engage with them about the need for them to address the harm they have caused. We hold people accountable for their oppressive actions with respect and support. We provide accountability pods, restorative community reparation processes, and healing and peacemaking circles to guide people through the challenges of repairing harm. We seek to create opportunities for change and reconnection where it is safe to do so.
★ Non-violent personal and collective resistance: We are committed to increasing equity, justice, compassion, care, and conscientiousness in the world. We practice these values by using methods and processes aligned with the end result we wish to achieve. We use non-violent means to achieve the outcome of a kinder and more ethical world. We do not believe that violence offers more than temporary victories that inevitably lead to further cycles of violence and harm. Part of our non-violence means committing to compassion and understanding for people and communities who have struggled to find any means but violence to challenge the violent oppression they experience. Our non-violence is not about condemning marginalised people who use violent means of self-defence to survive violent oppression. Instead, we focus on demonstrating the power of non-violent resistance for all who have capacity to explore this possibility and facilitate healing circles to help people and communities to restore connections and repair harms.
★ Trauma-and-violence-informed care: We reject intrapsychic views of trauma as something that resides within a person. Instead, we recognise the intersecting impacts of systemic and interpersonal violence and structural inequities on people’s lives. We consider how historical and ongoing violence can result in traumatic consequences. We undestand that the problem of trauma is not merely one of psychological states, but resides in social circumstances. We know that trauma can result from oppressive systems that fail to recognise and respond to people’s lived experiences of violence. Violence can also be structural, economic, and political. We are committed to practising from a trauma-and-violence-informed care approach. You can learn more about the framework that informs this aspect of our work here.
“Without community, there is no liberation…but community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.”
Audre Lorde (she/her)
Promoting interpersonal equity
★ Striving for excellence, rejecting perfectionism: The (divorcing) white supremacy culture website describes perfectionism as “the conditioned belief and attitude that we can be perfect based on a standard or set of rules that we did not create and that we are led to believe will prove our value. Perfectionism is the conditioned belief and attitude that we can determine whether others are showing up as perfect and demand or expect that they do so. White supremacy culture uses perfectionism to preserve power and the status quo. As long as we are striving to be perfect according to someone else’s rules, we have less energy and attention to question those rules and to remember what is truly important” for us. We reject this kind of perfectionism, instead striving for excellence. We define excellence as the ongoing commitment to lifelong learning, personal growth, and processes of becoming that allow us to understand ourselves and others more fully, to act with increasing alignment with our values, and to gain skills to achieve mutually nourishing relationships and interdependence with other beings and within the ecosystems to which we belong.
★ Respecting autonomy: Our director and our team do not want you to worship or idolise us; we want you to connect and share with us as equals. We refuse to become a cult of personality or to promote a charismatic leader. We reject proselytising and conversion tactics. People who attempt to push their own ideology onto other people, pressure people to adopt their solutions, dismiss concerns from marginalised people about their unchecked privilege, or claim authority / “expert” status in other people’s needs and choices will be removed from our community to protect our members’ autonomy. Please bring your beautiful human messiness, your struggles and contradictions, your questions and insecurities. We welcome people who can show up in a real and genuine way, acknowledging that none of us has all the answers, that continuing to ask the questions is more important than appearing to have all the answers, and that treating people with respect means valuing their autonomy enough to let them find their own questions and answers to the complex dilemmas of living.
★ Multi-linearity, not “one right way”: We prioritise having multiple people sharing their stories alongside the context of their personal and societal position. Within our broad remit as a hub centred around non-coercive, non-violent, anti-oppressive, and liberating practices, we avoid promoting any specific method, approach, or ideology within our scope as the “one true way” that works for all people or the only pathway to understanding. We know there are many different ways to achieve non-violent liberation, and that the processes will vary based on people’s own histories, characteristics, privileges, disadvantages, and needs. We strive to elevate a diverse range of societally marginalised voices, so that hopefully one will resonate with you and help you to find your own way.
Join our community to become part of co-creating meaningful spaces for challenging oppressions and cultivating liberating communities together.
“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
Dolores Huerta (she/her)
Our Policies
Keeping it Connected
We prioritise keeping people connected and cultivating communities in all our work:
★ Our creative performance-based and community events include an interactive component to build a shared relational space
★ Our workshops are structured as intimate relational spaces where each participant is given multiple options for engaging with the group
★ Our certificate courses have a maximum limit of 8 students per class cohort. This means that, when you enrol in one of our certificate courses, you’ll have a chance to develop close-knit social connections with kindred spirits. You’ll also translate learning into action by completing a capstone task or project that contributes to community. Our small class sizes also make it possible for us to provide flexibility and adapt courses to fit the needs of the people in each cohort. When you enrol in a certificate course at the Centre, we’ll develop a personalised learning plan tailored to your needs.
Cultivating Humility
At the Centre, we recognise that all of us are learners and teachers. All educators and facilitators with the Centre understand that each learner brings unique lived experiences, insights, skills, and challenges to our learning space. We encourage you to share your wisdom, ideas, and feelings, as well as learning from other people.
Although we have advanced knowledge and experience in our recognised specialty areas, we reject “expert” narratives as part of the colonialist, ethnocentric legacy of white supremacy. We do not offer “lectures” or the “sage on the stage” approach to learning.
We are passionate about deep listening and dialogue. Our classes are structured in a spiral chat format that prioritises dynamic, relational, and experiential learning.
Moving to the Margins
The needs of people with marginalised and excluded lived experiences are essential, valued, and prioritised in all our work. This explicitly includes but is not limited to neurodivergent, queer, non-binary, and disability needs. Trans women are women. Black lives matter. Black trans women’s lives matter, too.
The Centre is committed to intersectional anti-oppressive practice that challenges racism, colourism, sexism, heterosexism, cisgenderism, endosexism, ableism, classism, and other forms of systemic oppression.
All students will receive an accessibility needs survey before starting the course. We consult you first, so that you don’t have the burden of initiating an important conversation about your learning needs.
We prioritise making students who have experienced marginalisation and exclusion in other learning environments feel safe and supported throughout their learning experience. This makes it possible for students to bring more of their authentic being into the learning space and therefore to have more substantive and satisfying learning experiences.
Anti-Capitalist Collectivist Fee Structure
Although the team involved in the Centre are not from financially privileged backgrounds, financial profit is not one of our priorities. For this reason, we set prices only high enough to cover fair and ethical working costs of our labour and materials, as well as the costs of meeting any neurodivergent, disability, health, and wellbeing needs of people with marginalised lived experiences involved in the Centre, including our educators and facilitators.
The more students join each course, the lower the cost of tuition per student needed to cover the set costs of each course. This means that we can offer some discounted tuition fees to students with financial disadvantage for classes with more than three students enrolled. In addition, any tuition students pay over our costs will go back into community initiatives such as funding our discounted slots and allow us to make charitable contributions that support our values. This includes funding “Pay The Rent” and other initiatives led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Instead of focusing on amassing wealth, anything above the cost of labour and materials will be redistributed back into the communities that need it.
We really mean it when we say that genuine and sustainable wealth lies in relationships and communities, not in money. This policy helps students to share in this reality and to experience a more collaborative approach to economic choices. You can find more details about our “green bottles” sliding scale fees here.
“Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better.”
Maya Angelou (she/her)
Our Team
We are dedicated to non-violent, non-coercive, anti-oppressive, and liberating practices that embody the Centre’s values. We are committed to doing the best we can, until we know better.
If you would like to give us feedback about how we could do better in relation to your marginalised or excluded lived experience and/or community, we invite you to contact us.
You can find out more about each of us below.
Dr Gávi Ansara
(He/him)
On unceded Wurundjeri Country in the Kulin Nations
(within the region colonially known as “Victoria, Australia”)
Gávi is a multilingual, polyamorous, neurodivergent polyennic, queer androsexual man of faith with a multi-racialised polycultural heritage who grew up in urban and rural China, the Eora Nation, and elsewhere. He is founding director of the Centre and a learning facilitator who is passionate about choosing strength through kindness every day, creating safe and nourishing learning spaces for all students, and nurturing our community. He provides anti-oppressive psychotherapy, polycule-centred relationship and family therapy, clinical supervision, and consulting for community-led organisations. You can find out more about Gávi here.
Michelle Lin
(she/her/they/them)
On the unceded land of the Bidjigal and Gadigal people, Eora Nation
(in region colonially known as “Sydney, NSW, Australia”)
Michelle is an anti-oppressive social worker supporting people with curiosity, compassion, and her own vulnerability drawing on her lived experiences. Michelle is a queer (poly ace) neurodivergent (“AuDHD”) woman of colour (as a specific lived experience around social norms, they don’t feel too strongly about pronouns or being cisgender). Things Michelle is passionate about include anti-oppressive practice, facilitating and supporting others’ growth, transformative justice, circle processes, and solidarity.
Michelle offers counseling, training, and supervision to help individuals uncover their authentic values rather than conforming to societal norms. You can find out more about Michelle here.
Tanya Quakawoot
(they/them)
Based in Meeanjin on unceded Turrbal and Yuggera Country
(in region colonially known as “Brisbane, Queensland, Australia”)
Tanya is a Dharumbal Blak queer person and a postgraduate-trained and practising Indigenous Trauma Recovery Specialist of Aboriginal and South Sea Islander descent. Tanya is currently working in project management in the violence prevention sector leading advocacy and change for improved recovery pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing domestic and family violence. Tanya is passionate about social justice, Blak queer politics, ethical governance, and health advocacy. You can find out more about Tanya here.