The Hierophant Meeting was intended to help us reassess our position, reflect on our strengths and weaknesses and collectively create an updated vision of where we want Guerrilla Translation to be. With a few changes on the horizon, it couldn’t have been better timed.
It’s difficult to hold on to your ideals in any industry that is trying to thrive and expand within the capitalist system. Job competitiveness will ensure that wages are kept low as workers are forced to undercut each other until the work no longer provides a living wage. Meanwhile, the revenue generated by the industry is invested in technology that will eventually make the workers obsolete. The translation industry is no different.
The GT Handbook is a document that welcomes the reader into the world of Guerrilla Translation with a narrative, colourful approach. It is aimed at those who have joined or are interested in joining the collective, are researching our model or have an interest in a practical understanding of Open Value Cooperativism and/or Distributed Cooperative Organizations (DisCOs).
Dissecting Bollier & Helfrich’s “Free, Fair and Alive” has been a chance to reaffirm our choice to do things differently in Guerrilla Translation and translate like Commoners.
By the Quarterly Evaluation in January, coinciding with the end of the new members’ first stage of the Dating Phase, a fantastic rapport and overwhelmingly positive (cyber)atmosphere had been established within the group. It was clear that the team had to gather in person to solidify relationships, continue establishing group culture and discuss important issues facing the collective. Simply put, we needed a chance to hang out and bond, and a grant awarded by Guerrilla Foundation allowed us to do just that.