[OSList] WOSONOS 2014: Access Queen spirit

[Lisa Heft -]

Thank you all, dear friends, for carrying forward / channeling the spirit and practice of Access Queen !

For those of you who are not familiar with this tradition:

At the WOSonOS in Vancouver in 2001 I began a passion project to support diversity-access-inclusion for our annual WOSonOSs.
At that event, our lovely late colleague Laurel Doersam gave me the ‘nick name’ of Access Queen. 

This year’s Access Queen project is a bit different than other years, because usually there is a lot I do in concert with each year’s WOSonOS Host Team - many months before the event itself and continuing into and after the event. However I was unable to communicate with Jasmina and her Host Team - so Jon and some of my other dear friends who have experienced in other years what happens with Access Queen *at* the event are carrying the energy, actions and traditions of Access Queen *into* this event.

A deep bow to you all!
Now I will straighten my tiara / crown because it became a little crooked on my head during that deep bow.

Because the WOSonOS is happening very soon, I thank you Jon and others for helping the Serbian team reach out to the other WOSonOS 2014 participants - many of whom I assume are not on this OSLIST.
In my observation, most people attending an event come over land to that event - so I am assuming there are many people attending who live in that region. This means a lovely exchange of ideas and experiences *and* a lovely exchange of items possible at the event. If the WOSonOS Host Team reaches out to all registered participants before the event, everyone will have the opportunity to pack along something lovely to sell to each other for the Access Queen project.

What it is: 
At the event, we set up in the big OS room some tables for amazing beautiful items of folk art, food, books, clothing and other amazing things from our regions / villages / cultures. This is called the Global Village Marketplace.
Each seller writes on an envelope what it is and how much they would like people to pay for it.
Each buyer simply buys the item and places their money into that item’s envelope. The sellers then collect those funds and give 100% or less of the money raised into the Access Queen project.
Sometimes it is less than 100% because they are also raising some funds to pay for their own travel expenses.

Also at the event, we set up tables for the Silent Auction. This is where 100% of the money raised definitely goes into the Access Queen project.
Each person offering an item writes a description on a little card - and all throughout the WOSonOS everybody else writes in amounts, and higher amounts, and higher amounts - and whoever hopes to win that item keeps visiting and increasing the amount as much as they may afford to. Winners of those items (top ‘bidders’) win the gift of paying that highest amount plus taking home the item. All money goes to the Access Queen project.
These are two very lively areas of the big OST meeting room at the WOSonOS.
Jon, Karolina, Gerardo, Christine, Tova and our other dear friends will collectively organize and maintain that area - a deep bow to you all.

After the WOSonOS, Jon & Friends will send me whatever money has been raised. This is a ‘pay it forward’ to 2015 “Askers” and our support of people we believe in but whom we may not yet even have met.
Also after the WOSonOS, the 2014 Host Team has the option / invitation to first pay all their expenses and then forward whatever money they have remaining to me to add to the Access Queen project - also paying-it-forward.

In this way, we are collectively able to support some people each year who are the Askers - those who just need a little bit of resource (pocket money, flexible registration fee, money to afford a dinner out with their colleagues, and so on) - not ‘big ticket’ items such as airplane tickets but small funds that help Askers - people of lower financial income - enjoy the same access and inclusion as their colleagues at the event.
All money remaining in the project goes towards each future year.
And there are many many actions and resources besides money - this fundraising is as much as a community action and awareness event as a money thing. Other Access Queen resources and actions include attendees offering the extra bed in their hotel to an Asker, language buddies, ride shares, taking someone out to dinner, buying someone a book, and more.

Thank you for supporting this community, this project, and each other in this way. 
I am sorry I will not be in person at this year’s WOSonOS, but you will I suspect feel me there in spirit - in actions and words of community, resource-sharing, invitation and love.

Lisa Heft
(also known as Access Queen)