The Language of Care Manifesto

Dear _____________

This is an invitation to artists/practitioners to engage with us as care experienced young people and ‘thinking with care’ in embedding The Articulate Approach in appropriate language and communications in your time with us.

We need you to have a base level of understanding of terminology from the care glossary, and tone / sensitivity to our experiences. 

Value our individual agency, make opportunities for growth, build room for development and respect dignity. 

The sense of being in care is a shared experience though two different care experienced people may have been in very different nuanced situations. We may find our experiences still have a lot in common, in ways which someone who wasn’t care experienced couldn’t necessarily identify with but there’s no need to highlight or hierarchy differences, or force commonality. 

Care is an experience, but not one that totally defines us. Although going into care can affect a person, it doesn’t sum up everything about our identity. The phrase care experienced conveys this - a thing you experience doesn’t convey the whole of what you are and our perspective of these experiences can fluctuate over time.

Language used should put the person it talks about at the centre.

For a long time, people talked about ‘looked after’ children and young people, but that phrase puts the focus on the people taking care of them. Care experienced conveys that it’s what happens to the child that matters, because what matters is the child themselves and their state of well being, memories / formation of identity, heritage and community in past and present experiences of care. 

Understand periods of disengagement where we as young people may withdraw from self-advocating / organising due to burnout or vicarious trauma that can occur cumulatively over time with the feeling that our efforts and energy have not ‘done enough’ to challenge perceptions of us. There might be times where we as young people feel jaded, or like our beliefs about the world haven’t changed but that doesn’t mean they can’t, nor are we any less deserving or enthusiastic of the opportunities to engage and participate freely in the arts. 

Moving forward with The Articulate Approach as a practitioner, is how you will take part in creating this everyday change and alleviating these responsibilities so that we can thrive creatively and use our voice confidently in shaping more positive and inclusive futures for us all.

Keywords for continuing development of the document: agency, chosen family, challenging assumptions and prejudice, identity, creation of community.

Signed by ______________________