The retreat was conducted from 17 to 20 November, 2025. Learning products related to the retreat is available here.
The retreat was designed for women and non-binary human rights defenders working in challenging political and social contexts, offering a space for reflection, connection, and resilience-building. The program, involved 13 participants across Asia, aimed to address the emotional and physical impact of human rights work, foster cross-border solidarity, and integrate self and collective care into advocacy.
The retreat commenced with a welcoming dinner followed by a thread-sharing welcome ceremony with presenting cloth and dance. The opening created a tone of warmth and collective sense of grounding. Participants engaged in a collective painting activity, imagining and visualizing their “dream society,” to initiate reflection on hope, justice, and the future goals.
Building on those foundation, participants took part in a body mapping process, invited them to reflect deeply on how their physical selves carry scars, pain, joy, resilience, hopes, and dreams shaped by years of activism and care for others. This activity encouraged participants to shift attention inward, recognising how often they prioritize survivors and communities while neglecting their own well-being. By making visible what is often held silently in the body, the process allowed participants to acknowledge both vulnerability and resilience. One participant said,
“Working on my body mapping and listening to other people’s stories is eye opening. I often feel hopeless and alone working in my community, but today I realise that the fights continue everywhere that we are not alone in this journey.”
On the second day, participants engaged in art journaling, facilitated by visual artist Ika Vantiani, emphasising the need for self-care. The session provided an environment for working with colours, images, and words to express feelings. As one participant shared, “It opened my horison. The pictures speak to me, and they speak to each other.” Participants reflected art journaling as a new way to cope with stress, shifting their time away from constant urgency and distraction toward meaningful self-reflection.
The third day involved a collective mosaic-making process that invited participants to reflect on fragility, rupture, and rebuilding in societies affected by conflict and hardship. Participants, having previously paited their ideal societies on plates and then witnessed these plates being deliberately broken by themself, reassembled the broken pieces and rebuild a “life after conflict.” The process served a metaphor for rupture, loss, and collective rebuilding after conflict, emphasizing shared responsibility over individual effort in constructing resilience. One participant reflected, “The original one is beautiful, but the new one is even more beautiful, with the edges, tower. We are expanding.”
On the final day, participants visited Taman 65, a community-led memorial space dedicated to remembering the 1965 genocide in Indonesia. During the visit, participants learned about the mass killings, enforced disappearances, and long-term stigma experienced by survivors and their families, while also reflecting on how silence and denial continue to shape the present. The visit opened space for shared discussions on similar histories of violence and repression across the region, including in Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China, Papua, and Indonesia. Participants explored how memorialization connects to truth-telling, healing, and justice, emphasizing that acknowledging the past is essential for survivors and for building peace that is not rooted in forgetting.
During the retreat, participants expressed their feeling safe, relaxed, and supported in both body and mind. The combination of creative practices, cultural activities, and wellness sessions allowed them to reflect deeply on their personal and professional journeys. Participants highlighted the value of morning yoga, body mapping, art journaling, and collective exercises in fostering self-awareness, emotional clarity, and connection with others. It was affirmed that sustaining human rights work requires intentional space for rest, reflection, and collective care.