We Program

WE is a dialogue based program, an innovative methodology of how to work with complex challenges, a global learning community and an unconventional yet powerful philosophy of how to collaborate. It is an alternative answer to auditing and certification that is focussed on improving the working conditions of people in global supply chains. From cotton workers supplying the raw materials, to garment workers creating consumer products all the way to waste pickers. The WE program has been at the forefront of human rights in business for 15 years. WE has changed the workplace dynamics from debate to dialogue, from focusing on problems to identifying and shifting harmful patters and from traditional management to ownership and co-creation. Retailers and brands have been engaging in social standard implementation for many years. Existing approaches such as codes of conduct and social audits have led to improvements in some areas, but in the long run they very clearly show their limitations in other. Audits are a checklist exercise to measure compliance to a set of written requirements. These can range from the quantity of fire extinguishers to cases of sexual harassment. While addressing fire safety may seem easy, openly discussing sexual harassment is certainly not. To us, human rights are not just a collection of facts. Most human rights issues are relational and have to do with power and culture. Shifting these dynamics requires a diversity of perspectives and should include all those affected. . Within the framework of WE, dialogue is not just ‘people talking’; it is a structured process that gives everyone involved the opportunity to participate and co-create a desired future. Courageous conversations lie at the heart of that. They are about having the courage to talk about difficult subjects and uncomfortable truths and co-creating meaningful change.