At zusa, we like to spend time together. We like to do that not only in our office, but even more so outside, traveling, eating, and simply staying around each other. That is why twice a year we pack our backpacks and go spend a couple of days outside of the city at zusa retreats.
In 2022, we were lucky to visit two different places in Brandenburg. In early June our friend Christa Cocciole invited us to stay at Stolzenhagen, in the beautiful surroundings of Ponderosa full of early summer blossoms, and cherries hanging on trees. We spent a couple of days recalibrating our work, redefining our roles, and agreeing on how we wanted to work together in the new shape of zusa. Summer came and passed, and we met again all together in October, this time visiting another cozy location of Sonnenhaus in Liebenthal. Even though the days got colder, we found ourselves enjoying autumn nature, which inspired us to slow down and take much-needed time to simply talk with each other about things that matter, and that keep us going.
We see our team retreats as a place where we meet at eye level; when we close our laptops and face each other as we are. At zusa, our decisions are made in a shared manner, we all deeply care for our work and navigate ourselves together proactively. This way of working is not always easy, even though it often sounds like that. It requires motivation, devotion, and a willingness to open up and being fine with failures, too. It takes time – it is a process. Yet we all share the same feeling of trust in this process. We agree that zusa is not only our workplace, but it is rather a way of looking at collaboration in culture and civil society: questioning ourselves to do better and connect in a more honest and genuine way.
