Introduction
A podcast by Steve showcasing the best advocacy campaigns from past and present from around the world. Learn the lessons from social and political campaigns that have made an impact.
A tool for campaigners and those that are interested in how change happens.
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Here are some interesting campaign/movement case studies from the podcast to listen to!
Anti-Apartheid Movement
The British Anti-Apartheid Movement was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African racial segregation system, Apartheid. By the late 1980s the UK Movement had unleashed a number of campaigns and branches and become one of the most powerful international solidarity efforts in history.
In this interview we feature three prominent UK anti-apartheid activists and organisers from the time: Chitra Karve, who was an Anti-Apartheid Movement staff member from 1986 to 1989 and helped organise the 1988 Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign, Suresh Kamath who was formerly Vice-Chair of the Movement, and helped to organise the Mandela freedom concert at Wembley Stadium in April 1990, and Tim Oshodi who was Chair of the London School of Economics AA Group and took part in an occupation of the LSE, and was a member of the Black Solidarity Committee.
The three interviewees give some really fascinating insights into what was one of the most important and ultimately successful campaigns of the 20th Century, and reflect on what what went well, what went wrong and what contemporary campaigners can learn from their experience.
Freedom Rides
Emilye Crosby, professor of history and the coordinator of Black Studies at SUNY Geneseo, and Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Associate Professor for the History Department in the Ohio State University, reflect on the tactics and strategies of the Freedom Riders.
The Freedom Rides were a key part of the American civil rights movement of the 1960s and the Riders rode buses through the American South in 1961 to protest against segregated bus terminals. They tried to use “whites-only” restrooms and lunch counters at bus stations in Alabama, South Carolina and other Southern states. Along their routes, the freedom riders were met with violence and confrontation by police and white protestors (many of whom were members of the Klu Klux Klan.
The protest drew international attention to the civil rights movement and was a pivotal moment in the wider civil rights struggle.
Equal Marriage Campaign
This episode is on the campaign for equal marriage in the uk, sometimes referred to as gay marriage. The interviewee is Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of Humanists UK. Andrew was very much involved as a leader of the campaign which led legislation to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales. The legislation was passed by the UK Parliament 10 years ago, in July 2013.
In England and Wales, the first major campaign for same-sex marriage was Equal Love established by Peter Tatchell in 2010. The Coalition for Equal Marriage is a British campaign group created in 2012 by Conor Marron and James Lattimore, a same-sex couple, to petition in support of civil marriages for gay couples.
There are strong lessons in here for groups looking to campaign across the political divide, tacking into the political and social zeitgeist and using broad coalitions to achieve change.
Berlin Housing Campaign
The Deutsche Wohnen & Co. Enteignen movement wants the city of Berlin to transfer real estate into public ownership, expropriating the city’s large corporate landlords: those who have more than 3,000 units (an estimated 11% of the city’s housing stock). Launched in 2018 but dating back to 2010, the initiative focused on increasing rents and poor-quality housing in a city where 85% of people live in rented accommodation.
Campaigners uncovered a mechanism under the constitution to hold referenda. 7% of those eligible to vote were needed to sign a petition and some 171,000 signatures were collected. A referendum was held in 2021, with the campaign winning 59.1% of the vote, gaining over a million votes. Campaigners are now planning a new, binding referendum.
One prominent activist within the movement is Polish-born Joanna Kusiak, who the guest in this episode. Joanna lives in Berlin and works at the University of Cambridge where her work focuses on urban land, housing crises, and the progressive potential of law. In 2021 she was one of the spokespeople of Deutsche Wohnen & Co. enteignen.
Joanna describes both the campaign and some of the tactics and strategies it employed, with the legal-constitutional strategy at the heart of the effort.
Uber drivers: Yaseen Aslam
Yaseen Aslam is a great example of a ‘lived experience’ campaigner.
He started working as a private taxi or ‘minicab’ driver in London in 2006 and moved to taxi firm Uber when the company launched its Uber X service in 2013.
Between 2015 and 2021, he and other Uber drivers campaigned to ensure that the company treat its drivers as “workers” which entitles them to more rights than independent contractors. Uber had a position that the drivers were self employed ‘contractors’. They maintained this position throughout years of legal proceedings and appeals that took the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Eventually, in 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Uber drivers and allowed them the entitlement to a basket of rights such as the minimum wage, working-time protections and holiday pay. As a result, the company has been forced to announce new benefits for drivers including a pension plan and holiday time.
Truth and Trust: Campaigning in the Disinformation Age
An expert panel of seasoned campaigners who have dealt with disinformation and falsehoods, our first live panel event sheds light on how campaigners can navigate the issues and counter conspiracy theories, lies and half-truths.
HIV Campaigning in the 2000s
in the 2000s AIDS campaigners took the issue of access to free drugs for HIV and AIDS global … and won. With Kirsty McNeill and Simon Wright from Save the Children UK
Surfers Against Sewage
I speak to Hugo Tagholm from Surfers Against Sewage who have been campaiging UK government and water companies to end sewage pollution in rivers and the ocean.
The Suffragettes
My guest is Helen Pankhurst, women’s rights activist and great grandaughter of Emily Pankhurst, and togther we examine the Suffragette’s role in the campaign for women’s suffrage.
Explore Further
- The Craft of Campaigns: A Podcast for Organisers
- For the Win Podcast
- People’s History of Australia Podcast
- Finding Joy in Resistance: 12 Inspiring Podcasts
- Words to Win By Podcast
- Commons Conversations Podcast: Insights into Activism
- The Social Change Agency Podcast
- How to Create your own Podcast
- Faces of Change: Podcast by Marshall Ganz
- Activism and Campaign History: Start Here