Resources - The Commons Social Change Library

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Digital Security Guide for Everyone

This comprehensive digital security guide is designed for beginners with the aim of increasing security across the activist community.

Workers with hard hats and fluro safety vests on top of building installing solar panels. Two workers are kneeling down on solar panels and two workers are looking at a plan.

Just get on with it: Talking about climate change and economics

This guide is designed to provide practical advice about how to effectively talk about climate change during a global pandemic and recession. It’s based on the findings of an extensive research project.

icon of Malala Yousafzai with her quote - There's a moment where you have to decide whether to be silent or stand up.

Inspiring quotes from women leaders and activists

Over 40 quotes by inspiring women leaders and activists from Australia and around the world about leadership, diversity and the environment.

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Organising: Start Here

Organising builds people power for change. Here is a list of resources to get you started including introductions, different approaches, manuals, tactics, videos and more.

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Campaign Research 101

An introduction to the basics of campaign research for social change advocates. Campaign research helps you get the right message, in the right format, delivered by the right messengers, to the right audience through the right channels.

ChangeMakers Organising School – Season Two

Notes from training sessions hosted by ChangeMakers and Tipping Point April to July 2020. The training aims to equip organisers and campaigners to respond to challenges and continue their work during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A collage of 6 images that relate to community organising including a photo of Saul Alinksy, and people protesting.

So, what is community organising?

Community organising is a way of building people power that focuses on building the capacity, skills and leadership of the people involved in making change. This article explains community organising and its history.

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Organising deeply during crisis

Adele Neale, co-director of the Community Organising Fellowship, makes the case for deep listening and learning as part of organising during times of crisis, including the current pandemic.

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Lobbying and Advocacy: Start Here

Welcome to the Lobbying & Advocacy topic in the Commons Social Change Library. This article guides you through a wide range of materials to inform the public in relation to lobbying, advocacy and policy-making.

Photograph of the front of Australian Parliament House. The front paving shows a pattern that echoes Aboriginal artwork. The building is white with a flag spier and visible Australian flag blowing in the wind.

Australian Parliament 101

Engaging with the 46th Parliament is a key part of working in the policy and advocacy sector of Australian not-for-profit organisations. Here’s some key details you should know.

Understanding Parliamentary Committees

An introduction to Australian Parliamentary Committees and ways advocates can navigate and utilise them. Includes a recording of a seminar presented by a Parliamentary Committee secretary.

Tips for Policy Writing

Policy writing is a key part of the work of not-for-profit individuals and organisations. Follow these tips to do it well.

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State of Progressive Tech in Australia 2020

A 2020 survey of more than 50 organisations across the progressive movement about technology by the Progressive Tech Network Australia.

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Windows and cycles: How policy gets made

This article helps advocates understand and intervene in policymaking more effectively by understanding the two main models of policymaking.

Resources About Australian Housing Justice and Unwaged Rights Campaigns

Resources focused on case studies and stories of how communities have organised to secure housing, financial and other support for the unwaged and those on low incomes.

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Jim Munro and the Unemployed Workers Movement in the 1920s and 1930s

Jim Munro gives an account of how the Unemployed Workers Movement started and actions taken in the 1920s in Melbourne, Australia.

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Squatting’s place in winning Emergency Housing, 1945-48

A talk about how the squatting of empty houses and military camps forced governments in Australia to provide emergency shelter in the 1940s.

Thousands of unemployed men march to the Treasury Buildings to confront Premier Sir James Mitchell 6 March 1931.

The 1931 Perth Treasury Building Riot – Unemployed workers during the Great Depression

Unemployed workers during the Great Depression, the repression they faced, and the protests and tactics they used to fight for their rights.

Problem Diagram

Use this diagram from Mobilisation Lab to chart the causes of the problem that your campaign aims to address and how that problem affects people differently. This tool helps identify the “root cause” to tackle in a campaign or even in a set of campaigns.

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HUM: Double the engagement and productivity of your next online meeting

Do you want to double the engagement and productivity of your next online meeting? Here is a visual guide with practical & easy to use tips.

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