ActivityRead

Looking for articles, books, case studies, tips about social change and activism? You’ve found the right place – The Commons Social Change Library.

  • Photograph of a neon question mark in a dark room.

    Strategic Questioning Manual: A Powerful Tool for Personal and Social Change

    Strategic questioning is a powerful tool for social change which helps people discover their own strategies and ideas for change.

  • Diagram shows 5 arrows pointing to the target of Purpose: Symbols

    Being Purpose Driven

    Nothing precedes purpose. The starting point for every organisation or movement should be the question ‘Why do we exist’? A number of tips for focusing an organisation on vision and purpose. An excerpt from Purpose Driven Campaigning, based on Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church.

  • Diagram of the Circles of Commitment also known as the Ladder of Engagement. 5 concentric circles labelled from outside to inside: Community; Crowd; Congregation; Committed; Core.||screenshot of Circles of Commitment worksheet|Book cover - Title reads 'The purpose driven church: Growth withous compromising your message and mission'. There is a sun behind the title. 'Rick Warren' is the author.

    Levels of Commitment from Community to Core

    Learn lessons on how to build sustainable non-profit organisations and communities from Rick Warren’s 5 ‘circles of commitment’.

  • Photograph of a large group of people in a rural paddock. They are holding signs and banners reading 'No Gas Mining on Our Prime Ag Land'.|Diagram that shows two triangles alongside each other. The one on the left is the Power Elite Model and has the tip of the triangle pointing upwards with 'Powerholders' written on the top and 'People' written on the bottom. An arrow pointing from the top to the bottom is labelled 'Power flow'. The triangle on the right is inverted with People at the top. In the middle of both triangles is written 'Institutions

    Time to Move the Rock: Activating Social Values to Bring About Change

    Learn about Daniel Hunter’s metaphor of moving the rock to bring about social change through activating people’s social values.

  • Text reads 'training as organising'

    Training as Organising: Events that Build Campaign Engagement

    Tips for training or other events which connect people to a campaign and help individuals overcome their barriers to action. As organisers we can use the momentum of the group to leverage people to action – like a turbo-charged persuasive conversation.

  • Black and white photograph of a group of men marching with arms interlinked. Banner reads 'Support BLF Green Bans'.

    Green Bans

    In the 1970s Sydney builders labourers refused to work on projects that were environmentally or socially undesirable. This green bans movement, as it became known, was the first of its type in the world.

  • Black and white photograph of four protestors standing in front of Old Parliament House. Placards read 'Land Ownership Not Lease'

    The Aboriginal Tent Embassy

    The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established in 1972 when the Coalition Government failed to recognise the land rights of Indigenous people. From its inception, the Embassy has been interwoven into Canberra’s physical and political landscape, blending black politics, symbolism and theatre that opponents have found difficult to counter.

  • Black and white photograph of a large crowd of protestors. Banners include 'Vietnam Moratorium Campaign' and 'Stop the Country to Stop the War'.

    The Vietnam War

    Case study of the Australian campaign against involvement in the Vietnam War. The emergence of popular protest in Australia during the 1960s presented a fundamental challenge to government decisions and the way those decisions are made. By taking to the streets people challenged the policy positions of government and, in some cases, the very legitimacy…

  • Black and white photograph of protestors standing next to bus.

    The Freedom Ride

    The Freedom Ride through western New South Wales towns in February 1965 drew attention to the racism in these towns. Aboriginal student Charles Perkins was, by the end of the journey, a national figure in the fight for Aboriginal rights.

  • Black and white photograph of Mau leaders sitting in front of a building.|Women's Mau leaders and committee in front of octagonal Mau office

    The Mau Movement for Samoan Independence

    Case study of the long struggle for Samoan independence which was ultimately successful in 1962. Moved by love, never driven by intimidation.

Filter Results

Years
Resource Types
Topics
Activity
Collections
Authors
Languages