Looking for articles, books, case studies, tips about social change and activism? You’ve found the right place – The Commons Social Change Library.
A process guide to be used in training workshops and planning sessions to introduce participants to lobbying in an experiential way; identify lobbying as just one tool in a community organiser’s toolkit of skills and techniques for change; provide resources and information for future reference.
Lobbying is one method of raising public awareness of an issue and enlists support for a particular cause. The objective of lobbying is to persuade decision makers to take or not to take particular actions. This handout covers the skills, knowledge and qualities of effective lobbyists, as well as the essential steps to preparing for lobbying.
A process guide to be used in training workshops and planning sessions to develop campaign strategy. A tactical timeline can support the development of a strategy designed to win over third-party support. This exercise needs to be used after the spectrum of allies exercise.
A process guide to be used in training workshops and planning sessions to help campaigners consider the social and political context within which they are developing strategy and creatively consider allies, opponents, targets and constituents prior to embarking on a campaign.
The Community Organising Guide is 296 pages of training resources to deepen our understanding of core organising skills: relational meetings and self-interest, the power of story in organising, building alliances, coalitions and networks, holding decision-makers accountable, leadership development, recruitment, doorknocking and phonebanking.
The Campaign Strategy Guide is part of the People Power Manual, a resource created for organisers, activist educators and facilitators.
The economic depression of the 1930s saw thousands of Australians thrown out of their homes and into the streets. These actions however did not go unopposed. Across Australia pickets, occupations and protests were organised to disrupt and prevent evictions and auctions.
This is an introduction to campaigning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Campaigning involves activating, mobilising, and organising people to make change and influence others to make change. This is an excerpt from Building Power: A Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Who Want to Change the World.
This is a training process guide to identify local stories, people, experiences, values, skills and knowledge that have made a contribution to positive change in the local community. It is an excerpt from Building Power: A Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Who Want to Change the World.
This is a training process guide to provide people with space to start focussing in on one of the issues that may be among many they are dealing with in their community or context. This process is also about starting to think about problems and solutions. It is an excerpt from Building Power: A Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Who Want to Change the World.
A training process guide to provide a space for people to think about the role and qualities of leaders in social change. Leaders for social change model the way; inspire a shared vision; challenge the process; enable others to act; and encourage the heart.
In August 1966, Aboriginal pastoral workers walked off the job on the vast Vesteys cattle station at Wave Hill in the Northern Territory, sparking the Aboriginal land rights movement. A summary of the campaign case study is included along with a process for use in training workshops.
Key ingredients for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to consider for building power in relation to mining in Australia.
This is a training process guide to introduce participants to each other, connect their own history to a larger history of social change, identify local tactics, and to rethink what success looks like. It is an excerpt from Building Power: A Guide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Who Want to Change the World.
The Timeline of Resistance was produced by Original Power as a training aid for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities as well as allies aiming to work in solidarity. The timeline summarises a history of campaigning and organising since invasion.
Facebook is a vital organising and networking tool but presents risks for activists. Digital security can seem overwhelming but we can all get better at it. There are organisations who have done a great job of breaking the information down and giving you support to improve your practices. Start with these 7 tips.
CounterAct encourages the progressive and radical movements on the Australian continent to get better at digital privacy and security. Security culture is simply a set of practices that limits the ability for government or opponents to find out more information about you and interfere with or monitor your group. We’ve given you some tools to minimise this.
A checklist of some of the basic principles, and pieces of information, to include in NVDA training. When facilitation is shared among a number of people at large convergences it can be easy to miss things! This has been crowd-sourced from NVDA trainers and CounterAct training.
Here are some practical things you may like to consider in logistical preparations for a community blockade: helpful skills, action roles, and logistical preparation.
Case study of the keys to success and strengths of the James Price Point / Walmadan campaign in the Kimberley, Western Australia.