Beautiful Action Trainer Modules (BATMo): Resources for Nonviolent Action Trainers

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Introduction

BatMo is for entry level and experienced trainers, facilitators and educators in the Nonviolent Action, People Power, Civil Resistance field looking for training resources, modules and activities.

Beautiful Action Trainer Modules BATMo! is a toolkit for Nonviolent Action Trainers and Facilitators by Beautiful Trouble. Beautiful Trouble equip social movements with an ever-growing suite of strategic tools and training to help grassroots movements be more creative, effective, and irresistible.

The BATMo trainer modules pull together curated best-in-class resources, including the Beautiful Trouble toolkit + other global resources to help Nonviolent Action trainers quickly produce agendas and identify training activities for their context.

The resources are available to use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License. The Commons Library have adapted the resources to be presented with a link to each module and a list of training activities. See the BATMo website for the full modules.

There are:

Each module lists specific activities, and those activities have full directions on how to facilitate them.

Each Module + Activity has its own “prompt card” that can be downloaded and printed to help you during a workshop.

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Introduction to BATMo!

Training Modules

Find all the BATMo modules on the Beautiful Trouble website.

Below is a brief snapshot of each module and the accompanying training activities list.

Module 1

Learning from History Sharing Nonviolent Action Stories

Review nonviolent action history with a group to help them place their strategic choices within a broader history of social movements and powerfully ground the practice of nonviolent action.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
Timeline Wall activity  A collaborative, knowledge-driven, written exercise for situating our present movements within the historical trajectory of nonviolent resistance. 15-45 min Low- Moderate
Documentary & Discussion activity  Use these short video segments with actual footage of historic nonviolent resistance movements to spark discussions and learn lessons from past strategy, tactics and campaigns for current campaigns. 45 min or longer Low
Museum of People Power activity  An active and engaging way to collaboratively share knowledge about nonviolent action history and jump start a physical connection to people power. 15-30 min High
Disobedient Images activity Use historical images to jump start discussion on how good things we take for granted in our lives today was actually the outcome of struggle and of disobedience campaigns. 20-45 min Low- Moderate
Ideal Community activity This exercise offers a shared physical experience of people power and provides a framework for the discussion of nonviolent action and conflict transformation. 40-60 min High

Module 2

Finding Common Ground: Setting Vision and Principles

Tools to help nonviolent action groups set their campaign or organization’s vision & values or principles to guide more effective planning and implementation of activities.

Training Activities List

Exercise Snapshot  Time Energy Level
Breaking News  A collaborative activity using a media frame to help participants look into the future and imagine what the movement wants to achieve. 20- 40 min Moderate
Future Workshop: Imagining and designing our dream village A collective visioning activity with drawing, for groups in political struggles to develop compelling futures worth fighting for.  60 mins Moderate – High
Identifying Values  + Principles These tools help participants express and refine their personal beliefs and then come up with shared values and operational principles that will help guide their group’s work and planning. 30-60 min Low – Moderate
Round Robin Purpose/Mission Writing  A round-robin writing exercise to quickly identify and state the core purpose or mission of a group. 25-45 min Moderate – High
Vision Cafe –  World Cafe for Vision setting Use the World Cafe model to harness the power of collaborative dialogue around important questions that matter in service to setting a vision and identifying values for a group.   60 – 120 mins Moderate – High

Module 3

Laying Groundwork for Strategic Planning: Assessment Tools for Analysis

This module focuses on how to use assessment and analysis — the process of gathering and then processing the information — as a bridge from developing your vision to developing campaign strategy scenarios.

Training Activities List

Exercise Snapshot  Time Energy Level
HOW? 
Pillars of power		 Identify the institutions that your target relies on for support so you can weaken or disrupt their power.  40-60 minutes   Low 
HOW and WHO?
Power mapping/ Stakeholder Mapping		 Map the power dynamics at play to identify your primary target and design a winning campaign strategy. 40-60 minutes   Low
WHO?
Spectrum of Allies 		 Locate allies and opponents along a spectrum from active opposition to active allies in order to increase your own support, as well as shift support out from under your opposition. 45-60 min Low
WHAT?
Analysis Tree		 Use this environmental scan to help identify, organize and prioritize the patterns and problems people face. 30-45 mins  Low
WHY?
The Onion		 People & organizations are more complicated than their stated positions. By peeling back the onion on both friend & foe, we can discover potential allies and reveal powerholder’s hidden conflicts of interest. 30- 45 Minutes Low
WHEN?
Historic Timeline		 Developing a timeline of the history of the conflict enables stakeholders to identify potential “windows of vulnerability or opportunity” that could escalate or resolve conflict in the future. 45-60 min Moderate – High
WHERE?
Connectors and Dividers		 Examine connectors and dividers that exist within a society to anticipate how actions may create further divisions or build a greater sense of connection across the lines of conflict. 40-60 min Low

Module 4

Crafting a Strategic Plan: Integrating Analysis into Campaign Design and Planning

This chapter bridges the journey from strategic assessment to implementation, with activities to help a group understand the wider picture a& connect it to the concrete actions required to advance a campaign.

Training Activities List

Exercise Snapshot Time Energy Level
Ideal Community  This exercise offers a physical experience of people power and provides a framework for the discussion of nonviolent action and conflict transformation through shared experiences. 40-60 min High
SWOT  Cross- reference internal & external factors in order to identify potential campaign scenarios. 30-40 min Moderate
Campaign Path or Flow Chart This exercise charts the roadmap of internal and external pathways for reaching your goal with specific and clear directions.  75-90 min  Low – Moderate
Theory of Change Lay a solid foundation for a campaign by working backwards from long-term goals to identify the conditions that must be in place in order to achieve those goals, and why. 40-45 min Low
SMART Strong campaigns are built on a series of short- and medium-term SMART objectives that function as intermediary steps towards a more ambitious campaign goal. 30 – 50 mins Low

Module 5

Delivering on a Strategic Plan: Using Implementation Tools

This module provides guidance for developing an implementation plan, including identifying specific tactics and the people & resources needed to achieve the goals of a campaign.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
SMART This  methodology is a way to plan short- and medium-term objectives which increase the likelihood of a campaign’s success.  30 – 50 mins Low
Calendarize Create a comprehensive timeline/calendar that aligns with and supports your overall strategy and SMART goals to ensure that your planning becomes actionable and achievable. 30 – 40 mins Low 
Points of Intervention Identify pressure points where you can take action to interrupt business as usual, and press for change. 30-60 min Low- Moderate
Action Planning Card Game Lively overview activity of action planning steps and the importance of planning overall. 10 – 20 mins Moderate 
Action Star  A graphic checklist of 8 key factors for planning & evaluating actions 50-60 mins High

Module 6

Getting Creative: Designing Innovative Action

This module supports the use of innovative action tactics as a noticeable characteristic of successful campaigns.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
Cardstorm!  Quickly brainstorm creative action ideas by flipping over 3 cards at a time. 5-50 min Moderate
Design an Action  Build a creative action in mere minutes! 15-60 min Moderate – High
Points of Intervention Identify pressure points where you can take action to interrupt business as usual, and press for change. 30-60 min Low – Moderate
Best/Worst Action Harvest the collective experience and wisdom already in the room about what makes actions effective– or not! and derive useful lessons for designing one’s own actions.  30-50 min Moderate – High
Battle of the Story Harness the strength of stories to expose oppressive beliefs, and show how another reality is possible. 30-90 min Moderate
Action Checklist   Handy checklist for what to do before, during and after an action.  15 min to hours Low
Six Thinking Hats   De Bono’s six thinking hats are often used as a brainstorming tool that encourages parallel thinking on a specific issue.  60 min Moderate

Module 7

Handling Conflict Creatively: Exploring Responses within and beyond the Group

Preparing and practicing your options for communicating clearly and handling conflict skilfully will help you build capacity to be more effective facilitators, organizers & activists.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
Hassle Lines A hassle line is a short roleplay done in a line with participants facing each other, useful for quick intense exploration of conflict behavior and intervention. 15-45 min High
ACTIVE LISTENING Explore Active listening as a critical tool for activists and organizers  10-45 min Low 
ACTION ROLE PLAY Action role plays are a direct and powerful way to support group learning as well as practice or rehearse for more effective actions. 45-60 min High
EARLY WARNING, EARLY RESPONSE   In-depth guided process that supports preparation and response to upcoming potential conflict scenarios with UCP (Unarmed Civilian Peacekeepers), most effective when paired with practice role plays. 30 min-2 hours Low – High
Documentary & Discussion activity  Use these short video segments with actual footage of historic nonviolent resistance movements to spark discussions on handling conflict. 45 min Low

Module 8

Awesome Facilitation Ideas and Encouragement for NVA Trainers

Guiding principles for trainers including:

  • Political participation
  • Participatory Methods
  • Learning by Doing
  • Public Action Learning
  • Dreaming Big
  • Feminist Lens

Module 9

Group Energizers: Openers and Closers

Great energizer activities are useful at different points in a training — to help a group get to know one another, reenergize if they have lost momentum, or spark people to think in new ways if stuck.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
Opening the Space  Various ways to open a space and create a ‘container’ for our best work through land acknowledgements, grounding, or inclusive welcome activities. 3-30 minutes low/moderate
Name Games Activities to bring a group together while learning each other’s names.    5-20 min low to high
Group Agreements  Participatory process for establishing ground rules that promote interaction, accountability, trust-building, and inclusivity. 10-45  minutes moderate 
Get To Know Each Other Activities Engaging activities for groups to get to know each other and build cohesion. 10-45 low to high
Energizers Participatory activities that are fun, engaging, break down barriers, bring up the energy level and help to refocus participants. 10-15 high
Closing the Space Various ways to close a space and support participants in honoring the work done.  3–30 min low to high

Module 10

Decision Making Tools

Strong groups benefit from good decision-making processes that help each person bring their own experience, understanding & level of motivation into their group dynamic constructively.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
Quick Decision Tools Several quick and flexible ways to support group decisions in a democratic way. 2 – 10 min low – high 
Dotocracy An engaging way to discern and prioritize choices democratically with colorful dots or markers. 15 – 45 min low – high 
Cascade   An engaging way to discern and prioritize choices democratically. 15 – 45 min moderate – high 
Take A Position (Agree + Disagree)  Participants take up a physical position in a space based on their opinion of that topic. 45 – 60 minutes  high
Consensus Decision Making (Background Document) Consensus decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reaching agreement between all members of a group. 15 – 45 min moderate

Module 11

Debrief and Evaluation Tools

Debriefing and evaluation are a key step to help trainers & participants reflect, learn, share and consolidate their learning.

Training Activities List

Exercise What it is  Time Energy Level
Circle Group Assessment Fun and meaningful way to get to know each other’s experience and build vulnerability and trust in the group. Good for broad visual assessments of participants.  5-10 min low to high
Spectrums An activity that helps individuals reflect on their own positions as well as recognize the diversity within a group by literally putting their bodies on a line (as you might in a direct action.)  15-45 min moderate to high
Gallery Walk A Gallery Walk can be integrated into many different exercises as a way to  help a group collect or share information, encourage group analysis, and engage the room.  15-60 min moderate
Graphic Evaluation Creative elicitive tools to provide direct feedback on training objectives, and support more insightful and useful processes and takeaways for participants and facilitators alike.    10-60 min low to mid
Debrief An engaging debrief creates opportunities for deeper understanding and lasting learning, improving comprehension, drawing out insights or lessons, and helping participants integrate what they’ve learned. 15-60 min low to high
Evaluate an Action- Card Game  This Card Game based on the principles and theories in the BT Toolkit tool can be used to Test-flight an action that’s still in the works, debrief after an action, or analyse an historic action. 10-30 min low
Baraza A baraza is a large community gathering to discuss important matters, share information, and hold leaders to account. 30-90 min moderate to high

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