Articles

anti nuclear protestors on USS Worden ship with protest banners saying No Nuclear Weapons

Australians campaign against nuclear power and uranium mining, 1974-1988

Street marches and trade union action typified Australian resistance to the building of nuclear reactors and uranium mining and export.

Three friends of varying genders taking a selfie in a park with a polaroid camera

Quotes from Beyond the Gender Binary

Quotes which draw on contemporary experiences of living beyond the gender binary to inspire collective action, resistance and solidarity.

Dilemma Actions: the power of putting your opponent in a bind

A study of 44 dilemma actions over the last 90 years examines the many benefits of creative protests for social movements.

Circular orange badge featuring at centre the slogan 'Stop the 71 tours' in black text and 'Anti-apartheid movement - fight apartheid' at bottom of badge.

Australians block cricket and impede rugby tour of apartheid South Africa, 1971

Anti-apartheid protesters impeded the South African Springboks rugby tour, and stopped the cricket tour, to protest racial inequality.

Writing Engaging Articles

A list of tips on how to write engaging articles from The Commons Social Change Library. Engage with topic, structure, tone and formatting.

A desk in a brightly lit room, with a laptop, coffee and coffee cup, and a notebook and pen sitting on it.

Writing for The Commons Social Change Library

Do you have an idea, case study, how to or article you would like to write in relation to social change? We would love to hear from you!

Greenpeace and Sea Shepherds force Japanese seafood company Nissui to sell stakes in whale hunting ships 2005-2006

Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd initiated a consumer boycott against Sealord Tuna to end whaling by its parent company, Nissui.

Black and white photograph of a sign that reads: 'GURINDJI Mining Lease and Cattle Station'.

Australian Aboriginal workers strike for fair wages and equality, 1946-1949

Indigenous pastoral workers in the Kimberley region of Western Australia struck for equal wages and full civil rights in the late 1940s.

Indigenous Gurindji win Land Rights in Australia (Wave Hill Walk Off) 1966-1975

The Gurindji of Wave Hill Station (Northern Territory) protested by a walkout against low wages, leading to the land rights movement.

Greenpeace pushes for global ban on CFCs 1986 – 1995

Greenpeace International agitated for a ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) to protect the global ozone layer from ultraviolet radiation. This case study describes the campaign.

Greenpeace pressures Coca-Cola to phase out HFC refrigeration for Olympic Games in Australia 2000-2004

Greenpeace International agitated for Coca Cola to desist from HFC refrigerants prior to the Sydney Summer Olympics in 2000.

The flag of the Torres Strait Islands. It features a white Dhari (traditional headdress), with a five-pointed white star beneath it. The background is dark blue, with green stripes at the top and bottom of the flag.

Torres Strait soldiers stage stay at home strikes, 1943

Torres Strait Islander soldiers strike to end discrimination in the army during World War Two.

Torres Strait Islanders hold maritime strike against pearling industry, 1936

Torres Strait Islanders refused work in the Native Affairs pearling fleet due to racial discrimination and held a maritime strike in 1936.

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

Vietnam Moratorium Campaign: Australian citizens force end to participation in Vietnam War

Australian civil society groups resisted military participation in the war in Vietnam through organised and nonviolent action, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.

Black and white photograph of protestors standing next to bus.

University of Sydney students uncover and protest discrimination of Aboriginal people in New South Wales, 1965

Torres Strait Islander soldiers strike to end discrimination in the army during World War Two.

Photograph of the S11 protest in melbourne. Signs with black oil drums saying toxic waste

S11: Australians Blockade World Economic Forum

The S11 Alliance protested againsts the World Economic Forum in Melbourne in September 2000. Their blockades were met by police violence.

Portrait of Marshall Ganz with a quote that says - Movements have narratives. They tell stories, because they are not just about rearranging economics and politics. They also rearrange meaning. And they're not just about redistributing the goods. They're about figuring out what is good. By Marshall Ganz

Marshall Ganz Quotes and Wisdom about Leadership, Hope, Organizing and Narrative

Inspiring quotes from Marshall Ganz, an expert in leadership, organizing and narrative/story. He is a lecturer at Harvard University.

Movement as Network: Connecting People and Organizations in the Environmental Movement

The environmental movement requires new organizational structures and strategies to succeed in this next phase of its evolution.

Protest poster - Aboriginal Australians in protest holding a sign that says No mining on sacred land. The wording on the poster says We, The People of Noonkanbah call for support.

Noonkanbah 1979: When Unionists Stood up for Aboriginal Rights

The Noonkanbah dispute was an important chapter in both the struggle for Australian Aboriginal rights and union solidarity in the 1970s-80s.

A group of people stand on a bridge holding large letters spelling 'Global Goals'.

Campaigning for Social Change: Beyond just protesting for it!

Daniel Hunter outlines the key elements of campaigns: a strategic time-tested model for effective social change work.

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