Introduction
Learn from Rukiya, an organiser in Kenya with 350, an international environmental organization addressing the climate crisis, about how she recruited people for the DeCOALinise campaign in Africa. Rukiya’s story is told via presentation slides and audio and includes information about:- Recruitment challenges
- About the Ladder of Engagement
- Recruitment ideas and tips
- Using art and competition to recruit people
The story telling lab weaves lessons from a range of stories and perspectives, including people close to the ground and nationally.Each case draws out lessons from the people involved and concludes with broader generalisations. Whilst these case studies are focused on 350 and the climate movement the lessons learned and reflections are applicable to any campaign. See the original slides on the 350.org Organising Story-telling lab. The Commons has shared snippets of the presentation below and made minor formatting edits to the original such as adding headings and quotes.
How to Recruit more People
Jambo! I am Rukiya! I’m a field organiser in Nairobi, Kenya. I work with 350 Kenya and Africa’s deCOALinise campaign. I want to share some stories about how we recruited people.
It’s easier to find people we already know. To find people outside of those we know, we need to try out new techniques. You’ll hear some new ideas.
Once people are involved, they have to get more involved.
How did Rukiya first get involved in 350?
Listen to Rukiya’s answer on Slide 5
What made Rukiya say yes to fighting the coal plant in her hometown of Lamu?
We’re talking about recruitment and we hear you getting recruited. What made you say yes to fighting the planned Coal Plant in your hometown of Lamu?
Listen to Rukiya’s answer on Slide 6
This a classic recruitment story – bring someone in on one small request. Then you follow with requests for more engagement. We sometimes call this a “ladder of engagement” – each act you do (rung) gets you closer to deeper engagement.For Rukiya, the Ladder of Engagement was:
- Asking for translation help.
- Then asking to join a house meeting.
- Then helping to organise an action.
- Eventually becoming the national coordinator!
How did you recruit new people into the campaign?
Now you’re a full campaigner with 350, a leader. How do you recruit new people into the campaign?
Listen to Rukiya’s answer on Slides 9 and 10
Review of Lessons
- Ladder of Engagement What you ask someone to do must be related to their level of engagement. Organisers should consider a range of different actions people can take for a range of involvement. More over at Trainings.350.org
- Use competition, like the twitter debates! Movements have created awards for the best tactic, challenging local groups to get the most new sign-ups, or challenging groups to be the first to find out a public target’s schedule (for bird-dogging).
- Invite people to make the materials One organiser gave himself a rule: never do what the people can do themselves. Rather than designing all the materials ourselves, Rukiya showed us how people can create artwork, videos, and the materials of our movement. It’s a good way to bring in leaders, lift up new voices, and connect more people!
Tactics
- Follow-up (use WhatsApp groups) Use the sign-up sheets or visitor books and contact people – put them in WhatsApp groups.
- Artivism workshops And more is over at http://art.350.org
- Twitter Debate Set a time and a topic. Then host a lively twitter debate on your feed.
- Inter-university dialogue Challenging local universities to debate each other on pro’s and con’s of renewable, etc.
- Video recording: “Why I’m going…” People videotaping why they’re going to an action – then assembling those stories as a recruitment video.
- Art competition Using graffiti, logos and drawings to invite people to participate.
Access Resource
Explore Further
- Arts Organizing For Climate Justice, 350 This site offers resources, inspiration and how-to’s for everyone to use the arts to protect our climate and communities and resist injustice. Our goal is to help massively utilize arts organizing—visuals arts, performance and music—and integrate it into the heart of our organizing, campaigns and mobilizations to strengthen movement-building, innovate new forms of resistance and to win positive change.
- Examples of projects, actions and examples of ways that art has been used for social change
- A Better World is Paintable: How to make banners, stencils, street murals, parachute banners, and more!
- Organising Stories and Lessons from the 350 Organising Story Telling Lab
- Arts & Creativity Collection of Resources in the Commons library
- Organising: Start Here