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Performing Political History An interview with Gary Foley

An interview with Professor Gary Foley about using creative practice to bring attention to the political challenges facing Aboriginal people in Australia.

30 years of Creative Resistance

’30 years of Creative Resistance’ is a compilation of writing and art celebrating the work of Friends of the Earth Australia over the last thirty years.

Activist Archiving Start Here

A list of articles and ideas from the Commons Librarians about resources to explore in archiving your work in social change.

Crowdsource your archives 3 examples of community-based approaches

There has been a shift from institutional to participatory archives – communities rising up and documenting their own histories. Here are 3 examples of how communities are speaking their own truths.

How to inspire a young activist? A collection of books for kids and teens

An inspiring collection of stories about activism and social justice for children and teenagers collated by Melbourne independent bookstore Readings.

From Little Things Big Things Grow Events That Changed Australia – March

A list of some of the small actions and major events from social movement history during the month of March.  

From Little Things Big Things Grow Events That Changed Australia – February

A list of some of the small actions and major events from social movement history during the month of February.  

From Little Things Big Things Grow Events That Changed Australia – August to February

A list of small actions and major events which challenged the state of Australian society and pointed to better ways forward.  

About How to Make Trouble and Influence People

Information about How to Make Trouble and Influence People, including reviews of the two editions. The book offers an alternative history of Australia, chronicling how it “has progressed by a series of little rebellions”.

BUGA-UP

Formed in 1979, Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions (BUGA-UP) made its mark on hoardings around the nation. By revising advertising slogans and disrupting tobacco-sponsored events, the group revealed the true cost of tobacco and alcohol company deception.

Interview with Kevin Buzzacott

Kevin Buzzacott is a key figure in the opposition to the South Australian Olympic Dam mine and the nuclear industry in general. In this interview he outlines a number of the creative actions he has taken part in as part of a series of campaigns addressing the issues of dispossession and Aboriginal sovereignty.

ChangeMakers Podcast Series 2

The ChangeMakers podcast is short series podcast that tells stories about people who are striving for social change across the world.

Always look on the bright side of life The AIDEX ’91 story

In 1991 over 1000 protesters blockaded the National Exhibition Centre in Canberra with the goal of shutting down the Australia International Defence Exhibition. This book includes a detailed account of the blockade, the context of the growth of the Australian arms industry, and the words of the protesters themselves.

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.

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.

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 and authority of the state itself.

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.

The Mau movement Samoan Independence

Case study of the long struggle for Samaon independence which was ultimately successful in 1962. The Mau movement had its origins, in 1908, in a dispute between the German colonial administration and the Maloa o Samoa, or Samoan Council of Chiefs, over the establishment of a copra business owned and controlled by native Samoans.

Victorian red gum forests A historic victory

A comprehensive case study of the successful campaign to protect Victorian Red Gum Forests. Includes the history of the Barmah-Millewa Campaign, its goals and results. Given the historic outcomes of the campaign it is worth examining how such an effective green-black alliance emerged in south-eastern Australia.

Occupy Reflects

A collection of reflections on Occupy Melbourne. The global Occupy movement was one of the most important political events of recent history. Beginning with Occupy Wall Street in New York, the movement triggered an unprecedented wave of uprisings. Melbourne became the largest occupation in the southern hemisphere.