Organising
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Description
There are many different ways to describe organising. Simply put it is people getting together, acting on a plan of action, and accomplishing a goal with the ultimate end being the empowerment of people.
According to Mike Miller of the Organize Training Center, “Organizing does two central things to seek to rectify the problem of power imbalance – it builds a permanent base of people power so that dominant financial and institutional power can be challenged and held accountable to values of greater social, environmental and economic justice; and, it transforms individuals and communities, making them mutually respectful co-creators of public life rather than passive objects of decisions made by others.”
Organising takes all different shapes and form and is always evolving. Within organising, various tools of action can be implemented like: participatory strategic planning, research and data collection, non-violent civil disobedience, legal action, pressure on decision-makers, communication strategies, organisational building and increase capacity, training new people and training trainers, etc.......
What do you think organising is?
Organising for change
People wishing to achieve social change through organising, can refer to these simple principles written by Janice Fine from the book “Building the Organization”:
The three essential principles or orgnaizing:
1. Win concrete victories that improve people's lives.
2. Give people a sense of their power.
3. Alter the relations the relations of power by building permanent, strong organizations.
Three other important principles:
1. Build strong and lasting organizations.
2. Change laws and regulations in our favor.
3. Elect people who can be held accountable to us.
Some Different Types of Organising
1. Community Organising For more information, please go to: http://www.thechangeagency.org/resources/resources/socact/comm-org.pdf
“Community Organising is a strategic approach to social action that addresses immediate community priorities, builds power by mobilising citizens and challenges structural inequality.”
- Long-term oriented
- Get issues from people
- Action oriented
- Practices confrontation and negotitiation
- Staff exists to organise people
2.Direct Action Organising For more information, please go to: http://www.midwestacademy.com/Organize/page5.html
- Win concrete improvements in people's lives.
- Make people aware of their own power (by winning victories).
- Alter the relations of power between people, the government, and other institutions by building strong permanent local, state and national organizations.
3.Action Led Campaigning For more information: See attached paper or go to: http://www.campaignstrategy.org/cr12_intro.html
Direct action is an integral part of Greenpeace. It is their origin, what motivates the public and supporter base to keep them aware and active. It is also very importantly the time when as Greenpeace we have the most power. It is when governments and industry are forced to listen to us because for a brief moment we may well have tipped the balance of power away from them.
The inspiration of direct actions often lies in their simplicity – being able to convey a complex message in an instant to millions of people globally or regionally through the media – as well as to the local population.
Direct actions or non-violent direct actions (NVDA) go to the source of the problem to try to stop it; document it and collect evidence; and/ or to bear witness at the point source of the nuclear test, toxic discharge, GE crop etc. It is a physical intervention where we place ourselves on the front line. We take action to protect the environment, promote peace, and environmental justice.
4.Internet Organising For more information, please go to: http://www.livemodern.com/why_final.pdf or
http://www.alternet.org/story/15163
This form of activism is evolving rapidly. Currently it is referred to as the “hub and spokes” model in which networks come
together on centeralised websites. In the US, Moveon.org has revolutionised fundraising and mass outreach through internet
organising.
5.Elite Debate Organising Many mainstream environmental groups employ an elite debate organising model which essentially
they way to seek change is not by building people power but influencing the decisionmakers or secondary targets and the key news
outlets. This model also reinforces the existing power structures and uses it to make change.
Often in elite debate organising, organisations come together not in true coalitions, but in strategic alliances that serve as
smoke and mirrors to decisionsmakers. Also, members or supporters of these organisations are inactive or just involved
financially.
How Solution name works
How easy is it to organise
Very!
1. Decide on an issue to work on. According to The Change Agency, an issue is a problem the community can be organised around, like more community gardens or local government to generate renewable energy.
2. Talk with people in your community and get together a team of people to work together on the issue.
3. Hold a participatory strategy session. Try to figure out:
- What are the goals.
- What are the organisational/group considerations.
- Who are your friends/allies, constituents, and opponents.
- Who are your primary and secondary targets.
- What sort of tacts can you use to target your audiences and achieve your goals.
- Do you have any research needs?
- Communication - what are your messages and how will you communicate them?
4. Implement your plan and make sure to reflect regularly on progress.
5. Celebrate all victories no matter how small. Celebrations build morale and help to attract people to your issue.
6. After you have achieved your goals repeat strategy session and seek to gain more power to help improve people's lives and the planet.
What you can do
1. Start organising around an issue and promote solutions in your community.
2. Join an existing struggle.
3. Broadcast your victories. Tell everyone about what you are doing and how you are doing it. You can inspire millions of people to take part in creating a better world.
See also
Books
Here is a great list put together by the awesome folks at The Change Agency. Thanks Sam and James!
Over the past ten years we've put together a catalogued collection of over 200 social change oriented books that challenge,
inform and inspire.
"This is a list of ten of our current favourites. We’d really love to hear about yours and if you are in Brisbane, contact us – you can borrow stuff to photocopy from our library, contact sam@thechangeagency.org"
1. How to win campaigns: 100 steps to success Rose, Chris, 2005 Earthscan, London; Sterling, VA ISBN: 1853839620 / 1853839612 Written for the new campaigner and the experienced communicator alike, this is a comprehensive and systematic exploration of what works in campaigning, and a practical how-to guide for using principles and strategy in campaigning as a new form of public politics. Applicable to any issue and from any point of view, the book's 100 key steps and tools provide models of motivation, analysis and communication structure.
2. Rules for radicals: a practical primer for realistic radicals Alinsky, Saul David, 1989 Vintage Books, New York ISBN:
0679721134 / 0679721134 (pbk.) “What follows is for those who want to change the world from what it is to what they believe it
should be. The Prince was written by Machiavelli for the Haves on how to hold power. Rules for Radicals is written for the
Have-Nots on how to take it away. In this book we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it
to the people; to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace, cooperation, equal and full opportunities for
education, full and useful employment, health, and the creation of those circumstances in which man can have the chance to live
by values that give meaning to life."
3. Organizing for social change: a manual for activists in the 90's Bobo, Kimberley A.; Kendall, Jackie; Max, Steve, 1991 Seven
Locks Press, Washington. ISBN: 0932020933 Compiled by members of the Midwest Academy this book is a bible for anyone who wants to
effectively organize to change the quality of their lives or the lives of others. Now in its third edition this book has already
sold 60,000 copies in all of its editions since 1991. With new information on the trends, technology, and concerns of the new
millennium, this edition of Organizing for Social Change will help concerned citizens bring about needed changes by learning from
the experiences of those who have succeeded.
4. Doing democracy: the MAP model for organizing social movements Moyer, Bill, 2001 New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC
ISBN: 0865714185 (pbk.) Citizen activism has achieved many positive results. But the road to success for social move-ments is
often complex, usually lasting many years, with few guides for evaluating the precise stage of a movement's evolution to
determine the best way forward.
Doing Democracy provides both a theory and working model for understanding and analyzing social movements, ensuring that they are successful in the long term. Beginning with an overview of social movement theory and the MAP (Movement Action Plan) model, Doing Democracy outlines the eight stages of social movements, the four roles of activists, and case studies from the civil rights, anti-nuclear energy, Central America, gay/lesbian, women's health, and globalization movements.
5. Globalize liberation: how to uproot the system and build a better world Solnit, David, 2004 City Lights Books, San Francisco,
CA ISBN: 0872864200 (pbk.) "...Globalize Liberation is a manual, encyclopedia, and primary text for the global justice
movement... If there were a required 101 class in anti-capitalism, this book would be central to the reading list." - Fifth
Estate
"...Globalize Liberation is a diagnosis, prescription, and the evidence of wellness in many small and large instances around the world. If you want to make change, this will set you on your way with strategy (because it "counters despair and fosters vision"), tactics, and abundant creative inspiration like "fire in dry grass." - Clamor Magazine
"From identifying global problems of class struggle, racism, discrimination, and extreme concentration of power, to putting ideas in action whether in America, Argentenia, Scotland, or other nations around the world, Globalize Liberation offers a crucial glimpse into what is needed to shape the future of humanity for the better." - Midwest Book Review
"Globalize Liberation makes an important contribution to our understanding of the new left by documenting the social movements of the last ten years and providing suggestions and commentary about their future. In doing so it makes the 'laboratory of resistance' more accessible and easy to understand." - Hopedance
URL: You can download free sample chapters from this book, the table of contents, and more information at the link below:
http://www.justicedesign.com/bookdesign Globalize Liberation also has its own web site: http://www.globalizeliberation.org
6. Webs of power: notes from the global uprising Starhawk, 2002 New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C. ISBN: 0865714568
"Since her arrest and five-day jail stay during the Seattle anti-WTO protests in November 1999, Starhawk has poured her energy
into the global justice movement, participating in direct actions, leading nonviolence training workshops, and writing, always
writing. Webs of Power is the outcome: an account from the front lines of that movement as it migrated from Seattle to Prague,
then Brazil, Quebec City, and Genoa. As well as reporting the actions on the street, it includes a privileged glimpse behind the
scenes, too, at the fierce discussion of the issues, strategies, and tactics of an always-evolving social movement. The book is
also a personal vision of what an alternative future might look and feel like beyond the version offered up to us by the
promoters of corporate globalization. Webs of Power is a unique contribution to our understanding of one of the most pivotal
struggles of our time."
- Book Jacket
7. Ecodefense: a field guide to monkeywrenching Foreman, Dave; Haywood, Bill, 1993 Abbzug Press, Chico, Calif. ISBN: 0963775103
“I am happy to endorse the publication of Ecodefense. Never was such a book so needed, by so many, for such good reason, as here
and now. Tomorrow might well be too late. This is a book that will fit handily in any saddlebag, in any creel, in any backpack,
in any river runner's ammo can-and in any picnicker's picnic basket. No good American should ever go into the woods again without
this book and, for example, a hammer and a few pounds of 60-penny nails. Spike a few trees now and then whenever you enter an
area condemned to chainsaw massacre by Louisiana Pacific and its affiliated subsidiary the U.S. Forest Service. You won't hurt
the trees; they'll be grateful for the protection; and you may save the forest. My Aunt Emma back in West Virginia has been
enjoying this pleasant exercise for years. She swears by it. It's good for the trees, it's good for the woods, it's good for the
earth, and it's good for the human soul. Spread the word-and carry on!” Edward Abbey July 1984 Oracle, Arizona URL: http://www.omnipresence.mahost.org/inttxt.htm
8. In the tiger's mouth: an empowerment guide for social action Shields, Katrina, 1991 Millennium Books, Newtown, N.S.W ISBN:
0855748923 (pbk.) Katrina Shields guides you through the big issues that show up in activism: how to avoid burn-out, network,
create stable groups, as well as how to approach listeners with bad news that they may not want to hear. The guide includes
exercises that encourage discovery and growth, both for individuals and groups.
9. Heart politics revisited Peavey, Fran, 2000 Pluto Press, Annandale, N.S.W. ISBN: 1864031050 / 1864031050 (pbk.) "Heart
Politics Revisited" is part autobiography, part manifesto, and it dares to dream about a new politics with people at the center.
"Heart Politics Revisited" is a new and expanded edition of the classic 1985 handbook for activists. Peavey's approach shuns
careerism, rigid ideologies, revenge and recrimination--and offers a pathway towards reconciliation and living with difference
through empathy, non-violence, co-operation and person-to-person contact. And it has a humor which carries the reader
through.
About the Author Fran Peavey has worked in many fields: college professor, taxi driver, junior high teacher, comedian. For 30 years she has been working as a human rights campaigner, comedian, and social change worker.
"For more than half her life...Peavey has been at the barricades, challenging the status quo, trying to build a new culture of peaceful co-operation and social justice...Fran Peavey reminds that ordinary people can make a difference." -David Leser, in Good Weekend
Formerly a member of the world renowned Atomic Comics, she teaches 'heart politics' to social change workers around the world.
10. A history of the Australian environment movement Hutton, Drew; Connors, Libby, 1999 Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
New York ISBN: 052145686X (Pbk) 0521450764 (alk. paper) 052145686X (pbk. alk. paper) This book traces the development of the
environment movement in Australia from the first visionaries who pressed for preservation of native fauna and for sanitation in
cities, to a mass social movement that challenges the most powerful interests in society. The authors, as professional historians
and environmental activists, have taken advantage of their unique position to place the environment movement in the context of
current social theory. This wide-ranging analysis will be of value to social scientists historians and activists.
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External links
http://www.thechangeagency.org/
