community action – involving a wider audience
TRANSCRIPT
Can the changemakers change?
Presentation by Natasha Adams & Lee Baker
Community organising
“Bringing people
in a community
together so that
they can take
action together on
common aims and
concerns”
Why organising?For me, community organising stands out because of:: listening, democracy, and people take the lead..
➔ Starts with listeningTo explore latent motivations to take collective action - not pushing an issue.
➔ DemocracyOrganisers facilitate meetings so people can decide what to do fairly
➔ People take the leadOrganising aims to support leaders to emerge who need us less and less
Organising in Coldharbour
Listened to 600 people, 385 joined a community network, dozens actively. Eight leaders emerged who confronted power for first time and fought for, and won, a new road crossing.
Angell Town
This summer trained eight
emerging leaders in
community organising. Group
felt frustrated that despite
many projects to improve the
estate most don’t feel
involved. Some want to start
their own listening campaign
to build a powerful community.
Mobilising
• Engaging people en masse
• Getting those already
interested involved
• Can be paper or e-petitions,
low level actions and more
deeply engaged activism
To provoke a debate...
My questionsCan community organising and mobilising be combined?
So that campaigns don’t only involve those who already do this sort of thing and are more people-powered and unstoppable!
And so organising can be done at a bigger scale - to win changes borough-wide, London-wide, or U.K-wide or globally?
Thank you!
londoncommunityaction.org.uk
07860-785-957 @leebaker_
thinkingdoingchanging.wordpress.com
@tashahesterwww.facebook.com/groups/engagingactivists
