More thoughts on mass training during the Trump emergency
What do we need to do to build a movement big enough and powerful enough to fight back? Paul Engler observes that the crisis of Trump’s election has created a lot of interest in mass training as a way of bringing people into the movement in a more substantive way,...
Activism Inside the Tiger’s Mouth
Katrina Shields and Bobbi Allan reflect on two decades of activist education – Interhelp Australia, the Social Change Training and Resource Centre, Heart Politics and Despair and Empowerment workshops. “Tell your stories, support each other’s highest...
Creative Coalitions: A handbook for change
You know the change is possible – after all, experience across time and examples around the world show the power of smart collective action. Injustices result from human choices, so they can be addressed through human action. But for all the energy that you and your...
How to launch a successful crowdfunding campaign
Success in crowdfunding hinges on the support of the crowd — your future customers. In this blog delves into how to create and launch a successful crowdfunding campaign
Move the money: Practices and values for funding social movements
A set of resources geared towards grantmaking institutions eager to expand and deepen their support of organisations, networks, and leaders involved with social change movements. Move The Money consists of four videos and accompanying discussion guides with reflection...
The top 5 things that go wrong in meetings and how to fix them
[Groupwork Centre blog] Meetings matter. It’s here we bring people together to make decisions, set directions and find out what’s going on. Alongside their role as an engine room that drives our organisation or team, meetings are also places where we establish and...
Telling the truth about philanthropy is the first step to transforming it for generations to come
Michael Johnson and Angie Chen write: A Call-In to Grow Indigenous Power: What would it mean to “decolonize” philanthropy? “Language matters. As Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang have powerfully argued, “Decolonization is not a metaphor,” and shouldn’t be used to...
‘The Pangolin and the Coal Mine: Challenging the Forces of Extractivism, Human Rights Abuse, and Planetary Calamity’
In Australia, the resistance of a group of Wangan and Jagalingou Traditional Owners to the Adani Carmichael thermal coal mine – one of the worlds’ last such mega mines – have centred their rights, including the right to say “no”, in opposing violent extractivism on...
Glossary of Civil Resistance: A Resource for Study and Translation of Key Terms
The field of civil resistance is dedicated to understanding how people can fight for rights, freedom, and justice, without the use of violence. This glossary provides definitions and expansive commentary on civil resistance terminology to support sharing of lessons...
We are all leaders: Learning from the Climate Camp (Anth Kelly)
In July 2008, several hundred climate change activists gathered in Newcastle for Australia’s first climate camp. Anth and James supported the camp’s training program and facilitation team. Anthony Kelly’s draft article focuses on the decision-making...
Stories and images
Don McArthur’s website draws on PhD research at Monash University on the role of cultural power in the Australian climate movement. How do images and narratives feature in the climate movement’s work? How are stories and images important for achieving social...
10 ways NFP employers can include Indigenous Australians
The results of the first large-scale survey of the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at work show that racism and prejudice remain important issues. The report, called Gari Yala – meaning “speak the truth” in Wiradjuri, the language once...
Nonviolent actions against coal
An editable web page that provides details of recent direct actions targeting the coal industry.
Plenary Recordings from Virtual Progress 2020
Did you miss Australia’s biggest online progressive conference? Or do you want to revisit some of the wisdom and inspiration? Australian Progress has made the plenary videos available on the Commons Social Change Library. Includes First Nations Justice, Lessons...
Resources About Australian Housing Justice and Unwaged Rights Campaigns
Iain McIntyre, historian with the Commons Social Change Library, has gathered a collection of case studies and stories of how communities have organised to secure housing, financial and other support for the unwaged and those on low incomes. These campaigns exposed...
Digital security for everyone
This guide is designed for beginners and non-technical people with the aim of increasing security across our whole community. The content is based on research, working with security experts and on the ground experience working with community activists and people who...
Online Monster Manual
The most comprehensive Online Training Monster Manual — over 80 tools to make your workshops and events more participatory and interactive! The Monster Manual features common tools like spectrum of allies, pillars of support, polls, and online spectrums. It includes...
Making strategic decisions in the context of COVID-19
The tools of scenario planning can help social sector leaders better prepare their organizations for the different, possible futures that may unfold. Scenario planning is an approach to thinking about the future that is rooted in the recognition that even in the best...