Personal and interpersonal skills contribute constructively to collective action and help activists avoid ‘burnout’. Social change work can be transformative – in more or less positive ways. Few activists remain engaged and sustained in the long term without attending to their personal health and growth.
Weblinks:
Activist trauma
A site primarily for political activists who may be injured during or by their political activities and or struggling with other mental health issues related to activism. Tags: sustainable activism,
Dealing with or preventing burnout in activist work
Neil Wollman provides hints which focus on actions or mental attitudes you can cultivate to prevent or deal with burnout. Tags: sustainable activism,
Engaging With the ‘Dark Side’
From Avigail Abarbanel’s website, this article explores issues of overwhelm encountered by activists and some ways to develop self-care. Tags: sustainable activism,
Going to places that scare me: Personal reflections on challenging male supremacy
Personal reflections on challenging male supremacy by Chris Crass. Part I: “How can I be sexist? I’m an anarchist!”. A great article recommended to us by Ben Margetts who says “It is the best article I have read by a man, for men, on sexism.” Tags: diversity, gender,PDF Resources:
Articulating your social change vision
“Theories of Change” is a set of questions developed to encourage people to think about why they want to work for social change, and then help them consider appropriate strategies for doing this. Tags: workshop resources,
Burnout Rating Scale
A terrific resource from Katrina Shield’s book In the Tiger’s Mouth, this worksheet helps you determine how burnout prone your or your organisation might be so you can start taking action now! Tags: sustainable activism, workshop resources,
Conflict resolution skills & techniques
Presentation by Claudia Baldwin covering the skills (communication and listening) and techniques (reframes, transitions, role reversals, paraphrases and roundups) involved in effective conflict resolution. Tags: communication, facilitation,
Confronting racism in communities: Guidelines and resources for anti racism training workshops
Designed to provide background information and analysis of the various forms of racism and racial discrimination that continue to occur in Australia, and to suggest strategies to support those affected and to combat racism more generally. Tags: community development, diversity, human rights, social justice,
Exploring Social and Sacred Ecology
For further information on the September workshop Tags: deep ecology,
Rating scale: How burnout prone is your organisation?
A questionnaire for group members to spark reflection, dialogue and action Tags: sustainable activism, workshop resources,
Rating Scale: How well does your group empower its members?
A questionnaire for group members to complete and discuss. Tags: favourite, sustainable activism, workshop resources,
Support groups and sustainable activism
An assortment of resources developed by Katrina Shields to promote sustainable activism: among other things describing the importance of establishing support/accountability groups and how to get them to work effectively. Contact us for copies of Katrina’s excellent book ‘In the tiger’s mouth’ Tags: sustainable activism,
Sustaining self-care
A workshop that allows participants to reflect about sustainability (self-care, to practice techniques for long-term sustainability, and increase awareness of what balances them (and what depletes their energy). Tags: sustainable activism,