Activist Movements
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This document discusses the need for social change and activism, as well as challenges and capacities needed to enact change. It notes that we have always faced crises, and questions what stands in the way of change and what abilities we have or need to create change. The document emphasizes continually questioning beliefs and assumptions as activists working for change. It also stresses the importance of infrastructure like community spaces, resources, and processes to support information sharing, decision making, and building social connections to enable successful social change.
Activist Movements
- 1. Activist Movements Grant Neufeld
- 3. We are in a crisis!
- 4. We have always been in a crisis. (at least for the past 10,000 years or so)
- 5. What challenges are between us and social change?
- 6. What capacities might we have, or need, to make social change?
- 7. Will opportunities really exist if we are not prepared for them?
- 9. My favourite Wikipedia article: “List of cognitive biases”
- 10. 157 forms of cognitive bias
- 11. Seriously. One Hundred and Fifty Seven.
- 12. “A cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in judgment that occurs in particular situations, leading to perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical interpretation, or what is broadly called irrationality.” —Wikipedia
- 13. Understanding biases can reduce the hold they have on us.
- 15. Questions are the basis of activism. Aren’t they?
- 16. An ideology assumes certain things to be true. Without question.
- 17. Is ideology the #1 threat to positive social change?
- 18. Dangerous* phrases: “We must…” “You should…” “The most important…” * and I don’t mean the fun kind of danger
- 19. When we seek social change, aren’t we asking others to question what they are doing?
- 20. As activists, shouldn’t we then be continually questioning what we are doing?
- 21. … especially our beliefs and assumptions?
- 23. Is building capacity necessary for successful social change?
- 24. Word of the day: INFRASTRUCTURE
- 25. INFRASTRUCTURE Physical community centres, facilities, housing, storage, workshops, transportation, resources, tools, …?
- 26. INFRASTRUCTURE Information listings, media, alerts, forums, how-tos, historical archives, …?
- 27. INFRASTRUCTURE Process welcoming, gratitude, organizations, decision-making, spokescouncil, funding, integrating online & in- person, …?
- 28. INFRASTRUCTURE Social meals, parties, games, singing, dancing, hugs, healing, mutual support, …?
- 29. INFRASTRUCTURE Understanding mentoring, un/learning, consciousness raising, free schools, questions, challenging, …?
- 30. What infrastructure do we have now?
- 31. What is in place that we can start using?
- 32. Where could we put our efforts for building more, or better, infrastructures?
- 34. That is a ton to try to do!
- 35. How much is enough?
- 36. All that is needed of you is to do the bit you can.
- 37. It worked for those who came before us when they made the world a better place.
- 38. If we each do our little bit, together, that is enough.
- 39. activist.ca