Activism
A voice from the edge (fund)
The Edge Fund has just completed its first round of funding – supporting 28 grassroots groups. Here’s a quick interview with Joe, one of the Edge Fund community: What’s the vision of The Edge Fund? Our long term goal is to achieve systemic social change. This is not an easy task and will have to […]
CounterAct
A new resource for activists in Australia is now up and running – CounterAct is “a new project launched to support communities in taking effective, creative, strategic nonviolent direct action on issues of environmental and social justice.” We look forward to learning from them and collaborating wherever possible!
Expert and expertise
I’m wary of the role of expert. It has connotations of power over a group. And let’s be honest there’s a part of my ego that would love to fill the role of expert for the affirmation it might bring. Expertise I’m more comfortable with – it’s just a statement of competence. The feedback from […]
"What the hell do we do next?"
If you’re part of a group or organisation Rhizome works with, the chances are that you identify yourself as part of the Green Movement in its broadest form. If you’re a trainer or facilitator who read this blog, the chances are that you do a lot, if not all, of their work for that same […]
The practice of nonviolent direct action
Saturday’s ‘peaceful resistance’ session for the Combe Haven Defenders went pretty well. We got very practical very early on in the day. Nothing new there, at least not in a nonviolent direct action workshop. But we started with the stuff that’s often seen as more “advanced” – locking on. That’s bike locks, handcuffs and all […]
Defenders, destruction and deja vu
The Combe Haven Defenders are making news in their resistance to the new Bexhill to Hastings link road. I’m getting a strong sense of deja vu. It’s all a bit 1990s – people being evicted from trees, tunnels being built. It’s even being called the Second Battle of Hastings echoing the Third Battle of Newbury […]
A Eulogy for #Occupy
Just read Quinn Norton’s A Eulogy for #Occupy at wired.com, via the boingboing blog (hat tip to Marc). It’s a powerful litany of brutality and hope (theirs and ours). It doesn’t shy away from holding up the mirror to how our dynamics mirror those of the 1%. Is that an inevitability? Maybe folk from the […]
games for activists and non-activists
Inspired in large part by Augusto Boal’s Games for Actors and Non-Actors and Improv practice, we proposed a games workshop to Co-operatives UK for their Big Fun Pod at last week’s International Co-op Conference. Rather than writing a reflective piece, I’m just going to describe what we did and provide some pointers for readers who […]
Aspects of autism and neurodiversity
Regular readers of this blog may remember a couple of posts we wrote on autism and social change. Here’s a chance to find out more: Aspects of autism and neurodiversity: a brief introduction for social change groups Saturday 22nd September 7.30pm – 8.30pm Old Music Hall 106-108 Cowley Road Oxford Do you want your group […]