What is the Organising Community Change Workshop?Movements are built by engaging many, many people in meaningful targeted action. But that can only happen if people have a very clear structure, strategy and tools that help keep people coordinated and moving in the same direction.
The challenge is that it isn’t easy to create teams that work well together and produce concrete outcomes together.
This workshop will provide a basic introduction to leadership teams including tactics you can use to create stable, functioning leadership teams. In the Organising Community Change Workshop you work together with other people taking action in their communities as a learning group to explore ways to act as a team to take on roles, to build relationships, to share stories and learn together the best way to refine your stories to truly engage people in action that brings about change.
What is the relationship to Camp Obama?The Obama campaign was the first to pioneer this particular type of community organising skills session – called Camp Obama. This workshop is based on that framework – in particular on the amazing work of Joy Cushman and Marshall Ganz – who have helped put advise on the content.
You can find out more about Camp Obama here:
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zack-exley/stories-and-numbers-a-clo_b_62278.html
- http://campobama.blogspot.com/
- http://campobama.blip.tv (video)
- http://campmoveon.blip.tv (video) (a similar format workshop for US group MoveOn.org’s Repower America campaign)
Who should participate?Anyone involved in taking action in their local communities is invited to take part. If you’re a member of a Climate Action Group, local refugee collective, have thought about joining one or are running one, we’d love to have you. We’re focusing on people who are involved at the most grassroots level.
We encourage as many people from a local group to come along as possible. The format works best as teams are developed over the course of the weekend so sending a delegate isn’t the best way for your group to take advantage of this opportunity. Numbers are limited, and so priority will be given to those who attend from the same group.
How much does this cost?
The cost of the weekend is $20 (payable in cash only please) due at registration on the morning of Saturday 17 Oct. This is to help us cover the cost of printing materials and food.
Will there be food?Yes – we’re going to organise for catering for the weekend so you don’t need to worry about it while you’re focusing on the workshop. There’ll be vegetarian and vegan options available.
Where is it?
The workshop will be held in Level 5, New Building Victorian Trades Hall on the corner of Lygon and Victoria Streets (see
map). The easiest way to get in is through the carpark on Lygon Street where you will see a white 1970s style building on your left, and you can take the elevator up to the fifth floor.
When is it again?
Registration and payment (cash only please) is on the morning of Saturday 17, and the workshop runs over both the Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2009.
2 days! That’s a lot of time.We realise that for busy people two days is a big commitment. However our experience is that this is the amount of time it takes to really start to get our heads around working together to take action effectively, and feedback from previous sessions consistently agree. This is based on dozens of these trainings have been run over the course of the Obama campaign and hopefully the results speak to the importance of this! Check out the draft agenda to see what we’ll be covering.
Who’s putting this on and why?The Organising Community Change Workshop is being put together by Oliver from GetUp, Victoria from Environment Victoria, Suzie from Darebin Climate Action, and Louise from Friends of the Earth.
We’re working on the workshop because we’ve all talked to lots of people involved in grassroots action who say they’d love some skills and tools to help them with their work. We’re collaborating on this as a one-off project and we’re not insisting that anyone who attends becomes part of our organisation’s campaigns, nor are our organisations planning to support the campaigns of those who attend. This is chance to combine knowledge and gather powerful tools for making collective change in our communities!
