There’s a big year of activist training coming up!
- WELA leadership program – May to October (deadline for applications 10 February)
- Activist Wellbeing Retreat – March 17-19
- Training for Activist Trainers – April 27-30
- Brisbane Activist Training – August 5-6
- Activist Coaching Skills – September 9-10
- Decolonizing Solidarity Bookclub – various dates
- Melbourne Campaigners’ Network – various dates
- Activist Wellbeing Workshops – first Sunday afternoon of each month, starting February
WELA – the leadership program for women environmentalists
May – October 2017. National program with retreats held in Victoria.
The Women’s Environmental Leadership Australia (WELA) program will bring together 20 women from diverse backgrounds who are working on a variety of environmental issues and campaigns around the country.
The program includes:
- three residential retreats in Victoria (May, July and October)
- mentoring sessions with experienced women environmental leaders
- small group projects on key issues defined by the group
- access to an ongoing supportive network of powerful women!
The retreats will be facilitated by Holly Hammond (Plan to Win) along with special guests with expertise in campaigning, political life, management, and many other aspects of leadership.
Here’s what 2016 participants had to say about this life-changing program:
- “The best thing you can do for your health is to get a girl gang. WELA introduced me to women who are inspirational, wise, generous and experienced in a wide range of environmental and social justice work.”
- “WELA is an amazing gift. It is a rare chance to stop, listen deeply, learn from other passionate environmentalists and reflect.”
- “WELA has been the best leadership program I have been involved with.”
The deadline for applications is 10 February 2017. For more information and to access the WELA application form see: welaprogram.org.au For further details contact: welaprogram AT gmail DOT com
Activist Wellbeing Retreat
5pm Friday 17 – 3pm Sunday 19 March at Rocklyn Yoga Ashram, Daylesford, Victoria.
Join us for the first retreat of this kind, specially crafted for activists. This retreat will:
- Provide space outside of everyday life for activists to relax and reflect
- Help activists connect with their whole selves, be in their bodies and aware of their own needs
- Share a range of tools for ongoing reflection, relaxation, stress management and sustenance
- Foster supportive relationships and community
The retreat will include walking in the nearby forest, yoga, guided deep relaxation, review and goal-setting, activities to explore activist burnout and self-care, songs, stories and play.
More information and registration here.
Training for Activist Trainers
27-30 April, Melbourne.
An intensive four day train-the-trainer workshop for people keen to facilitate and educate in social movement contexts. Open to people who have experience both as activists (campaigners, organisers, community advocates, and all the many and varied kinds of activism) and with group process (facilitating meetings, decision making, training, team-building etc).
The workshop will be cofacilitated by Karrina Nolan, Holly Hammond and Nico Amador from Training for Change (USA). More details coming soon.
Brisbane Activist Training
5-6 August tbc, Brisbane.
Plan to Win is currently seeking organisational support to provide training in Brisbane in August 2017. The focus of training will be guided by the needs of the Queensland activist community and drawn from the broad range of topics PTW provides training in, such as train-the-trainer, campaign strategy, community organising, building strong groups, story-based strategy, sustaining activism, and more.
Get in touch if you want to help make this happen!
Activist Coaching Skills
9-10 September tbc, Melbourne.
The purpose of this training will be to:
- Strengthen the capacity of movement leaders, campaigners and organisers to provide one-to-one support and development – whether as external consultants or peer/buddy coaches, or within their own organisations with staff and volunteers they coordinate or manage
- Develop skills in holding space, deep listening, strategic questioning and providing feedback and guidance
- Build capacity for empathy, emotional intelligence and self-awareness
Holly Hammond from Plan to Win will collaborate with India Prior, experienced organiser, to present this workshop. More details in the new year.
Decolonizing Solidarity Bookclubs
Various locations and online.
Want to be inspired, supported, troubled and given direction in your work to support Aboriginal struggles?
Holly Hammond from Plan to Win has been working with Clare Land, author of the super important book Decolonizing Solidarity, to set up online and face-to-face discussions in 2017.
Fill in this survey to express interest and we’ll be in touch with more details in the new year. See Decolonizing Solidarity for more background on the book.
Melbourne Campaigners’ Network
Various dates tbc, every 6-8 weeks starting late February.
The Melbourne Campaigner’s Network holds gatherings for activists, campaigners and organisers to learn together. The emphasis is on networking, exchanging ideas, and discovering new approaches which can be applied to campaigns.
Dates are currently being set for 2017 MCN sessions. Get in touch if you would like to present a session, or are keen for particular topics.
Activist Wellbeing Workshops
First Sunday afternoon of every month from February, Melbourne.
In 2017, Plan To Thrive will be running monthly workshops for activists, campaigners and change makers to showcase a range of excellent wellbeing approaches and tools. Some of the workshops we’ve got booked in include:
- Setting healthy goals for 2017 – Holly Hammond – 3-5pm, Sunday 5 February
- Connecting with nature – Kiri Bear
- Yoga for everybody – Anu
- Emotional Processing – Theo Kitchener
- Woodcut Foot Print Art – UB
- Behaviour change and effective activism – Suse Scholem
- Winter health and immunity boosting – Jef Reinten
A full calendar with more details will be available in January. Contribute to the crowdfund to help make it happen!
To express interest in these events fill in the contact form with ‘EOI’ in the subject line and indicate which workshop/s in the message. Apply for the WELA program via the WELA website.
Dates may be subject to change. Registration for all public PTW and PTT workshops will open 4-6 weeks prior to the event. Fees will be on a sliding scale with Pay the Rent places available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Plan to Win has limited availability for additional workshops provided directly to organisations – if you would like to book training or facilitation please get in touch as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.