US Election Take-Aways
Learning from US election campaigning is like eating a meal in a US diner – you have to pick out the good bits from the parts you just can’t stomach. So, yes to effective field organising and no to a political system corrupted by colossal amounts of money. Yes to...
Funny Activism
“Humour is essential to a successful tactician, for the most potent weapons known to mankind are satire and ridicule.” Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals In January I was asked by New Tactics in Human Rights to be a conversation leader in their international online...
Lessons from the US Election
Australians can learn a lot from the US – like the perils of an unregulated market, how not to set up a health system, and what happens if you consume a lot of high fructose corn syrup. The US is also a rich source of social movement innovation. As an activist...
MCN February: US Election Report-Back
Join us for 'show and tell' from Melbourne folks who went to the US to work on campaigns during the election. Presenters including Victoria McKenzie-McHarg, Lucy Manne and Alex White will share stories, pictures, insights... and maybe some Oreos. We'll be talking...
Better Activist Meetings
Do you spend a lot of your life in meetings? Or does it just feel like it?! Meetings are a big part of working collectively but too often... they suck. One of the things that motivated me to become an activist educator and facilitator was frustration with boring and...
Self Care for Political Warfare
Personal Goal-Setting for Activists My January so far has been all about goals and new year’s resolutions. I’ve started my own new regime for getting healthy and building resilience for another big year. I’m also supporting a number of folks to get clearer about their...
Healthy Activism
Activists face a lot of pressures that get in the way of living healthy balanced lives. When we're focused on righting wrongs and winning change in the world our bodies and happiness can seem pretty low on the list of priorities. It's seldom an overt decision: I...
Coming Down From Stress
Tips for Activists on Holiday Have you slogged your guts out all year? Just about ready to collapse? Here are some tips for getting the most out of your break. If taking leave isn’t an option for you, many of these are relevant for weekends or any captured moment for...
FWD, not BKWD
FWD2012 was two days full of inspiration, information, and smart conversation. It also included one very hot Melbourne day which led to a crucial initiative I hope many other conferences imitate – icy-poles! It’s hard to believe that Australia has only just got around...
MCN February: US Election Report-Back
Join us for 'show and tell' from Melbourne folks who went to the US to work on campaigns during the election. Presenters including Victoria McKenzie-McHarg, Lucy Manne and Alex White will share stories, pictures, insights... and maybe some Oreos. We'll be talking...