The Activist Journey
How does it work?
The Activist Journey is a powerful tool that designs a cycle of key activities to build up a social movement.
The Activist Journey is a cycle of key activities that every social movement leader should follow.
The route is divided into 5 steps:
1. Connect: With people who share your feelings and your purpose.
2. Educate: Through information, tools, experience and resources.
3. Resist: To internal and external forces.
4. Renew: All the energy and ideas.
5. Celebrate All failures and achievements.
This tool is inspired by the work and life of Helena Norberg-Hodge, Director of Local Futures, and Author of The Economics of Happiness.
Helena is a renowned activist with over 50 years of experience spearheading the regenerative economics and localization movement.
Connect with people who share your feelings and your purpose.
Social change is a long road that requires perseverance and courage, so the best way to do this is by connecting with people who share your feeling and purpose. You can start with few people, but gradually multiplying.
Gather, offline or online, invite, call, and welcome people to join the cause.
Educate through information, tools, experience and resources.
Educate yourself and others. Re-examine prejudices and assumptions; Compare arguments and positions, but above all, explore in detail the problem you are addressing.
Share books, movies, tools, websites. Build your database, ideas, and arguments to support your movement.
Education is a “big picture” form of activism.
Resist internal and external forces.
Don’t be afraid to say no and challenge the status quo. Be clear about what you resist, why, the benefits of changing it, and the steps to achieve it. Don’t overuse fear and anger, they tend to weaken.
Renew all the energy and ideas.
Maintain a constant flow of energy, inspiration, and ideas, without losing your way.
This allows the internal and external renewal of your movement, it also facilitates new ideas, feelings, and new energy.
Celebrate failures and achievements.
Above all the things you can celebrate, they are the true stories of failures and successes, mistakes and achievements. Once you change lenses on how you approach a problem, there is an awakening and inner growth that deserves to be celebrated with everyone.
Allow each of your group members to be the centre of celebration and joy, and make it as memorable, physically and emotionally, as possible.
HOW TO USE IT?
Step 1.
Write down your strategy for each section.
1. Connect, redact your call,
2. Educate, redact what resources and information you need to back up your movement.
3. Resist, redact an invitation to join a strike, public demonstration o resistance movement.
4. Renew, redact a renewal strategy.
5. Celebrate, redact a celebratory statement.
Step 2.
Team: Present each section in a maximum time of 3 minutes.
Individual: Record your presentation on video using your phone. Max. 3 minutes.
After each presentation is finished, you must rate (from 0 to 5) how clear it is, and then give feedback.
Step 3.
After this round, take a 10 minutes break, reorganize and improve all your presentations.
Start the 2nd round, and repeat step 2.
EXAMPLE:
Problem: Excessive garbage on the streets of your neighbourhood.
Connect.
Through the power of social media, we invite our neighbours to meet and talk about a common problem, use photos, evidence, and data. It should not necessarily be an invitation to mobilize, rather meet, learn, get to know each other and exchange ideas. Your call should include who you are, why you do it, where, the background of the problem and its negative effects. Date, time and record of the meeting, as well as the goals and rules.
Educate:
Investigate what causes excess garbage, where, what type of garbage, possible solutions. Share this information with others, allow an orderly exchange of points of view, and above all, invite everyone to keep learning, getting involved and gathering evidence.
Create a communication channel where everyone can share, as well as a repository to store information.
Resist
Hold the first public demonstration of resistance. It should not necessarily be through a march or face-to-face protest. It can also be through a statement, a proposal sheet, a meeting with the authorities, a press conference, a video, etc.
Do not forget that this phase aims to inform and summon more people who share your feeling and purpose.
Renew.
Evaluate the path travelled, the results, goals, limitations and obstacles. Keep positive, and give space to renew energy, messages, ideas, and strategy. Do not rush this process, the space for internal and external reflection is important.
Celebrates
Through celebration, we publicly recognize our group achievements and of each of its members, gives space to share mistakes and lessons learned.
We grow personally and spiritually: Dance, sing, laugh, cry, and hug.
HOW TO INTERPRET IT?
It is crystal clear that the execution of your idea will be not as planned, however, hence, it is important to recognise in which phase you are standing in, so you can make better decisions.
The journey is very long, and even though the strategies will change a lot, their importance relies on the constant evaluation of your efforts.
This tool will increase your purpose´s power, relevance and impact when you combine it with the rest of your teamwork tools.
2. Finding your purpose (Ikigai + Golden Circle). How can I find and link my purpose with the purpose of my project?
3. Social Innovation Matrix. How can explore problems and possible solutions?
4. Humanity Development Goals. How can we work with development more holistically?
5. Social Intervention Frame. What is the best intervention to solve a problem?
6. Social Contract. How can design and model a social innovation project?
7. The Social Innovation Canvas. How can design and model a social innovation project?
8. Impact Investor Matrix. How do the investors measure impact on projects?
9. Social Economy. How can I finance my project beyond traditional financing models?
10. Types of Funding. How can I find the best types of funding for my project?
11. Activist Journey. How can I build a movement to solve a social problem?
12. The Social Leader Storytelling. How can I build a powerful and meaningful message for my project?
13. Kite Customer Relationship Management CRM. How can I sell and raise funds for my project?
14. Team Values. How can I build trust among my stakeholder?
15. Recruitment Venn. How can I attract, keep and communicate with the best team for my project?
16. Productivity Board. How can I work more efficiently if I don´t have a clear work process?
17. OKRs. How can I work more efficiently if I already have work process?
18. Decision-Making. How can I discuss and make better decisions with my team
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