everyday social democracy: June 2009

creative campaigns camp - next steps

Posted on Saturday, June 27, 2009 No Comments
Labels: building skills, campaigncamp, creativecampaigns, organising campaigns, telling stories

Thank you for taking time out of your weekend to take part in Creative Campaigns Camp. It was a chance for all of us to step back from what we know and try out new ways to campaign using creative techniques.

Sign up for our next session

Thanks for the feedback about how practical the workshops were, how organically things came together for you to learn new skills and create campaigns and how we might improve.

Do you want to meet up so we can work out together what we can do next? Sign up here for our next session on Thursday 9th July at the amazing Whitechapel Gallery.

We can talk about how we can take forward the campaigns you developed, how you might like to contribute to our activities or even organise a Campaigns Camp where you are.

Sign up for our new website

We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. It was amazing at how you all bonded and worked with each other so well.

Do you want to relive the different journeys of your campaigns as well as your experiences of the day? Sign up here for our new Creative Campaigns website where we’ll show all the videos we filmed of the day.

This will also give you the opportunity to not just find out about upcoming activities but tell us about projects you may be involved in, to upload your experiences and stories of campaigns and issues that matter to you.

If you have any queries or would like to chat further, feel free to contact us!

Noel and Ffiona

What will you pledge?

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stop agonising, start organising

Posted on Friday, June 19, 2009 No Comments
Labels: about me, building skills, creativecampaigns, developing ideas, organising campaigns, telling stories

You might think that things couldn't get any worse after finding out politicians claiming to represent us are using taxpayers' money to build houses for ducks rather than homes for people and a government preferring to attack each other than attack the recession. With Big Brother back on our screens, it's like going from one reality show to another.

But in the real world, people are getting sacked, evicted and left on the scrapheap of the recession. And young people are getting hit the hardest, with unemployment rates much higher than other age group in "last to join, first to leave" jobs. These aren't just passing concerns but "permanent scars" even going as far as damaging their physical and mental health.

So rather than choose which sides to take in the political football games going on in Westminster village, isn't it time to stop agonising and start organising? To choose to campaign to fight the recession where we are, whether that's neighbourhoods, our campuses or our workplaces?

You may have set up an online group because you were getting ripped off. You may have invited people to a campaign session so people can live better off. You may have written to your MP to support the campaign you care about the most. You may have pitched up your tent to prevent the world turning to toast.

You may have stayed at a shelter to help the homeless. You may have gone down the beach to clean up the mess. You may have taken part in a flashmob to show people how exploitation of young people at work just isn't right. You may have marched through the streets to reclaim the night.

You may have been a street captain spreading hope not hate, you may have interviewed the wild and wonderful to instigate debate. You may have got into a bath of baked beans to raise money for comic relief...Or you may not have got involved with any of these.

Whether you've been involved in organizing before or not, you're might be curious about how to campaign and who knows even fired up about an issue you'd like to campaign on. There is no right or wrong way on how to turn an issue you care about into a campaign - just look at the examples above and you can see all the different and exciting ways people have gone about it.

So just imagine if you could bring together people who are campaigning in their communities, people that are getting their voice heard in the media and those using new and creative tools to put this in action.

Just imagine if you could work with each other to develop exciting ways to campaign, finding out how others are organising and creating the spaces where activists with different skills involved in different groups can affect real change together.

We have all been to conferences where most of the time the only way we have ever got input into our events is over a drink down the pub. Don't get me wrong, I'm still keen on having those sideline chats at the end of the bar, but there are probably other ways which are just as exciting.

That's why we've joined up with TUC Young Members and Toynbee Hall to launch a weekend to fight back against the recession. On Saturday 20th June, you'll be able to get together into groups to discuss what impacts the recession is having on young people and what the Government should be doing in response. You'll then be able to put forward ideas on how we might more effectively organise and campaign for the rights of young people in and out of work.

On Sunday 21st June, we'll share grassroots stories from local campaigners, get together with facilitators so you can develop your skills on new campaigning techniques. You'll be able to get involved with other young people in trying these out to create new campaigns together to fight the recession. We want the workshops to be driven as much by the people taking part as the speakers facilitating, as much by the intensity of developing a campaign in such a short space of time as the excitement of activists with such a diversity of experiences - working together to tackle issues which matter to you.

We do want to produce something at the end of the day however and although it will be intense, ultimately you'll have developed a campaign that you can take away together and take forward across your networks.

So let's dive right in, get our hands dirty and start campaigns - let's help people create change for themselves, from the grassroots up.

It's time to take back our future, it's time for you to take back your communities.

Noël Hatch, National Chair, Compass Youth

To take part and find out more about our activities next weekend, please go to www.compassyouth.org or contact noel.hatch1@gmail.com

WANT TO CREATE A CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT THE RECESSION?

Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 No Comments
Labels: campaigncamp, creativecampaigns

Come and join Compass Youth & Toynbee Hall at our Creative Campaigns Camp on

SUNDAY 21ST JUNE BETWEEN 11-5PM

Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LS (next to Aldgate East)

Just imagine if you could bring together people organising in their communities, getting their voice heard in the media and campaigning through through art, film or music.

We’re passionate about enabling you develop exciting ways to campaign, finding out how others are organising and creating spaces where you can make change.

That's why the camp will feature sessions for you to:

GET INSPIRED by Toynbee Hall's experiences of campaigning from the bottom up - from That Money Thing campaign on student debt to the Post Office campaign.

GET TOGETHER in workshops facilitated by film makers, vocal artists and animators and share their skills of turning people's hopes and fears into collective action.

GET INVOLVED to create on the day with other young people, new campaigns to fight the recession that we will support you to take forward together where you are.

DON'T MISS OUT, SIGN UP NOW!