COMMUNITIES
ORGANISED
BY PEOPLE POWER
Carol Booth
I
n these dispiriting times for conservation,
we need to focus on building more
powerful and enduring people-based
movements for nature. A new publication by
The Change Agency, Community Organising,
offers a wealth of material to support that
effort. It is the second of six instalments
of the People Power Manual. The first was
the Campaign Strategy Guide, for equipping
people with the skills to analyse the political
context of a social movement, consider paths
to change, and plan tactics. This latest guide- aimed at educators, organisers and leaders
- offers insights, guides and tools for various
aspects of organising.
Community organising is ‘the process by
which people work together to build civic
power for the common good’. It differs from
‘mobilising’ by creating deeper, more lasting
social power. Mobilisers motivate people to
In a democracy there
are only two types of
power. There’s organised
people and organised
money. Organised moneyonly wins when people
aren’t organised.
- Benjamin Todd Jealous
WHELAN J, MACLEOD J. 2016. The People Power
Manual: Community Organising. The Change Agency
& Pasifika. Available online from The Change Agency.
RRP: $80 (print), $20 (PDF)take action in a particular campaign, and are
less concerned than organisers with fostering
leaders and connecting people across the
movement. The difference was highlighted in
an introductory story by one of the authors,
Jason MacLeod, about his ‘heady time’
as an activist for East Timor when tens of
thousands of Australians rallied in support
of an independent East Timor, leading to
an international peacekeeping force that
helped bring this new nation into being.
A year later, when Jason started working
in support of West Papuan independence,
‘the crowds had disappeared’. Australia’s
East Timor movement had failed to nurture
leaders and create lasting structures, so he
had to start again.Inspiring assistance
This guide offers plenty of interesting dipping
for anyone interested in social change,
and covers topics including relational
organising, the role of narrative, forming
coalitions, developing leaders, understanding
communities, moving people to action and
holding decision-makers accountable. (In a
nudge to the authors for future instalments,
it would be good if some examples and case
studies focused on nature conservation.)
One thought-provoking case study by James
Whelan, the co-author of this guide, critiques
the failure of Australian environmental non-
government organisations (ENGOs) to build
a strong enough movement to persuade
governments to ‘adopt responsible policiesand programs for climate change mitigation
and adaptation’.
That is also the case for conservation.
ENGOs have been effective at mobilising
people in iconic campaigns – to stop land
clearing or protect certain species, for
example – but we lack a powerful movement
pushing governments to give conservation
high priority.
In the climate case study, James
describes the ‘reform environmentalism’
orthodoxy practised by most ENGOs as
consisting of five dominant techniques
or approaches: research and policy
development, lobbying and advocacy (often
focused on incremental wins), community
education (on the assumption this will
lead to concern, behavioural change and
political engagement), media and social
media (as a low-cost way to reach a large
audience), and fundraising and recruitment
(to encourage membership, action and
financial support). These approaches have
evolved as ENGOs have become more
professional and institutionalised, seeking
to overcome the power asymmetry by
adopting many of the structures of the
entities they seek to influence.
The growing interest in community
organising by ENGOs since the mid-1990s
may signal a change in approach, but James
says it will not come easily to established
groups. It will require them to be convinced
that a different approach would more
effectively create conditions for change and
to adopt a new theory of change. It will
require organisational change and learning
a new craft, more humility and openness. I
hope this guide will encourage ENGOs to
experiment with new approaches, and I’m
looking forward to the next instalment of the
People Power Manual.DR CAROL BOOTH is a conservationist, writer, and
the former editor of Wildlife Australia.Photo: John Englart
(Takver on Flickr)REVIEW
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