Link Loving 05.02.12

• Nezir Sinani is fighting to stop a coal-fired power plant in Kosovo.
• Natalya Sverjensky spots a piece of gold from Mario Molina summing up why deniers of climate science are so misled in their assumptions.
• Claire Melamed wants some big ideas for development. Anybody? No?
• Roseanne Barr wants to be the Green Party nominee for president. Jess Zimmerman.
• The Times launches a campaign to make cycling safer. Why they doing it? One of their journalists is in a coma after being hit by a truck.
• Is there such a thing as ethical capitalism? Kerry-anne Mendoza.

Kill The Megaphone

The megaphone has become the go-to image for campaigns. At UKYCC, I’m afraid that we used it too.

But doesn’t the megaphone represent everything that’s wrong with campaigns?

• one-way communication
• preachy – ‘I know better than you’
• brash and annoying
• hierarchical

It took me about ten minutes to find the example images from NGOs across the spectrum (see below). To stress, I respect all of these organisations immensely – I am cruelly picking on them to make a broader point about how we present ourselves as campaigners.

• If we’re asking people to join us in campaigning – how many will be turned off by the idea that they have to go and shout at people when they don’t yet feel confident in their understanding of the issue?
• If we’re saying we have to meet people where they’re at – how can we listen when we’re the only ones talking?
• If we need permission from our audience to speak to them, is this a polite way of asking for it?

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And to prove my love for the megaphone in practice..

Link Loving 04.02.12

• If people in the Middle East could democratically choose what country they lived in, would they choose the one they are in now? Seth Kaplan.
• I am a little bit in love with Tilda Swinton.
• Free video training for UK-based activists.
• Gene Sharp interviewed on BBC Hardtalk. Saw him speak twice this week – definitely worth it.
• How to tip consumer behaviour towards sustainability. Tom Crompton and Greg Maio.
• Great idea – UniHomeSwap. Angela Harrison.

What I’m Watching This Weekend: Burma VJ

 

Link Loving 03.02.12

• To My Old Master – a letter from a former slave. Jourdon Anderson.
• Interesting to see the Avaaz.org results come through from their global poll last month. So far over 150,000 people have completed it.
• The Co-Op launch the Community Energy Challenge.
• As if I could love Julianne Moore any more – here she is promoting a campaign for clean air. Jess Zimmerman. “Sometimes, being a good mum means being an active citizen.”
• How do we design a space that allows for cross-team collaboration and information transfer? Bob Frisch.
• The hole at the heart of the Labour Party. Stuart Weir.
• Start the Week with Andrew Mark was particularly good this week with Mary King, Paul Mason and Wael Ghonim on Revolution.
• The Island President.

So Simple – So Effective

Link Loving 02.02.12

• Why do some countries have so few NGOs? Seth Kaplan.
• After all the pep talks and CV workshops, where are all the jobs? Amelia Gentleman.
• The whooping in this video of Josh Rouse‘s concert in London last week is, sadly, me.
• The whole of Belgium was on strike on Monday. Philip Blenkinsop.
• Dutch Socialists lead the polls ahead of the Prime Minister’s center right party and Geert Wilder’s extreme right party. René Cuperus.
• Don’t click it. Fascinating new web interface without using mouse clicks.

Leonard Cohen – How I Got My Song

“Poetry comes from a place that no one commands, that no one conquers. So I feel somewhat like a charlatan to accept an award for an activity which I do not command. In other words, if I knew where the good songs came from I would go there more often.”

“Just as an identity card is not a man, a credit rating is not a country”

Change.org Are Hiring Big Time

Three London-based roles to look at;

• Exec Assistant for my old boss Paul Hilder – perfect if you want to learn about campaign strategy and are at the beginning of your career.
• Campaign Manager – building advocacy and campaigns across the UK – crafting and executing rapid-response campaigns across dozens of issues.
• Director of Communications – overseeing all press, messaging and external communications around UK campaigns.

Then have a look at the enormous number of people they’re hiring around the world.

Link Loving 01.02.12

• Anne O’Brien reviews Ideas for Action: Relevant Theory for Radical Change by Cynthia Kaufman. Looks like a good read.
• What can British campaigners learn from the successful No Keystone XL campaign. Tom Baker.
• What does love look like?
• Why business won’t save the world. Michael Edwards.
• Niel Bowerman, my co-Global Shaper, speaks at WEF in Davos. (Notice how he introduces himself – someone’s done some Story of Self training!)
• How to create political space for climate action? Eivind Hoff.