For The First Time In Human History

 “For the first time in human history, most of the stories about people, life and values are told not by parents, schools, churches, or others in the community who have something to tell, but by a group of distant conglomerates that have something to sell. ” George Gerbner

h/t Rich Hawkins

The Revolution Will Be Organised

This came into my inbox from a friend…

You will not be able to stay home brother,
You will not be able to login, sit down and doze off,
You will not be able to lose yourself in emailed exchanges,
Sending messages for their own sake,
Because the revolution will be organised

The revolution will be organised
The revolution will not be brought to you in multi-part mime format
In four parts with attachments
The revolution will not send you minutes of meetings you did not attend
And documents you have no intention of ever reading
Because the revolution knows you have better things to do
The revolution will be organised

The revolution will not be brought to you by the
alt.goldfish.preservation discussion groups email digest and will not require
You to fill in a read receipt
The revolution will not CC your boss
The revolution will not CC your friends
The revolution will not waste your time with unnecessary email
Because the revolution will be organised

There will be no need to repeat in emails
Things agreed in conversations
There will be no need to repeat in emails
things agreed in conversations
F.Y.I. There will be no need to reply to emails just
Because someone sent them F.Y.I.
There will be no need to phrase your emails
Using language straight from the gutter or to
Defend your opinion using a selection of flames and curses you have been saving
For just the proper occasion
Because the revolution will be polite

It will be OK to get up from your desk
And walk the fifteen meters to your co-worker in order
To arrange the meeting you are going to have in ten minutes time
The telephone you have been given will not be left to recharge
While downloading a new ring tone by Eminem,
Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue or the Prodigy
Because you will be using it

The Revolution does not need to send everyone a message
About its opinion of snack machines, the temperature in the office or the next election
You will not have to worry or panic about messages labelled
Important or urgent, unless they really are
The revolution will not write without punctuation
The revolution will not feel the need to connect your spelling mistakes

The revolution will be organised, it will be organised
The revolution will not be virtual brothers;
The revolution will be live
Apologies to Gil Scott Heron.

Link Loving 06.04.12

• The 99 percent for the 100 percent: The case for deep patriotism. Van Jones.
• The use of food as a weapon during World War II. Richard Evans.
• Storytelling, evolved. GE tells a history of modern innovation by visualizing 6000 pages of its annual reports.
• Norway’s outdoor version of kindergarten.
• Questions to ask yourself when you debrief from an action. Nathan Schneider.

How The Community Can Help Itself

We often talk about ‘capacity building’ and ’empowerment’ in the NGO world without remembering that a necessary part of both these processes is letting go of some of our power at the center.

I’ve written about examples from around the sector that really put those principles into practice – and here’s another one” 10:10 have a new ‘Pioneers’ project that I love. What do they do? Well…

“Advice, insights and inspiration from some of 10:10’s most successful carbon-cutters. Each of the 12 hand-picked Pioneers has led an  exceptional 10:10 effort within a business or organisation, and is ready to share the stories and expertise they picked up along the way.”

The framing of the entire thing is very strong –

• positive labelling – these pioneers are now recognised leaders, giving them additional credibility internally
• the knowledge is in the community (and gained from experience) – no need for external experts
• diversity of pioneers – private, public and third sectors

Faith vs. Spirituality

“Faith is a belief in the ‘somethingness’ of life, a belief in love and compassion. Religion organises these beliefs into certain formulas and gets angry when people don’t follow its formula.” Richard Holloway

h/t Charlotte Millar

Link Loving 05.04.12

• Some really nice events taking place at the Festival of Transition.
• What does leaderlessn look like? Nathan Schneider.
• Hendrik Tiesinga sketches out the basic elements of a new political and economic operating system.
• Rufus Wainwright and Helena Bonham Carter get together and everything is wonderful.

Did Occupy Have A Plan?

Watch this webinar and find out.

Link Loving 04.04.12

• The future of nonprofit storytelling – story trends. CauseVox.
• How to get started in storytelling for fundraising. Cara Jones.
• 900-year old church goes 100% renewable. Sami Grover.
• Apply to win an SMK Award for campaigning.
• Loving IDEO’s idea of an inspiration break, as well as a tea break. Haiyan Zhang.

Understanding The Treasury – For Campaigners

If you’re ‘lobbying government’ and haven’t thought about the role of the Treasury, then you haven’t done your power analysis.

Once you start thinking about Treasury – there are three things you need to know:

1. If reality doesn’t match Treasury’s model, Treasury blames reality – not the model
2. The rest of Whitehall lives in fear of Treasury, therefore strengthening Treasury even further – you will need a coalition of departments to win
3. Treasury’s greatest weakness is it’s perceived strength (read: arrogance) – by staying under the radar, you can win

Campaigning With Common Cause – Next Wednesday

Hello friends,

Another month – another opportunity to come together to ask big questions about campaigning!

Next Wednesday evening we’ll be looking at the messy application of values-led campaigning in the ‘real’ world, with questions like:

• Does our understanding of shared values mean the end of single issue campaigns?
• How do we adapt the language of Common Cause so that it becomes usable in everyday life, but still holds meaning?
• Can we work with one value to encourage a ‘neighbouring’ value (bleed over effect), and what does that look like in practice?

Practical details –

• Where: Development House, 56-64 Leonard St, London EC2A 4LT
• When: 6.30-8pm, Wednesday 11th April
• Bring: Nibbles and good questions

See you then and there!

Casper

PS. Please do pass this on to any colleagues/pals who might be interested. Ta