A Toolkit for Effective Everyday Activism
Contains index
ISBN 978-1-032-36825-2(pbk); 978-1-003-33398-2(ebook)
"This book examines how everyday activists can enhance their effectiveness. Leanne Kelly and Alison Rogers unpack theories from the social sciences to help find meaning, explain these feelings of inertia, and provide strategies to overcome them. Through lessons learned over their careers as evaluators in non-profit organisations, Kelly and Rogers provide tools and strategies for measuring, improving, and sharing the effectiveness of planet-saving activities. They draw upon interviews with everyday people who are contributing to change in their homes, community groups, workplaces, and social settings to understand how they motivate and encourage others. The book concludes with a realistic look at individual expectations and focuses on how to prioritise self-care to ensure that activists can keep contributing in a way that maintains their wellbeing and balance. A Toolkit for Effective Everyday Activism empowers people to use theory, research, and practical tools to leverage their power so they can make the maximum contribution possible and sustain their efforts over the long term." (Publisher description)
"This book is based on the experiences and insights of everyday activists. Throughout 2022, we interviewed 46 people from a range of countries including Australia, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, France, United Kingdom, Fiji, Kenya, Nepal, South Sudan, Canada, Palestine, Myanmar (Bamar and Rohingya), Brazil, China, Indonesia, India, Aotearoa, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the Philippines. These everyday activists are also working and stay-at-home parents; Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (5); retirees; refugees and former refugees (6); people with disabilities (6); LGBTQIA+ people (4), researchers; students; freelancers; small eco-business owners; and non-profit, for-profit, and government staff members and volunteers. The youngest was still at high school and the oldest was 92 years old. Of the activists, 31 identified as female and 15 as male. While we did not specifically ask about religious affiliations, over a third of interviewees raised their alignment to religions including Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Christianity, and Buddhism. Some of the interviewees come from our own social networks but predominantly they were referred to us by others and invited by email to participate. We received ethics approval from Deakin University to conduct the research using these methods. We found the experiences of these everyday activists to be insightful and often inspirational. We learnt something new from each contributor and appreciated their willingness to give their time and share their experiences. We have included their name, or pseudonym in some cases, at their request, along with a short description of their actions below." (Page ix)
1 Setting the scene, 1
2 Facing a problematic world, 25
3 Exploring underlying motivations, 41
4 Finding fulfilment, 66
5 Cooperating with others, 80
6 Dealing with people who disagree, 103
7 Everyday evaluation, 120
8 Self-care, 136
9 Effective activism starts with everyday people, 158
2 Facing a problematic world, 25
3 Exploring underlying motivations, 41
4 Finding fulfilment, 66
5 Cooperating with others, 80
6 Dealing with people who disagree, 103
7 Everyday evaluation, 120
8 Self-care, 136
9 Effective activism starts with everyday people, 158
