How to campaign? You tell me.
Neil Kingsnorth
16 April 2012
Many moons ago I worked at CND where I ran a campaign against the militarisation of space. You might think that sounds interesting or a bit Star Wars. In fact we called it the Star Wars campaign.
It was interesting. But shortly after I started, the attack on the World Trade Centre meant people got interested in events closer to home than space - Iraq.
So why do some issues capture the public's imagination more than others? In May this year I'm giving a talk on effective campaigning at the Grassroots UK conference. And I find myself asking that question. Why Iraq and not weapons in space? Why that war and not others?
Is it about being in the right place at the right time, capturing the zeitgeist, or luck? Perhaps it's the way you communicate or how much money you've got to throw at it. Or maybe it's down to graft and patience.
Campaigning movements have always asked themselves questions like these in the search for success. It helps us learn new skills from each other, test our assumptions and seed ideas that could flower in new and colourful ways.
Which takes me to this Grassroots conference on 26 May in London. It's organised by the TUC Organising Academy and supported by Friends of the Earth and a host of others. It aims to unlock some of those secrets. Please come along.
I'm addressing the question "How we can campaign effectively and build support?"
It's a big question - and I think I'm going to need some help.
So, what do you think? Please comment below. All ideas are welcome. In fact, that's the whole point.
Neil Kingsnorth, Activism team
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