This document discusses the need for social change and activism, as well as challenges and capacities needed to enact change. It notes that we have always faced crises, and questions what stands in the way of change and what abilities we have or need to create change. The document emphasizes continually questioning beliefs and assumptions as activists working for change. It also stresses the importance of infrastructure like community spaces, resources, and processes to support information sharing, decision making, and building social connections to enable successful social change.

1. Activist Movements
Grant Neufeld

3. We are in a crisis!

4. We have always
been in a crisis.
(at least for the past
10,000 years or so)

5. What challenges are
between us and
social change?

6. What capacities
might we have, or
need, to make
social change?

7. Will opportunities
really exist
if we are not
prepared for them?

9. My favourite
Wikipedia article:
“List of
cognitive biases”

10. 157
forms of
cognitive bias

11. Seriously.
One Hundred
and Fifty Seven.

12. “A cognitive bias is a pattern
of deviation in judgment that
occurs in particular
situations, leading to
perceptual distortion,
inaccurate judgment, illogical
interpretation, or what is
broadly called irrationality.”
—Wikipedia

13. Understanding
biases can reduce
the hold they
have on us.

15. Questions are the
basis of activism.
Aren’t they?

16. An ideology
assumes certain
things to be
true.
Without question.

17. Is ideology the #1
threat to positive
social change?

18. Dangerous* phrases:
“We must…”
“You should…”
“The most
important…”
* and I don’t mean the fun kind of danger

19. When we seek
social change,
aren’t we
asking others
to question
what they are doing?

20. As activists,
shouldn’t we then
be continually
questioning what
we are doing?

21. … especially our
beliefs and
assumptions?

23. Is building capacity
necessary for
successful
social change?

24. Word of the day:
INFRASTRUCTURE

25. INFRASTRUCTURE
Physical
community centres,
facilities, housing,
storage, workshops,
transportation,
resources, tools, …?

26. INFRASTRUCTURE
Information
listings, media, alerts,
forums, how-tos,
historical archives, …?

27. INFRASTRUCTURE
Process
welcoming, gratitude,
organizations,
decision-making,
spokescouncil, funding,
integrating online & in-
person, …?

28. INFRASTRUCTURE
Social
meals, parties, games,
singing, dancing, hugs,
healing, mutual support,
…?

29. INFRASTRUCTURE
Understanding
mentoring, un/learning,
consciousness raising,
free schools,
questions, challenging,
…?

30. What infrastructure
do we have now?

31. What is in place that
we can start using?

32. Where could we
put our efforts
for building more,
or better,
infrastructures?

34. That is a ton
to try to do!

35. How much is
enough?

36. All that is needed
of you is to
do the bit you can.

37. It worked for those
who came before us
when they made the
world a better place.

38. If we each do
our little bit,
together,
that is enough.

39. activist.ca