Tools for people who are Working for Social Change

Hello to all,

here I send you some tools to improve our self-awareness in 
meetings for the benefit of our communication processes.
please find it below.

I hope you find it interesting and we can all apply these tips in 
Ecotopia!

All the best,
mariel

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Tools for people who are Working for Social 
Change

This list is intended to disrupt patterns of
domination which hurt our movement and hurt each other.
Many of us have a lot of work to do, but it is the kind
of work that makes life worth living.

1. Practice noticing who's in the room at meetings -
how many men, how many women, how many white people,
how many people of color, is it majority heterosexual,
are there out queers, what are people's class
backgrounds. Don't assume to know people, but also
work at being more aware.

2. Count how many times you speak and keep track of
how long you speak and how many times and how long
other people speak.

3. Be conscious of how often you are actively
listening to what other people are saying as opposed to just 
waiting
your turn and/or thinking about what you'll say next.

4. Practice going to meetings focused on listening and
learning; go to some meetings and do not speak at all.

5a. Count how many times you put ideas out to the
group.
5b. Count how many times you support other people's
ideas.

6. Practice supporting people by asking them to expand
on ideas and get more in-depth, before you decide to
support the idea or not

7a. Think about whose work and contribution to the
group gets recognized.
7b. Practice recognizing more people for the work they
do and try to do it more often.

8. Practice asking more people what they think about
meetings, ideas, actions, strategy and vision. Small groups tend
to talk amongst themselves and develop strong bonds that
manifest in organizing. This creates an internal organizing
culture that is alienating for most people. Developing respect and
solidarity across race, class, gender and sexuality is complex
and difficult, but absolutely critical - and
liberating.

9. Be aware of how often you ask people to do
something as opposed to asking other people "what needs
to be done".

10. Struggle with and work with the model of group
leadership that says that the responsibility of leaders
is to help develop more leaders, and think about what
this means to you.

11. Remember that social change is a process, and that
our individual transformation and individual liberation is
intimately interconnected with social transformation
and social liberation. Life is profoundly complex and
there are many contradictions.
Remember that the path we travel is guided by love,
dignity and respect - even when it is bumpy and difficult to
navigate.

12. Day-to-day patterns of domination are the glue
that maintain systems of domination. The struggle against
capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism and the 
state, is
also the struggle towards collective liberation.

13. No one is free until all of us are free.

From the Colours of Resistance webpage
http://www.tao.ca/~colours

Please distribute and share!!

Somos la misma familia,
Doc