Section 1 System Chapter 2 The simplicity of complexity Understanding a system’s complexity is essential for effective change. This chapter explains how to identify whether challenges are simple, complicated, complex or chaotic. Through real-world stories like the Bentley Blockade it shows how communities can transform systems by embracing complexity. A system’s complexity reveals how far we can shift it Systems exist within other systems. If we look closely at an organ inside the human body, we see complex systems. If we zoom in, we see cells and atoms. If we zoom out, we see millions of humans living among various structures, organisms and interconnected systems inside communities, towns, cities and countries. Understanding a system’s complexity is essential before we tackle it. There are three degrees of complexity: Complicated: Predictable and driven by cause-and-effect relationships. Although they have many interconnected parts, their behavior can be predicted if all parts and interactions are understood. For example, a car engine. Complex: Mostly unpredictable and driven by many variables, interactions, and feedback loops. These systems are adaptive and can sometimes be understood in retrospect. For example, the adaptive and self-organizing fungi on the International Space Station. Chaotic: Almost completely unpredictable, driven by numerous variables, dynamic interactions, and loops. These systems are adaptive and inherently uncertain. For example, weather patterns. Exploring Systems At any scale, interconnected systems can be ordered / complicated, complex, or chaotic. Consider crossing a river: Complicated System: In a simple ordered system, gravity pulls us into the water, a simple cause and effect. In a Complicated Ordered System, multiple factors like water currents and obstacles affect our steps. Complex System: The river's vibrant life, including fungi, ferns, and fish, adapts and self-organizes. Chaotic System: Including the weather and extended time adds many variables, making predictions difficult. “… mess is the material from which life and creativity are built …” Ralph Stacey A common mistake is trying to fix chaotic or complex problems as if they are simple or complicated. This often results in little or no progress. By analyzing and understanding the type of system, we can design a strategy more likely to succeed. For example, when crossing a river, we need to consider gravity, the canoe’s parts, slippery fungi on rocks, and emerging weather conditions. Ignoring these elements can lead to trouble. Use the complexity tool in this chapter to deepen your understanding of the system you are targeting. We have adapted it from the Stacey Matrix for decision-making and Cynefin framework . By identifying a problem as one of these types, we can start to reveal the kinds of systems, or system interactions, that drive that problem and then identify how to solve the problem. Once you have used this tool, you could run a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis.** TOOL Steps for SWOT Analysis Draw a 2 x 2 table on an A4 sheet or larger. List the strengths and weaknesses of the system you are targeting. Identify opportunities and threats to your success. Alternatively, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your campaign and the opportunities and threats for the system or your opponent. STORY The Bentley Blockade, Australia 2014 In 2014, the coal and gas industry planned to expand operations in New South Wales, Australia, but various local communities were opposed to this expansion. The Gasfield Free Northern Rivers (GFNR) alliance had formed and needed to coordinate a movement that consisted of different autonomous groups working together: farmers, Indigenous people, townsfolk, environmentalists, professionals, and businesspeople. They faced multiple types of challenges: chaotic, complex, complicated and obvious. The GFNR alliance used the Cynefin framework to assess the best ways to handle these problems, adapting their strategies and leadership styles. The alliance organized nonviolent direct actions, conducted house-to-house surveys, held public meetings, and used social media to spread their message. They also provided training in nonviolent protest and civil disobedience. GFNR used the Cynefin framework to experiment with approaches in the following ways: Identified and Adapted to Different Situations: By nudging the system out of chaos into more structured situations through network building and sense-making narratives. Chaotic Situations: GFNR reduced the chaos of the ongoing situation to complexity by supporting new groups to form, new individuals to join existing groups, and by sharing a unifying narrative to make sense of the battle. Complex Situations: The gas industry’s next steps created many unknowns for campaigners. GFNR told the movement there were minimal rules other than “non-violent; non-negotiable.” This allowed people to organize and adapt quickly through decentralized networks and come up with new ideas. Ordered (Complicated) Situations: When problems were tricky but understandable, GFNR combined centralized and localized efforts. For example, GFNR sent resident and farmer groups together to advocate to the government. Ordered (Obvious) Situations: When problems were clear and predictable, GFNR knew it could increase pressure quickly via the movement. It used a central database and mobilized all supporters to call the Minister for Resources en-masse. Balanced structure: GFNR used different leadership styles, rotating roles and styles to respond efficiently and effectively at the right times: Distributed Leadership: Different people took on leadership roles as needed. Sometimes, leaders took charge, and other times, they let others lead. Contextual Flexibility: They changed their leadership and organizational styles depending on the situation, allowing for both centralized and decentralized decision-making. Kept Experimenting to support rapid response and Foster Self-Organization: Enabled creative and adaptive solutions to emerge by applying minimal constraints in complex situations. GFNR continuously tested different approaches to see what worked best. They kept what worked and quickly dropped what did not. Jeff Loy, Assistant Police Commissioner for New South Wales, called the Bentley Blockade, “the largest public order challenge in New South Wales police history.” It took years to build its extensive community support and sophisticated blockade tactics. In the end, the New South Wales government suspended the drilling operation and police operation, and by 2015, the government bought back all gas licenses in the region. The movement successfully protected the Northern Rivers from gas field development. Read more: https://commonslibrary.org/enabling-emergence-the-bentley-blockade-and-the-struggle-for-a-gasfield-free-northern-rivers/ TOOL Sensemaking Steps This tool will help you unpack the problem and the relationships behind it, helping you understand their complexity individually and together. On an A3 sheet, draw out the Sensemaking chart shown here and write a sentence explaining the Problem you wish to change above it. Relationships: Write out and place a Post-It onto the chart for each key relationship that is maintaining or could help address this problem, according to its level of complexity. These could be tangible or intangible relationships - from the Head of a bank to a local community leader. Connections: Draw lines across the chart between each relationship. Use thick lines for strong relationships and thin lines for weak ones. Note: You may wish to separate individuals onto different Post-Its. Complexity: How many influential relationships and competing tensions are there? Might there be other connections among them? Certainty: How predictable are the interactions between these actors and their relationships? Do you need to move the Post-Its around? Sensemaking: Consider the most significant relationships here. Is your problem what you thought it was? Is it Simple, Complicated, Complex, or Chaotic? Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 4 Storms Chapter 17 Storms are stories Every system faces storms—developmental, situational, or existential—that test resilience. Preparing in advance allows campaigners to turn crises into opportunities. By diagnosing the storm type and its system-level impacts, we can act strategically rather than reactively. There are just 3 types of challenge and we can handle every one of them. In natural ecosystems, the species that survive have adapted to change around them. But many organizations perish because they fail to prepare for crises and opportunities within and around them. Often, we face crises and tell ourselves, "this too shall pass," or regret missed opportunities, rather than readying ourselves in advance. Understanding and creating storms Every storm is a tale with a beginning, a middle and an end. Although we cannot predict the weather with perfect accuracy, we can equip ourselves for what may come and build resilience to likely or potential storms. We can also create storms ourselves. For example taking direct action can destabilize a system, hinder an opponent and drive public debate around your issue. “A crisis is an opportunity riding a dangerous wind.” Chinese proverb Navigating storm types To comprehend how a storm might impact our target system or our campaign, we categorize it into three types: Developmental: Challenges a system’s identity or boosts its visibility. Situational: Hinders a system’s operations or enhances its influence. Existential: Threatens a system’s survival or enables evolution to something stronger. Analysing causes and effects To effectively handle a storm, we must analyze its causes and consequences. This involves identifying whether the problem is simple, complicated, complex or chaotic (see Chapter 2), observe its five system levels (Chapter 3), its Guiding Star and Near Star (Chapter 5) and the Deep Loop that drives it (Chapter 8). Preparing for impact Do not underestimate the impact of a storm or your ability to deal with it. Bats’ echolocation is disrupted by storms, preventing them from perceiving their environment. They take shelter and wait out the storm. But the hard truth for campaigners and organizations is that taking shelter is rarely the best option to deal with a crisis or opportunity. When we prepare in advance, we can be ready for all kinds of circumstances. Make sure you read all the chapters in this Section in order to prepare and deal with the three types of storm, because the storms will come. You will fare far better if you prepare in advance. No one wants to lurch from crisis to crisis. Footnotes: Aboriginal season charts: https://www.csiro.au/en/research/Indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/calendars Chart showing Aboriginal Australian fire burning according to season: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/A-seasonal-calendar-illustrating-aspects-of-Indigenous-fire-stewardship-The-calendar_fig2_359670046 TOOL Storm Diagnosis Spotting Threats Draw out or print the Storm Chart. Write on one Post It at a time: A challenge or opportunity you might face Write down whether it relates to: the system you’re trying to change your campaign both Write down its corresponding Storm type: Developmental: An challenge to a system’s identity of or an opportunity to raise its profile Situational: A challenge impeding what the system does or an opportunity to boost its reach Existential: A threat to a system’s existence or an opportunity to create something stronger Write down whether this threat or opportunity in itself is: Chaotic Complex Ordered Place the Post-It on the Threat / Opportunity ring in line with the Storm type. Continue this process for all the possible threats you could face. There should be a fairly even distribution of Post-Its. Storm as system On an A3 sheet, pick the most harmful, most likely threat. Note down: Why: Why has this threat come to happen. Is it because of your campaign? Who: The storm’s Guiding Star and Near Star. The key relationships that give it equilibrium, power and set the rules for how it operates. Where: The relationships that allow information to flow and enable the threat to function. How: How the storm manifests. What: The short, medium and long term impacts are, on you and others in and outside the system. Does this tell you anything new to prepare for, in how the storm affects the system or your campaign? Eye of the storm On a separate sheet, draw out the key loops that you think are driving this storm. Add arrows to show direction, and pluses and minuses alongside them to show where some elements increase or decrease others. Identify the loops as stabilizing / stagnating / vicious / virtuous. Review the loops and identify the most critical ones. Zoom out. Could you see these loops together as one large loop? What does this tell you about what is driving the storm, and how you could deal with it? Is the storm a threat or opportunity as you originally believed? Could it evolve into one, or could you turn it to your advantage? STORY Stopping Arms Transportation To Zimbabwe, South Africa During the 2008 elections in Zimbabwe, the ruling party ZANU-PF suppressed opposition and manipulated results. Meanwhile, a Chinese ship carrying weapons for Zimbabwe's Defense Force arrived in South Africa for the arms to be sent to Zimbabwe, raising fears of increased violence. Civil society groups in South Africa aimed to prevent the ship from delivering weapons to Zimbabwe, thereby avoiding further violence and human rights abuses. They did so by understanding the type of crisis and opportunity and responding to them appropriately: There were three interrelated crises: Developmental Crisis: False election results. This was a symptom of the deeper situational and existential crises. Dealing with those was more critical. Situational Crises: Voter suppression and manipulation of results. The arrival of the ship carrying weapons. This needed addressing immediately or it would risk an existential crisis - the lives of people in Zimbabwe. Existential Crises: The potential for increased state violence and suppression of the opposition. Zimbabwe's long-term struggle with corruption and political violence. Addressing these would take longer, but understanding their connection to the situational crises were important for building strength across civil societies in the long fight against repression. Campaigners took coordinated action: Using voice at the What level: Religious groups and NGOs in South Africa protested at the Durban harbor. Blocking infrastructure at the How level: The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union refused to offload the weapons. Civil society groups and unions in Mozambique, Namibia, and Angola coordinated to prevent the ship from docking and offloading weapons in their countries. Legal challenge at the Who level: The Southern African Litigation Centre (SALC) filed a legal challenge to stop the transfer of weapons. Results: System sabotage: Unions, religious groups and NGOs navigated the connected storms to stop the system from functioning. The ship could not offload its weapons cargo in any of the ports, and eventually returned to China. Legal and social impact: The campaign highlighted the willingness of regional leaders to support Zimbabwe’s lawlessness and spurred public outrage. Showed strength of future regional solidarity and resistance: It sent a clear message against state violence in Zimbabwe. Read more: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/chinese-arms-to-zimbabwe/ https://www.industriall-union.org/archive/imf/unions-block-arms-delivery-to-zimbabwe https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/24/zimbabwe.china Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 3 Navigation Chapter 16 Emotion is oxygen In today’s fast-moving media landscape, concise and emotive messages are vital. Effective counter-narratives rely on speed, clarity, and authenticity, reaching audiences through trusted voices at the right time. A concise, clear and emotive message can spread quickly and inspire action. The news cycle moves faster than it ever has before. Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence have advanced so much that data can be gathered, repurposed and shared instantly. This brings overwhelm for individuals and is killing traditional media in many countries. “In so many ways, the internet serves more as an affirmation superhighway, a way to affirm political beliefs and identities.” An Xiao Mina But human emotion gives us hope for our counter-narratives. Systems do not die; they evolve. Human-centered stories are real, memorable, and exciting. Citizen journalism and media focused NGOs in countries from Brazil to Indonesia have filled in the gaps. Artificial Intelligence based on the values, mental shortcuts and biases of San Francisco based programmers cannot tell stories that resonate with all of humanity. Strategic communications are key. Aboriginal Australians use songs to teach young people paths through the outback. We need to use one counter narrative across the right channels to the right people at the right time. This is the oxygen that we need for our counter narrative to travel. These messages and counter narratives can be delivered subliminally too. Flip the Script is a campaign that has succeeded in getting Hollywood producers to normalize the use of reusable bottles rather than plastics, to help drive behavior change to switch away from plastics. “Politics is where some of the people are some of the time. Culture is where most of the people are most of the time.” The Culture Group, Making Waves There are three key ways to make the most of any moment*: Time: Identify the type of crisis or opportunity. Do you need to respond to this story? Be fast and first to respond. Use your pre-prepared and pre-rehearsed strategy. Message: Tailor the values frame for each media channel’s audience. Keep your media release short, urgent, with one clear and memorable message. Tell your story to deliver your counter narrative. Show what you’re for and in contrast, what your opponent is for, e.g. “This is racist.” Space: Train spokespeople from the affected community, in advance, as authentic voices. Center these authentic voices throughout your counter narrative, story, messaging and quote them in your media release. Put new spokespeople forward to more supportive media. Keep up momentum by involving the community in online and other actions. A strong message needs to be memorable, beyond just a slogan. Match the tone for the audience, and practice it for specific moments. We recommend creating: An elevator pitch - a 3-sentence summary to engage someone in a brief encounter. It should show the audience how they can help make a change. A memorable idea - a metaphor, symbol, hashtag, or slogan that is easily recognized and reminds people of your campaign’s goals and desires. If it’s very memorable, it could become a meme, traveling far and wide across media and among the public. Source: *With thanks to Aliya Ahmad and Neha Madhok and their interview highlights at https://commonslibrary.org/fast-and-first-shifting-narratives-through-rapid-response-media-campaigning/#Tips Structure of a winning message: NEON On attention economy definition: https://acroll.substack.com/p/what-comes-after-the-attention-economy#:~:text=Economies%20are%20driven%20by%20what,live%20in%20an%20attention%20economy . With thanks to https://commonslibrary.org/fast-and-first-shifting-narratives-through-rapid-response-media-campaigning/#Tips STORY Highlighting Racist Public Health Response, Australia At the start of the Covid-19 Delta outbreak, several people in south-western Sydney tested positive. The New South Wales regional government in Australia increased policing and blamed local communities for not following public health orders. The majority of these communities were racially and culturally diverse, as well as working class, and so the government’s response perpetuated racist and classist undertones and stereotypes. Campaigners working on social, economic and racial justice sought to rapidly disrupt and change the narrative from blaming the affected communities to highlighting the unfair and racist response by the regional government. Their efforts focused on: Timeliness: Immediate Response: Quickly organized and reacted to the initial negative media coverage, and this was supported by a strategic, responsive, messaging framework that was developed in case of such a need arising. Media Release: Sending out a quick and clear media release within 30-45 minutes of the news breaking Space: Community Engagement: Worked within the affected communities to gather their perspectives. Media Platforms: Utilized different media platforms, including community radio and social media, to spread the message. Message: Clear and Emotive: Changed the framing from "police activity in problematic regions" to "racist Covid crackdown." For example: The regional government influenced initial coverage like the headline: "Police activity bolstered across problematic Sydney regions in desperate bid to shut down Delta transmission." The core message of this blamed communities for the outbreak. Community leaders and activists quickly organized and contacted media outlets, leading to the headline: "Covid crackdown in Sydney’s southwest labeled racist amid major police operation." The core message here highlighted the unfair and racist targeting of communities. Conflict: Used strong rhetoric to appeal to the media, labeling the response as racist. Community Voices: Ensured spokespeople from the affected communities spoke out, adding legitimacy. Campaigners were successful in increasing awareness, shifting the narrative and local public opinion. The public debate changed from blaming communities to criticizing the racist crackdown. More people understood and supported the affected communities' situation. By using time effectively, engaging the right spaces, and crafting a concise and emotive message, the narrative was quickly changed to inspire action and support for the affected communities. Read more: https://commonslibrary.org/fast-and-first-shifting-narratives-through-rapid-response-media-campaigning/#Tips STORY Panties For Peace Campaign, Myanmar In 2007, after a harsh crackdown on democratic protests in Myanmar, public protests became impossible. Despite this, dissent continued through creative and lower-risk actions. In this case - now known as the ‘Panties for Peace’ campaign or Sarong Revolution - where women turned harmful gendered norms against their bodies on their heads, using their bodies as tools of protest and revolution. Women activists mobilized against both state militarized control in an imaginative and transgressive way, using a gendered artifact - their underwear. The campaign, coordinated by a Burmese activist group in Thailand, asked women to send their underwear to the generals in the Myanmar military Junta via international embassies and fly their htamein (women’s skirts) ahead of the 2008 referendum. This was a way of mocking the military and its gendered rules and superstitions - in particular that any kind of contact with female underwear will sap them of their power. Campaigners found a way to protest against Myanmar's military junta that was safer, widely spreadable, and inspired action despite the dangers of public gatherings: Time Prompt and Timely Action: The protest utilized the generals' superstitions by asking supporters to mail panties quickly to maintain momentum and leverage the cultural belief that female underwear could sap their power. Space Distributed Protests: The action allowed individuals to participate from their own homes by mailing panties, making it possible to protest without gathering in public spaces, which were heavily controlled. Message Clear and Emotive Message: The protest message was simple and provocative: "Send panties to the generals." This used humor and cultural taboos to ridicule the military leaders and highlight their fear, making it easy to understand and spread. Spreading the Message: Utilizing Humor: The action used humor to mock the generals, breaking their image of power and making it easy for people to join in and support the cause. Leveraging Symbols: Using women's underwear as a symbol made the protest visually striking and memorable, helping the message spread quickly both locally and internationally. This activity was successful in inspiring widespread participation. Many people, both within Myanmar and globally, participated by sending panties, making the protest effective while managing risks to their safety by maintaining anonymity. The use of humor and superstition weakened the junta's power in the public sphere, showing that they could be mocked and ridiculed. It inspired others by showing that resistance was possible even under severe repression. Read more: This Bra Protects Me Better Than The Military: Bodies and Protests in the Myanmar Spring Revolution, Mra, Khin Khin and Hedström, Jenny: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00472336.2024.2344117#abstract TOOL Idea & Metaphor Ripples Write out on Post-Its and stick on the wall, a maximum 2-3 sentences for each narrative ripple across the water. Choose separate Post-Its for different key stakeholders, networks, messengers. How does your narrative spread out? Does it all connect? Idea or metaphor Consider the dominant narrative, and your counter narrative and messages. Can you think of an idea, metaphor, symbol or slogan that taps into the values of your counter-narrative and your demands? Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 5 Energy Chapter 23 Truth is human shaped This section emphasizes the importance of evaluating system changes through diverse perspectives, not just internal metrics. Recognizing that bias, selective perception, and social dynamics shape how we interpret outcomes, the process calls for valuing stories and opinions alongside data to build a more truthful and balanced picture of impact. Gather with critics and neutrals to identify everyone's contributions to changes within and outside the system. Many Western societies base their analysis on scientific objectivity, believing there is only one true answer to every question. This can reduce our perception of risk. However, humans have selective vision and memories. We often lie to ourselves and others. What happens if we find that we’ve made no impact or made things worse? “Human eyes are selective… We think we can see ‘everything,’ until we remember that bees make out patterns written in ultraviolet light on flowers, and owls see in the dark. The senses of every species are fine-tuned to perceive information critical to their survival.” Rosamond Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility In Russia there are thought to be two kinds of truth: universal truth, and pravda - human-shaped truth. Everyone has their own truth to tell. “We cannot escape ideology, but we can strive to be aware of its influence.” Adam Curtis After reflecting on changes in the system, we should value others’ opinions to help us evaluate. This is especially important when considering what has contributed to these changes and any outcomes we've achieved. Organizations often evaluate their contributions by themselves or hire independent consultants who may be biased. They also rely heavily on numbers to measure success. “To glorify democracy and to silence the people is a farce; to discourse on humanism and to negate people is a lie.” Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed There is power in asking and openly checking for bias by seeking opinions from critics, neutrals, and supporters. Let’s connect with allies, opponents, and others in the system we’re trying to change to gather stories, opinions, and anecdotes. Even our enemies might share the same ultimate goal but disagree on how to achieve it. Depending on how high risk the environment for your work, you could consider asking the following stakeholders: A government decision-maker or adviser (it does not have to be the decision-maker you're targeting) A local member of the public affected by the issue but unaware of your campaign A journalist tuned in to discussions in government An employee of a targeted company “If you have no critics you'll likely have no success.” Malcolm X We recommend: Ask each stakeholder to share what they believe has been the most critical change in the system as they see it, and why they think it has happened. Gather these answers together and explore them alongside the system chart, deep loop and narrative that you created in the exercise in Chapter 20 or previously.** Debias this process by asking yourself: Are we treating the data fairly? Are we considering this too quickly? Are we seeking confirmation? Are we avoiding some kind of risk in our conclusion? Read more: To explore deeper methodologies, research the solution-focused approach of Appreciative Enquiry or the anecdotal approach of Most Significant Change . Source: Rosamond Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, The Art of Possibility, Transforming Professional and Personal Life (2000), p.4 CONCEPT Social Threats & Rewards David Rocks invented the SCARF model to show how our brains respond differently whether we perceive the people or situations around us as threats or rewards. When the brain is in a threat state, it shuts down to new ideas. When it is in a reward state, it helps us to communicate and collaborate more effectively. According to the SCARF model there are five domains of social threat or reward. For example, feeling respected helps us to feel we have status, and be more open to collaboration; while feeling criticized or like we have lost status, closes us off from interaction or effective collaboration with others. This sense of threat or reward also influences how we receive ideas, opinions and insights from others - and our ability to evaluate what is valuable information or not. For more on the SEEDS of bias and mental shortcuts that affect what we notice and how we consider, see Chapter 15: Decisions are Learned. Read more: https://www.mindtools.com/akswgc0/david-rocks-scarf-model Source: Image: MobLab https://mobilisationlab.org/ Source of SCARF diagram: SEEDS Model from the Neuroleadership Institute, The 5 Biggest Biases That Affect Decision-Making (neuroleadership.com). Take the SCARF assessment: https://neuroleadership.com/research/tools/nli-scarf-assessment/ , SCARF model: https://www.bitesizelearning.co.uk/resources/scarf-model-david-rock-explained TOOL Burning Through Bias Step 1: If you did not gather them using the tool in Chapter 20, now gather allies, opponents, bystanders (e.g. journalists, the public) together and ask them to consider the SEEDS of bias questions* when thinking about changes in the system, who has contributed and when sharing honestly in the group: Similarity: Am I choosing to believe what or who I’m used to? Expediency: Does this challenge my thoughts or suit my instincts? Experience: Am I assuming everyone had the same experience as me? Distance: Am I choosing the answer that fits my current mood, or is most convenient? Safety: Am I picking the safest, lowest risk option? Step 2: Ask each of them in turn to share what they think is the most critical change to the system over the period of your campaign, and why they think it happened. What’s working? Ask one person to capture these in full. Ask another to write each in brief on a post-it and place it on the right hand side of the chart. Step 3: Review the loops and connections across the fire together? What does this tell you about how your campaign is doing? Go deeper: Evaluators use the original Most Significant Change tool to ask affected community members about the most significant change in their lives. The multiple perspectives from this process can challenge the biases of the facilitators as well as identify patterns and causes. Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 2 Equilibrium Chapter 5 Systems Do Not Die Lasting change comes not from new leaders, but from reshaping a system’s vision. This chapter introduces Guiding Stars — long-term visions rooted in trust, empathy, and collective wellbeing — and Near Stars, shorter-term milestones that show we are on track. Change the system’s vision to rebalance it. Campaigners often rush towards their goals, not realizing it is a long journey. Citizens vote for new leaders, expecting big changes, but often see little improvement in their lives as new officials grapple with the same old system. We too often look in the wrong place to find our way to system change. We recommend setting a Guiding Star as a vision or aim for the system we are trying to change. A Guiding Star means that a healthy system is in place, with the why, who, what, and how in place that helps maintain itself. An example of a Guiding Star for a society is a government that citizens trust and in enacting this trust they vote at general elections - showing their support for structures like the rule of law. The system would be at risk if many citizens rebelled against these structures. Strategies to achieve a Guiding Star should address a scarcity mindset and promote empathy and collective values. “The civil rights movement tended to be focused on integration, but there were those who said, we don't want to assimilate into a sinking ship, so let's change the ship altogether.” 2014 interview in Conversations with Angela Davis Edited by Sharon Lynette Jones (2021) (Referring to the emergence of the Black Panther Party) We recommend setting a Near Star as a 5-10 year major outcome that shows us we are on track to achieve our Guiding Star or vision. This is a major step towards achieving your vision. A Near Star means that conditions for a healthy system are in place. An example of a Near Star is an easy voting process. The system would become unstable if this process was not in place. Campaigners are used to setting a vision and then Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound (SMART) goals. This approach builds from this foundation, adapting it for a systems mindset. First, it is important to understand that systems do not die. Every system already has a Guiding Star showing it is in good health, and a Near Star showing what needs to happen for it to remain healthy. So, start by understanding how the system(s) operate today and then determine how you would like to see them evolve - rather than setting visions and SMART goals assuming a static starting point and a blank page. The tool in this Chapter shows how to identify the existing Guiding Star and Near Star for the system, and how to identify new stars to replace them. STORY Buen Vivir: Bolivia and Ecuador For much of the 20th century Bolivia and Ecuador adopted economic policies based on advice from Washington, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). By the mid-2000s, the extraction and sale of their natural resources by multinational companies had left many Bolivians and Ecuadorians in poverty. Progressive movements in each country brought together coalitions representing Indigenous movements and left-leaning white working-class people. These movements recognized the stability in community that Indigenous peoples had established long before country borders were drawn. This could be a new Guiding Star to ensure their societies and environments could thrive. This focus on the collective rather than the individual was rooted in the Quechua vision of “sumac kawsay,” meaning “the fullness of life, living in community and harmony with other people and nature.” The Quechua practiced their stewardship of nature, by only taking what they needed from their environment, focussing on helping nature to stay in balance. “We… hereby decide to build a new form of public coexistence, in diversity and in harmony with nature, to achieve the good way of living.” Constitution of Ecuador, 2008 Evo Morales, an Indigenous leader in Bolivia, and Rafael Correa, a middle-class intellectual in Ecuador, won elections based on the idea that they would restrict the extraction of natural resources and reinvest a large portion of the profits to fight poverty and inequality. In 2008, Ecuador established the Guiding Star of “buen vivir” (a Spanish phrase, based on sumac kawsay) as a cornerstone of its constitution. In 2011, Bolivia passed the Law of Mother Nature, the world’s first national legislation to bestow rights to the natural world. The reforms changed the idea of development, prioritizing “ecological balance over relentless growth.”* Were systems fully and effectively reformed based on these new why guiding stars? No. But it is still relevant to consider as an example of one key step towards enacting system change. Sources (formal sourcing): *Rapid Transition Alliance: https://rapidtransition.org/stories/the-rights-of-nature-in-bolivia-and-ecuador/ Guardian article: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/blog/buen-vivir-philosophy-south-america-eduardo-gudynas STORY The Salt March, India, 1930 Under British colonial rule, in 1930 India was gripped by a growing demand for independence. Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, decided to challenge the British monopoly on salt production, which forced Indians to buy salt exclusively from the government. Gandhi’s Near Star was not just an objective to defy the salt law, but to use this act as a catalyst to unite the Indian population in a mass movement against British imperialism. His Guiding Star was to gain India's independence through nonviolent civil disobedience, rather than merely achieving minor policy changes. He took learnings from other Indians who had practiced ‘Satyagraha’ - to resist by non-violent non-cooperation with oppression. “For Gandhi, satyagraha, the force of truth, was the force not to cooperate with unjust laws that called for a ‘no’ from our deepest conscience”. Gandhi organized the Salt March, a 240-mile trek to the Arabian Sea, where he symbolically broke the salt laws by making salt from seawater. This act of defiance sparked widespread civil disobedience across India, leading to the arrest of over 100,000 people. The campaign was able to bring the British to the negotiating table, resulting in the 1931 Gandhi-Irwin Pact, but this seemed to deliver limited concessions. Many within the Indian National Congress felt disillusioned, believing that Gandhi had settled for too little—only minor exceptions to the salt law and the release of some political prisoners. Although the immediate gains from the Salt March appeared modest, Gandhi saw the bigger picture and stayed true to his long-term aim. He understood that the symbolic victory of forcing the British to negotiate with an Indian leader on equal terms was a significant moral and strategic win. This shifted public opinion and built the capacity of the Indian independence movement for future struggles. The campaign also demonstrated the power of nonviolent resistance, inspiring mass mobilizations that would eventually lead to India's independence. Gandhi's ability to focus on his Guiding Star, rather than getting sidetracked by the immediate, lesser objectives, ultimately helped dismantle British imperial rule in India. Read more: Shiva, V. (2021). Satyagraha: The Highest Practise of Democracy and Freedom . Social Change, 51(1), 80-91. Sharma, A. (2015) Gandhi’s Non-Violent “Raid” During the Salt March . TOOL Star Setting Take a piece of paper and plot the guiding star and near star of the system you want to change in the top left-hand corner. Then plot your campaign's guiding star and near star in the top right. Both need to be inspiring, meaningful, and compelling. As Donella Meadows says: “Good systems goals - the guiding stars and near stars of the world, the system we want - require: Going for the good of the whole Expand time horizons Expand thought horizons Expand the boundaries of caring Celebrate complexity Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 1 System Chapter 4 Autonomy is myth Systems are deeply interconnected, with each part dependent on others — both within the same system and across different ones. This chapter shows how to extend the soil chart to map interdependent systems, using Bolivia’s Water War as a case study of how diverse groups came together to reclaim control of vital resources. Every part of a system depends on other parts of the same system, and sometimes on other systems. We are influenced by many interdependent, tangible and intangible systems, from people and institutions to values and norms. Every ecosystem has at least one keystone species - an organism that is critical to the survival of others in the ecosystem, and to keeping the system in balance. Its removal can cause irreparable damage. This is exactly what happened with the decline of sea otters off the coast of Alaska. In the 1990s the hunting of whales and sea lions removed two primary food sources for local orcas. When the orcas then began to increase their hunting of sea otters, the sea otter population dropped dramatically, causing sea urchins to reproduce unchecked. The urchins killed off the huge underwater kelp forests which normally provided food and shelter for thousands of ocean species.* Multiple ecosystems work with each other all the time. Perhaps the best known example is of the different systems and relationships connected to a child: the family (parents and siblings), the school (teachers), the state (funding for education types), culture and class (norms and attitudes).** So to understand how to influence one system, we need to be aware of the others that interact with it. In Chapter 1 we showed how to use a soil chart to map a single system. In this Chapter we propose extending this soil chart to see how this system is interacting with and influencing others. We look at dependencies, tipping points (to consider the key moments that could kickstart change) and consequences (to see what might happen if we increased or decreased certain factors at different levels). STORY Bolivia's Water War In 1999, Bolivia, under pressure from the World Bank, privatized the water system in Cochabamba, a city of 800,000 people. The government handed control to a foreign company, Aguas del Tunari, which led to severe price hikes and the takeover of local water systems, creating widespread discontent. Campaigners sought to stop the privatization, reverse the water price hikes, and protect the local water systems. They did this in the following ways: Connecting Systems and Stakeholders: Local Response: Initially, local professionals and small-scale farmers raised concerns but were ignored. However, as the impact spread, various groups including water cooperatives, neighborhood associations, labor unions, and factory workers joined forces. Forming a Coalition: These groups formed La Coordinadora, led by union activist Óscar Olivera, uniting diverse stakeholders to fight against the privatization. Shutdown of the country: Public Mobilizations: La Coordinadora organized mass protests and road blockades, involving urban and rural workers, students, and ordinary citizens. They demanded the government end the contract with Aguas del Tunari, repeal the new water law, and reverse the price hikes. The protests reached a peak in April 2000 with widespread demonstrations and blockades. Symbolic Actions and Solidarity: Protesters used symbolic actions like burning unpaid water bills and organizing non-violent demonstrations, which gathered widespread support and media attention. Even as protests sometimes faced police violence, the diverse participation from all parts of society showed strong unity against the privatization - centering the message of the fundamental right to water for human life. Media and Global Attention: International Awareness: News of the protests and the involvement of Bechtel (a major corporation) spread globally through media and internet campaigns, drawing international attention and support. The government underestimated how well interconnected local, regional and national actors across the Who and How levels could combine to effectively shut down the country’s infrastructure and economy. The government eventually agreed to revoke Aguas del Tunari's contract and return control of the water system to public hands. The government also modified the water law to protect local water systems and ensure public consultation on rates. TOOL Systems Triggers & Consequences Take your soil chart from Chapter 3. Rewind 50 years and fast forward 100 years. When you do this, ask yourself: What does the system look like? Does it need to change? When or where are the tipping points where change could happen, e.g. rainforest turning to savannah? What are the consequences? What are the dependencies across these system levels? Who or what is directly affected, e.g. natural resources, keystone species, socioeconomic groups, cultural beliefs? Take your time and feel free to step up and down through the levels. Challenge your assumptions about why this system works in these different places. Footnotes: * https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/reintroductions-key-species/keystone-species-and-trophic-cascades **Gerald Zaltzman, https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-subconscious-mind-of-the-consumer-and-how-to-reach-it **Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory https://www.simplypsychology.org/bronfenbrenner.html#The-Five-Ecological-Systems “Pull a thread here and you’ll find it’s attached to the rest of the world.” - Nadeem Aslam Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 4 Storms Chapter 19 Foresight is 20:20 Preparation and rehearsal are the backbone of crisis response. Warning signs signal storms early; practicing scenarios builds resilience, adaptability, and trust. With role play and monitoring systems in place, organizations can anticipate challenges instead of reacting blindly. You’re not prepared until you have practiced how you will respond. Trust can take years to build but minutes to destroy. Some crises hit suddenly, while others, like funding cuts or anti-immigration narratives, creep in slowly. CONCEPT Warning Signs In natural ecosystems, dolphins detect changes in water salinity and birds sense air pressure to know when a storm is coming. We need a similar system to monitor the early signs that a crisis or opportunity is coming, and we also need to rehearse what we will do when the storm comes. We recommend: Using the storm chart section on What to monitor to look for warning signs Creating a thermometer to rank the severity of crises and opportunities, and identify when to monitor / prepare / respond / pivot. Plan for unpredictability. We should start from what needs to change and the barriers to change, and situate our efforts within that orbit, rather than imagining everything flows from what we do. From that we can identify a way forward. And then iterate constantly. Jim Coe and Rhonda Schlangen, No Royal Road CONCEPT Building Resilience Likewise, the foundations of a strong campaign or organization lie not just in planning but building a supportive culture. This strengthens our resilience as well as our ability to use the four strategies for storms and our ability to pivot quickly. Some organizations advocate for resilience organizing as opposed to campaign organizing - prioritizing resilience, culture and movement strength are equally as much as the external change you seek.* We recommend you look at your campaign or organization as a system, look for warning signs of storms, and build resilience as follows: Generations of community knowledge and practice have helped people survive and adapt to natural disasters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Inga community in Colombia used their strong community networks to organize harvest distribution based on families' locations, helping them cope with movement restrictions.** Campaigners should always be prepared for crises or opportunities. Good crisis management is 90% preparation. By practicing key scenarios, campaigners can build resilience and adaptability. The most common path to success is not raw innovation, but skilfully riding a wave of change. Richard Rumelt, Good Strategy Bad Strategy Organizations often plan for crises by writing down a full risk register but rarely do so for opportunities. Some evaluators suggest a "pre-mortem"—imagining the campaign failed a week after launch and asking what went wrong. We propose going one step further. After understanding the system (Section 1), creating a storm chart (Chapter 15) and understanding good internal and external stakeholder responses (Section 3) - run a “role play” exercise in real time for every key threat and opportunity. Discuss which of the four strategies from Chapter 18 you may need. We recommend the following principles inspired by resilience practices in your rehearsal: Practice collectivism: Share resources and learn from others affected. Stay connected: Set up alternative communication methods if usual ones fail. Hybrid networks that combine instant messaging together with physical leafleting can reach further. Protect critical connections: Support older people, women, and others to keep communities together. Find goodness and tap into tradition: Make time for positive activities like games or music. Take the long view: Do things today that will help in the long term. Read more: More steps you can take: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/20/authoritarianism-trump-resistance-defeat Steps you can take include: building and funding a support network of allies - see Solidarity Uganda’s rapid response system here: https://mobilisationlab.org/resources/creating-a-rapid-response-system/ How disinformation works effectively and how newsrooms can copy that: https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/11/whats-disinformation-doing-right-and-what-can-newsrooms-learn-from-it/ Sources: *Read more on resilience-based organizing from the US-based Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project here: https://commonslibrary.org/propagate-pollinate-practice-curriculum-tools-for-a-just-transition/ ** https://www.ifad.org/ar/web/latest/-/story/indigenous-knowledge-and-resilience-in-a-covid-19-wor-1 STORY Identifying Palm Oil Company Strategies, Indonesia The mass production of palm oil in Indonesia has raised major concerns across local communities and the human rights and environmental movements due to large-scale land conversion and loss of forests. Environmentalists have also become concerned by traceability and social aspects like labor rights in palm oil supply chains. Every year during political moments and the forest fire season (the peak is usually July to September), palm oil becomes a high profile media issue. The palm oil industry has been very successful in using Public Relations (PR) to create a developmental storm (see the Storm Chart earlier in this Chapter and Section) at this time to influence Indonesian public debate to support their work. Indonesian civil society articulated a need to build collectivism and resilience to better influence and then shape the public debate about palm oil. Civil Society communicators identified the organized and consistent PR strategies used by the palm oil industry: Warning signs: Where: Business and economics media and social media featured many palm oil articles and stories. Who: Government officials and academics were key spokespersons. Who: The main narrative was usually shaped by those in power and tied to economic development, positioning palm oil as a commodity that reduces poverty and provides jobs for people and smallholder farmers. Why: The deep narrative was nationalism in the face of foreign interference Highlighting how the palm oil industry has been the pride of Indonesia, Framing a “false choice” that NGOs or foreign countries) who “criticize” the industry are foreigners trying to harm the palm oil business / trying to ‘dictate’ what Indonesia should do. Civil society developed campaigns together in advance of the peak forest fire season that could prevent some of the palm oil industry’s rhetoric dominating media: Resilience strategies to help organizations simulate scenarios to charge, sidestep and adapt: How and What: Showcase stories of local communities to add more perspective of what happens in practice, to counter the current narrative that highlights the economic aspect and benefits for smallholder farmers. Who: Partner up with academics to have credible and curated data in hand, to debunk and question the claim made by the companies Why: Develop counter-narrative that also use the economic and nationalism angles, and engage with the business community to find a way for them to tell stories linked to this counter narrative. Knowing the momentum and tactics of the palm oil industry have been key to preparation that will make their storms easier to handle. This helps Indonesian civil society to build resilience and monitor for when the storm hits. TOOL Early Warning Signs Agree responsibilities Review your Storm chart. Add monitoring responsibilities on Post-Its to the outer ring as shown here with names for your team who will be responsible - we suggest rotating this. Set baselines Set up a thermometer to rank the threat levels. Ask yourself the following questions to help you. Developmental storms How often do you want to see your organization mentioned and in which media? Do you want to see a positive article every month, or is that not important? How will you stay in touch with staff opinions on your work, ensuring that staff feel their views are valued? How will you celebrate actions taken? What would you like to know from key audiences? Could you carry out an annual survey? Are there quick ways to check in on these views? Situational storms and Existential storms When will a threat or opportunity become serious for you? Who could you work with to handle it? How might you need to pivot? TOOL Simulation & Prevention Gather a group of at least 6 people in 1-2 rooms (with laptops) if you can. Include trustees or volunteers if you need to - it is important you have a big enough group. Pick a crisis or opportunity from those most likely to happen to you, for example a widespread mainstream media and social media attack on your organization, or a million dollar donation from a celebrity. Write it out in 2-3 sentences. Make sure it has serious implications for the communities, your organization, and the communities you work with. In a group, allocate roles as follows: One person to coordinate the session and timekeeping One person to represent an aggressor or duty bearer (e.g. extractive company CEO) One person to represent an enforcer (e.g. government decision-maker) One person to represent two or more journalists One person to represent members of the public, trolls, and rights holders One person to represent your organization or campaign In real time, the coordinator will: Start the clock Announce when there is a new event or headline that people have to respond to Tell individuals playing roles that they need to act or respond It is for each of those people to decide what to do and how to respond. Next take a 20 minute break and debrief on what you learned from the exercise. What surprised you? What scenarios do you need to prepare for and how? Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 5 Energy Chapter 22 Reflection is action This section highlights the importance of collective reflection as a form of action, using tools like monitoring, evaluation, and emergent learning to understand how systems are shifting. Drawing from traditions like Aboriginal yarning and Paulo Freire’s praxis, it emphasizes making sense of change through stories, data, and community dialogue. Review changes across the rest of the system before focusing on your own area. We make sense of the changing world through stories. Aboriginal peoples speak of “yarning,” the act of coming together with others to talk and allow ideas to surface and evolve. Paulo Freire talked about praxis, or action-reflection: the need for people to engage in a constant cycle of action and reflection in order to understand and change their social reality.* We propose that we recognise reflection as a form of action. We need to make that act of respectful reflection with others a part of our everyday lives . “Leaders who… insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people - they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are they liberated: they oppress” Paulo Freire The first question of reflection is “What?” In other words, what do we evaluate? Common reflection methods include monitoring, evaluation, or impact assessment to see if goals were met. It is important to measure what matters, not just what's easy. An uncommon sense approach begins by looking at if and how the system changed, in terms of shifts in power, changes in narrative, and changes to its Near Star, Guiding Star and deep loop. This helps us see changes we might not have noticed and informs our plans. “The past is not a fixed entity, but a constantly shifting story we tell ourselves.” Adam Curtis Throughout this book, we have proposed indicators to help you monitor your campaign as it unfolds: The boundaries of the System and its contents The relationships and deep loop giving the System its Equilibrium The target stakeholders and our Navigation to reach and activate them The Storms we may encounter These are tangible elements of the system that you can measure. In this chapter we share with you a campfire dashboard tool for group work to understand changes in the system. Keep this process simple and easy to revisit. When you review these indicators we recommend you summarize and consider the findings using four principles of emergent learning***: Raw data (research, numbers) and filtered data (opinions, stories and experiences) Insights - making sense of that data Hypotheses - what we believe may help us based on the above Opportunities - Events, meetings or times coming up that provide an opportunity to test our thinking Each principle helps us to separate out data from insights, insights from hypotheses, and identify opportunities for improvement. Footnote Sources: *Pedagogy of the Oppressed ***Adapted from Four Quadrant Partners work on Emergent Learning Tables, http://www.pointk.org/resources/files/Introduction_to_Emergent_Learning_Tables.pdf STORY Bell Bajao Campaign, India 2008-2011 Breakthrough, an India and US-based human rights organization, launched the Bell Bajao (Ring the Bell) campaign to call on men and boys across India to take a stand against domestic violence by performing a simple bystander intervention – ringing the doorbell when they witnessed domestic violence taking place. The campaign had the following objectives: Make the issue part of mainstream conversation Increase knowledge about and change community attitudes towards domestic violence and towards HIV-positive women Alter individual behavior Reflection on past campaigns to shape the Bell Bajao campaign: In previous campaigns, men were featured mainly as perpetrators of violence. Bell Bajao sought to activate solution-focused values and priorities by highlighting mens’ roles as thought leaders, partners and an integral part of the solution to reduce violence Previous campaign evaluations found that Breakthrough’s nuanced messaging (combining HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women) was too complex to be absorbed by mass audiences. This time, the organization used a broad and easily understood message about domestic violence, making other nuances secondary Breakthrough did further research including through a baseline survey of public attitudes towards domestic violence. This found that: people rarely took action when they noticed domestic violence occurring ; that both men and women equally were likely to take action ; while men tended to take the lead in intervening if they did take action. This helped refine the campaign messaging even more, resulting finally in the simple, direct message ‘Bring domestic violence to a halt. Ring the Bell’, with men and boys being the key audience Monitoring and Evaluation of the Bell Bajao campaign Breakthrough did further reflection and identified: Changes at system levels: After two years, the campaign was not able to assess behavior changes and the impact on women (What level) but did gather information on changes in knowledge and attitudes shared. How level (community infrastructure, delays and loops): Many interviewees were surprised that a person could interrupt domestic violence “giving any trivial reason” Where level (information flows): The campaign reached out through both media and education networks in one district, and just through media in another: In the first district awareness of the Domestic Violence Act rose from an average of 3% to 21% In the second district, awareness of the Domestic Violence Act rose from an average of 3% to 8% Who level (the rules and who shapes them): It was unclear if significant changes took place in the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of among community leaders and opinion shapers specifically as there was no in-depth study of their opinions Why level (the mindset): Emergent data from the opinions given by respondents: Changed attitudes: A marked decrease (9%) in respondents who felt that women should remain silent when experiencing domestic violence. An increase (90%) in respondents who felt that women should take legal action. A decrease in respondents suggesting that women just live with it or commit suicide. Interviewees commonly shared that “one should make efforts to stop domestic violence”. Changed knowledge and attitudes: Interviewees most commonly shared what they learned from the television ads was that “one can stop domestic violence without saying anything to the aggressor.” Before the campaign, research found narrow understanding of domestic violence, primarily associating it with dowry-related harassment, while other forms like emotional, economic, and sexual abuse were less recognized. After the campaign, research found that a significantly higher proportion of respondents reported understanding that emotional abuse, threats, economic deprivation and sexual abuse are also forms of domestic violence. After the campaign, a significantly lower proportion of respondents identified domestic violence as dowry-related harassment. Changes in Relationships and Deep Loops Giving the System Its Equilibrium Pre-campaign research suggested that: Social norms perpetuated a harmful loop of silence and inaction towards domestic violence. A significant proportion of the population believed that domestic violence was a private matter, leading to widespread non-intervention. Post-campaign evaluation found: A positive change in opinions: in the district reached by media and education networks, respondents said they were more likely to report domestic violence (47%), especially amongst female respondents (69%). Changes in Target Stakeholders and Navigation to reach and activate them Time: The evaluation found that at least two to three years of sustained effort is needed for community mobilization. It is possible to build knowledge and skills more quickly, but behavior and attitudinal change requires time. Navigation: The campaign needed to keep innovating to maintain excitement - such as through video vans, which were popular with youth. This added to the existing output through media, schools, television, radio and print ads. The campaign learned to do outreach via schools rather than just media, to have the most sustained impact on shifted knowledge and attitudes. Changes during and following challenges and opportunities Raw Data: Challenges included financial constraints during the 2009 economic downturn, language diversity across India requiring translations, and community skepticism towards Breakthrough as an external organization. Insights: These challenges provided insights into the need for adaptable, resource-efficient strategies. For example, the difficulty in securing free airtime led to a greater emphasis on grassroots mobilization and digital engagement. Hypotheses: The campaign hypothesized that despite financial and logistical challenges, sustained community engagement, coupled with strategic media placement, could still drive significant change. Opportunities: These challenges also created opportunities for innovation like a greater focus on digital platforms to reach a wider audience during the economic downturn. Breakthrough adapted by intensifying efforts in community-driven events, video van tours, and integrating messages into popular culture, ensuring continuous engagement despite limited resources. Read more: https://www.endvawnow.org/uploads/browser/files/bell_bajao_case_study_english.pdf TOOL Campfire Dashboard Part 1 Step 1: Recreate your system chart and deep loop from Sections 1 or 2 as a five-layered campfire shape, and add via Post-Its the key relationships at each level. Step 2: Write any shifts in the system onto Post-Its and stick them on the left side of the diagram. Step 3: Draw thick lines between Post-Its that have contributed significantly to each other in a positive or negative way. Step 4: Review the chart. What does this tell you about how your campaign is doing? Step 5: What are the strongest deep loops? Are they stabilizing / stagnating / vicious / virtuous? What does this tell you about where you need to focus your efforts? What are any unintended consequences for other parts of the system, e.g. civil society or the dominant narrative? Go deeper: You could use red, orange and green post-its to give a traffic-light ranking to the significance of each change. The chart should then give a color-coded sense of how the system change is progressing. For example: Add a positive system boundary shift (e.g. your team is being consulted by your government) to a yellow Post-It and the System section Add a powerful relationship that has been destabilized, to a green Post-It, and stick in the Equilibrium section Add a Storm that set you back to a pink Post-It in the Storms section Part 2 Summarize your findings under four headings: Raw data (research, numbers) and filtered data (opinions, stories and experiences) Insights - opinions of that data Hypotheses - what we believe may help us based on the above Opportunities - Events, meetings or times coming up that provide an opportunity to test our thinking What are the most significant changes to the system and at which levels? What can you celebrate? What can you improve on? Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Browse Chapters Close Home Contributors Content Filter Search Results Introduction Section 1: System Chapter 1: We live in systems Chapter 2: The simplicity of complexity Chapter 3: Levels are levers Chapter 4: Autonomy is myth Section 2: Equilibrium Chapter 5: Systems Do Not Die Chapter 6: Relationships Are Power Chapter 7: Solidarity is a verb Chapter 8: Force begets resistance Chapter 9: Loops can be unlocked Section 3: Navigation Chapter 10: Narrative is water Chapter 11: Needs are motives Chapter 12: Communities are currents Chapter 13: The messenger is the message Chapter 14: Values are bedrock Chapter 15: Decisions are learned Chapter 16: Emotion is oxygen Section 4: Storms Chapter 17: Storms are stories Chapter 18: Flexibility is perseverance Chapter 19: Foresight is 20:20 Chapter 20: Wrestling with trolls Chapter 21: Change is constant Section 5: Energy Chapter 22: Reflection is action Chapter 23: Truth is human shaped Chapter 24: Seeds are fruit Chapter 25: Endings are beginnings Conclusion Contributors Voices from around the world Uncommon Sense was shaped by the insight and collaboration of over 120 climate communication specialists from more than 20 countries. Their collective wisdom helped craft the strategies, stories, and tools within these pages. Below are the writers and editors who distilled that global knowledge into the lessons and shareable insights found throughout Uncommon Sense. HUGH MOUSER A systems coach, campaign strategist and strategic communications leader, Hugh believes in the power of people, movements and organizations to think creatively and transform the world. Hugh has spent 20 years leading teams and building multi-country social and environmental justice organizing programs for NGOs from Greenpeace to Oxfam. An ICF-accredited coach, Hugh has helped leaders from across the corporate and non-profit sectors to achieve their goals from starting new businesses to winning campaigns. Hugh led the campaign that made age discrimination illegal in the UK, managed Greenpeace and Oxfam digital strategies that mobilized millions and secured climate commitments from Procter & Gamble and Kellogg, introduced Global Witness’s first successful planning toolset, and co-created a record-breaking anti-racist ActionAid crowdfunder with activists in Ghana. Hugh is passionate about biomimicry, complexity thinking and indigenous methods of inquiry. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is a committed intersectional feminist who believes in building sustainable and transformative movements. RATHANA CHEA Listed in 2024's Most Impactful Asian-Australians, the Winner of the Asia Pacific CEO of the Year Award, University Vice Chancellor's Human Rights Award, Centre for Independent Journalism Award and Advisor to the Groundswell Giving Major Donors Circle, Rathana is the Founding CEO of the Multicultural Leadership Initiative. Rathana has spent over 20 years working internationally strengthening people, building organisations and delivering impactful strategies. He has worked in the areas of environmental sustainability, climate change, human rights and technology. He has served on senior management and executive teams in Europe, Australia, Asia and globally for Greenpeace, Amnesty International, the Sunrise Project and other leading change agents. He has also served on countless boards, including as Vice Chair of ECC, a peak body for multicultural communities, as well as serving on the board of leading advocacy and campaign training institutes such as, New York based Mobilisation Lab and regionally-focused AktivAsia. Rathana has co-founded and successfully scaled up numerous social enterprise, not-for-profit and charity startups into fully-fledged impact-focused organisations across Asia and Australia. Rathana holds several qualifications across multiple disciplines from Oxford University, UNSW, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Technology Sydney. ENGGAR PARAMITA Communications professional with 15+ years of combined experience in multi-national advertising agencies and non-profit organisations. Her role is focused on advancing the use of strategic communications to help organisations achieve their objectives and have their voices heard. She has worked on development projects on various topics, such as sexual reproductive health, agroforestry, and climate adaptation. In her current work with the Strategic Communications Initiative in Indonesia (Development Dialogue Asia/DDA), she combines strategic grant-making, insights and research development, and partner collaboration to strengthen the pro-climate narrative building in Indonesia. In 2020 - 2023, she led the first-of-its-kind, nationally representative research on public beliefs and behaviour on climate change and collective action. The research project is a collaborative work with Communication for Change, Kantar Indonesia, and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Enggar holds a Master of Communication from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Bachelor of Social Science from the University of Indonesia. DR. MERLYNA LIM Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Global Network Society and a Professor of Communication and Media Studies at the School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University. Lim's research and publications explore the interplay between digital technologies and society, focusing on power dynamics, justice, citizen engagement, and democratic processes. As the founder and director of the ALiGN Media Lab, Lim grounds her research empirically in Southeast Asia and the MENA region, advocates for recognizing the Global South as a crucial research hub, and emphasizes addressing its issues on its own terms. Her notable publications include Social Media and Politics in Southeast Asia (Cambridge University Press, 2024), Roots, Routes, Routers: Communication and Media of Contemporary Social Movements (Sage, 2018), and Online Collective Action: Dynamics of the Crowds in Social Media (Springer, 2014). In 2016, Lim was elected to the Royal Society of Canada's New College of Scholars, Artists, and Scientists. Throughout her career, she has delivered over 200 invited talks and received more than 150 media mentions. Before joining Carleton University, Lim held positions at Princeton University, Arizona State University, and the University of Southern California. For more, see: merlyna.org. DR. NICOLÁS LLANO A communication and media researcher, educator and practitioner. Currently, he is the Insights & Research Manager at Food Nature Climate Dialogue, the global strategic communication initiative of the Climate and Land Use Alliance. He holds a PhD in Communication Studies from São Paulo University and is a lecturer at Fundação Getúlio Vargas' School of Communication, Media and Information. DR. THELMA RAMAN Director of Research and Education at the Multicultural Leadership Initiative, Thelma has over 30 years in education and training across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. She has held several academic and managerial roles across various institutions and organisations. Thelma has extensive experience in developing and presenting education and training programs for diverse audiences in a range of areas including climate change, sustainability and business. Thelma’s fervent belief in the power that education has to inspire change led her to complete a PhD in Education for Sustainable Development in 2017. Since then, she has been actively working to engage individuals, organisations, and communities to take action towards creating a safer and more sustainable world. Thelma holds qualifications across multiple disciplines including education, business, history, politics and geography from RMIT University, University of New South Wales, Deakin University, University of Auckland and the University of the South Pacific. She is also a Fellow with the Higher Education Academy, United Kingdom. MATT DAGGETT Founding Director of the Strategic Communications Initiative for the Climate and Land Use Alliance (CLUA). An accomplished philanthropic and non-profit leader with an expertise on environmental issues, strategic communications, global campaigns, and organizational governance. Mr. Daggett brings extensive experience managing teams and working with partners in Latin America, SE Asia, Europe, the US and Central & East Africa with a focus on catalyzing change towards more just, sustainable food, forest, and land use systems. Prior to joining CLUA, Matt was the Global Campaign Leader for Forests at Greenpeace International. In this role, he guided global teams advocating for forest conservation and Indigenous Rights protection in the Amazon, Congo Basin, Indonesia, and Northern Boreal forests. Previously, Matt served as the Strategy Director for Greenpeace USA, an Associate Partner at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, and a Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group in London. Matt earned an MBA at Oxford University in the UK and a BA in Government from Harvard University in the USA. DIYA DEB Executive Director of Mindworks Lab, a global cognitive science innovation lab . Incubated in Greenpeace, Mindworks pioneers new approaches to creating change built on understanding of how the human mind works. Diya grew up in India and has spent close to two decades working both in the grassroot and international NGO spaces in leadership roles . She has headed up campaigns in Amnesty International India and was the Campaign Director in Greenpeace India, worked with the Indian nobel peace laureate Satyarthi to mobilise millions of youth globally, worked in the field of child rights, human rights and climate for all these years to lead strategy, engage and mobilise people. She also has acted in advisory capacities to several non profits and has co-founded her own initiative PowerSouth focussed on women leadership in grassroots. Her experience of working in harsh political and social realities in India has strengthened her resilience in crisis and made her an advocate to decolonise knowledge and drive systemic change in the global south. JUDE LEE Leading the Climate Diversity Foundation, a long time womens' rights and environmental campaigner for over 20 years, Jude and is a leader in climate advocacy. She has a strong focus on promoting climate action, diversity, and JEDI(Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion). Jude served as the Deputy Executive Director at Greenpeace East Asia, where they manage one of the organisation's largest offices and oversee an annual budget of approximately $45 million USD. Jude's work is characterised by a commitment to inclusive and equitable solutions for the most pressing environmental issues. As the lead for the Climate Diversity Foundation is the Director of Asia Partnerships for the Multicultural Leadership Initiative. NANA DARKOA SEKYIAMAH Cited as BBC's 100 inspirational and influential women in the world, Nana is the author of The Sex Lives of African Women, which Publishers Weekly described as “an astonishing report on the quest for sexual liberation” in their starred review. It was also listed by The Economist as the best book of the year. She is also co-founder of Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women, a website, podcast and festival that publishes and creates content that tells stories of African women’s experiences around sex, sexualities, and pleasure. In 2022. In 2023, New Africa magazine listed her as one of 100 inspirational Africans. RENATA SENLLE A journalist with 20 years of experience in various areas of communication. Since 2020, she has been Communications Manager for strategic relationships with digital influencers focusing on socio-environmental issues at Diálogo Brasil. She has a master's degree in Communication Sciences from ECA/USP and a doctorate in Feminist Studies from the University of Coimbra. VON HERNANDEZ Leading Filipino environmental activist based in Manila, Philippines, who has been campaigning on climate and pollution issues for nearly 30 years. He is the Global Coordinator of Break Free from Plastic, a global movement of about 3,500 organizations representing millions of supporters, working. together to end the plastic pollution crisis. Previously, Von was Global Development Director of Greenpeace International where he oversaw the development and performance of Greenpeace’s national and regional offices worldwide. He also served as the Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia (GPSEA), where he led some of the group’s most successful campaigns and programs in Southeast Asia. He co-founded and spearheaded various environmental coalitions and partnerships at the national, regional, and global levels including the Ecowaste Coalition in the Philippines and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). In 2003, he was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work, which led to the first national ban on waste incineration. Von was also recognized by Time magazine as one of the Heroes for the Environment in 2007. He graduated from the University of the Philippines (BA English), and holds a Masters degree in Public Management from the National University of Singapore. DR. AMIERA SAWAS A feminist researcher and advocate who works at the intersections of climate change, gender justice, public participation and the social contract. Amiera has almost 20 years experience working on these issues across academia, the private sector, think tanks and NGOs, with her most previous roles at Climate Outreach, ActionAid and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College. Amiera has a PhD on water and human rights in Pakistan and is a contributing author to the IPCC sixth assessment report on gender and climate security. As a person of both Syrian and Irish heritage, with close links to Pakistan, she has lived life with an acute awareness of the impacts of colonial histories and believes passionately in the need to decolonise. BEC SANDERS Director of Research at the FrameWorks Institute. Before joining the FrameWorks team in 2022, Bec worked for ten years in framing research, mostly in the UK and Europe. She was Research Lead at the Public Interest Research Centre and then a consultant supporting non-profits, charities and grassroots campaigners with evidence-based reframing strategies. She has led mixed-methods research on framing climate justice, anti-racism, and LGBTQIA+ equality. One of her areas of expertise is in values, and applying the Schwartz values model to communications. Working with the Common Cause Foundation she investigated the connection between perceptions of other people’s values and civic engagement, publishing on this in Frontiers in Psychology, and she was a contributing author to the Springer book Values and Behavior: Taking a Cross Cultural Perspective. Her work has also been featured in The Guardian, Vice and The Psychologist magazine. She holds an MA in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh. DR. LORI REGATTIERI Has directed global and regional portfolios in the philanthropic sector, successfully managing projects across multiple disciplines and regions. As the former Senior Fellow for Trustworthy AI at the Mozilla Foundation (2022-2023), they played a pivotal role in advancing ethical AI practices. In recognition of their impactful work, Lori received the Media Ecology Association's 2024 Jacques Ellul Award for Outstanding Media Ecology Activism. With over 15 years of experience, Lori has worked at the intersection of digital transformation, strategic communications, and policy strategies to promote just and sustainable technologies. Their expertise includes working with progressive political movements, climate justice, indigenous peoples, afro-descendants and local communities (IPADLC) rights, LGBTQIAPAN+, and queer issues, particularly in the Global Majority world. Lori collaborates with a range of stakeholders, including governments, inter-governmental agencies, foundations, companies, NGOs, CSOs, academia, and grassroots organizations. They earned a PhD in Communication and Culture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Their research has focused on cybernetics, information theory, digital methods, decolonial equity, and social justice, as well as internet laws and policy issues. More info is available at eco-midia.com. NATALIA VIDALON A senior strategic communications professional with more than 10+ years working in sustainable development, conservation, and indigenous rights. She has extensive experience in project design and management, qualitative research, and communication strategies for the private and public sector and environmental projects and organizations. Natalia has worked for the Ministry of Environment in Peru and civil society organizations, where she has led communications and fundraising strategies focused on fighting illegal activities, environmental defenders, advocacy in favor of Indigenous territorial rights, and establishing key protected areas, focusing on the Peruvian Amazon. She specializes in communication diagnosis, stakeholder and media engagement, and strengthening local communications initiatives. She is a Social Communicator from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, where she has also taught in the Communications Master Program. She has a master’s degree in International Development from the University of Manchester, UK. Currently, she works as Strategic Communications Manager in Peru for Diálogo Colombia & Perú. RIKA NOVAYANTI Co-founder and Steering Committee member of MOSAIC (Muslims for Shared Action on Climate Impact). Her leadership led to the launch of a manifesto supported by the Vice President of Indonesia. Through this manifesto, MOSAIC developed initiatives to leverage Islamic philanthropy for climate funds and utilize Islamic infrastructure for climate solutions. MOSAIC also earned a Silver Medal in the Partnership and Collaboration category at the Anthem Awards. Her expertise is in strategic communications on climate and environmental issues. Currently she is consulting for the World Bank’s Environmental, Natural Resources and Blue Economy (ENB) team. She is also a Senior Advisor for Purpose Climate Lab, and serves as a Board Member for Solar Chapter, a nonprofit focusing on improving access to clean water through renewable energy and water monitoring systems. Rika has significant experience in structuring and implementing system convening and fostering collaboration among unlikely partners. Rika frequently writes or speaks on climate and environmental issues, particularly around environmental behavior and strategic communications. She is also an awardee of the USAID Program to Extend Scholarships to Achieve Sustainable Impacts (PRESTASI) and Australian Awards Scholarship (AAS). YEMI AGBENIYI A climate leader with a background in health policy and pharmaceuticals, Yemi is a experienced business operations and management leader. She currently serves as the Director of Global Operations for the Multicultural Leadership Initiative, where she plays a crucial role in shaping organisational strategy. Her work has allowed her to explore and champion sustainability and climate initiatives across Africa, striving to make the continent a safer and more sustainable place for its people. Yemi holds a degree in Pharmacy from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, along with additional certifications from the University of Cape Town and the University of Cambridge.

Section 1 System Purpose To understand the overlapping systems we live in that are both moving and restrictive. How to use this section Read this before you do any other analysis of the problem. What is a system? A system is an arrangement of tangible elements (e.g. people and institutions) and intangible elements (values and norms) working together toward a common goal, like in a natural ecosystem, a government or the human body. Here, we use layers of earth and a soil chart to explain systems, the various actors within them, and the effects of changes within them. We live in systems The Lakota people of North America and Indigenous Australians do not have a word for "nature" because they see humans and nature as one system, not separate entities. This interconnected view is a more logical and strategic way to see and understand the world. Simplicity in complexity Push your hands into the soil, and you may feel earth, seeds, shoots, rocks and insects. Removing what you think is a weed or pest can affect the growth of nearby plants. Understanding that we are all interconnected is the first step to understanding complexity. Learning the difference between ordered, complex and chaotic systems helps us define our approach. Levels are levers Exploring a system deeply helps us understand why its structure works. Each level of a system is like a layer of soil, with deeper layers having more control. To change a system fundamentally, we need to understand its deepest parts. Autonomy is a myth Many systems thinking use the metaphor of an iceberg to emphasize the importance of considering the hidden problems beneath the surface. This is useful, but thinking about soil layers is better. First, most of us will never see an iceberg in person, but all of us can put our fingers into the earth. Second, we believe it is essential to emphasize the connections between the many elements of a system. Rather than just ice, a system consists of roots, rocks, water, dirt, seeds, and worms, all in active connection. Footnote: * https://silvotherapy.co.uk/articles/nature-connection-native-americans Section summary Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 3 Navigation Chapter 12 Communities are currents Real change happens when networks — not just individuals — adopt and share new beliefs. Strongly tied communities and groups shape identity, belonging, and decision-making. To shift a system, we must identify the networks that influence targets, understand their social risks and rewards, and deliver messages through trusted members with repetition. A strongly tied network sways the feelings of its members. Getting our story covered by a major news outlet might feel like a win. But real change happens only if our audience’s own communities, groups, and networks adopt these changes first. “If your words don’t spread, they don’t work.” Anat Shenker-Osorio Communities, groups and networks are the currents that help people find belonging, identity and safety. They share information and develop ideas, which their members can then adopt or build on. To influence someone, we do not need them to fully agree with us. Instead, we may want them to react in ways that weaken their current stance or disrupt their control. When influential members of our networks disagree with us, it can make us reconsider our position. “The factors that determine how people choose their network ties are also the factors that determine who influences their behaviour” Damon Centola Every network shares values, priorities, and experiences among its members. To influence someone, we need to reach and activate the most trusted members of their networks. This also applies to communication between different networks. “It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story.” Nez Perce Native American proverb To influence a community, group or network around a target, we should: Review: Identify the networks that the target is part of, such as their family or a government cabinet. Risk and reward: Select the network with the strongest ties among its members. Consider: Strong ties vs weak ties within a target’s network (e.g. family vs. government cabinet) Social risk vs social reward for group members adopting new beliefs or behaviors Strong vs weak ties between networks Relationship: Identify the members of the network who have the closest relationship with the target. These members need to adopt and spread the new belief. Reach: Make sure your story or message is delivered in places where the network and target will see it. Know when and where they will be looking. Repetition: Repeat your message through stories, messages, and other means multiple times. Use trusted messengers (see Chapter 13) to help spread the message. Individuals might change their views or make decisions, but they might not stick to them if their community does not also change. Remember to use all the chapters in this section to frame your message with the right values, target the right people, and trigger the mental shortcuts needed to achieve your goal. Read more: Lin, Nan: Social Capital: A Theory of Social Structure and Action: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-capital/E1C3BB67419F498E5E41DC44FA16D5C0 STORY Doxing Abusive Police, Sudan Women in Sudan faced severe repression under the regime of President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled from 1989 until his ousting in 2019. His government’s policies included morality laws that restricted women’s freedoms and authorized corporal punishment. The Khartoum State Public Order Law Act of 1996 had particular gendered impacts, with women being targeted by gender based violence and mobility restrictions - not only affecting their bodily autonomy but also their socioeconomic rights. When nationwide protests erupted in December 2018, sparked by economic grievances and fueled by broader demands for political change, the regime responded with brutal crackdowns, including violence and intimidation by state security officers. Civil society needed to organize and prevent further violence against demonstrators. The challenge was how to do so safely. Women were key change catalysts, many of which came to be known symbolically as “Kandakat” after historic Nubian queens and queen mothers. They drove change at multiple levels - publicly and privately. For example, before the protests, many women in Sudan had used private Facebook groups for socializing and discussing their romantic lives . but in response to the crackdown a few of them began to use these platforms as a way to “dox” (expose) the men attacking protesters: “If you’re a woman in Sudan who’s decided to take political action, you’ve already fought against so many authorities. And once you’ve made that decision, security forces won’t scare you.” Muzan Alnail, an engineer and protester Review: Women started sharing, on these Facebook groups, photos of men they had seen attacking protesters, asking on the groups if others knew their identities. Risk and Reward: The social reward for the women involved was high. They could maintain anonymity while participating in activism, and their efforts could lead to tangible changes in the behavior of security officers. Relationship: When photos of officers were shared, group members quickly provided detailed information, often sourced from personal connections. This included names, addresses, and personal history, effectively leveraging the close ties within the community to gather intelligence. Reach: The messages exposing security officers were disseminated through the private Facebook groups, which were accessible via Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) after the government blocked social media. The anonymity provided by these groups made it difficult for the regime to trace the organizers. Repetition: The women consistently repeated their message through various posts and discussions within the groups. They shared stories of successful exposure of security officers, encouraged continuous vigilance, and used trusted members to spread the message further. This repetition helped reinforce the idea that the security officers were not invincible and that their actions had consequences within their own communities. “Once, a woman responded to a man who shared a photo of a national security agent, saying that she would share it with her group. Within five minutes, we had information on him: his mother’s name, if he’s married or not. Some of his ex-girlfriends were in the group and talked about him. That was the moment that things began to shift in the group. All of a sudden, people realized: ‘We can use this.’” Enas Suliman, teacher told BuzzFeed News The results were significant: The security officers, once confident in their anonymity, began to fear exposure. Reports surfaced of officers hiding their faces in public, and some were even chased out of their neighborhoods after being identified. The momentum created by these actions contributed to the overall pressure on the regime, leading to widespread participation in the protests and the eventual downfall of Bashir's government in April 2019. Read more: Ali, N.M. (2019) Sudanese women's groups on Facebook and# Civil_Disobedience: Nairat or Thairat?(Radiant or revolutionary?). https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/sudanese-womens-groups-on-facebook-and-civildisobedience-nairat-or-thairatradiant-or-revolutionary/BC66DCA737353C5C6BB9154279E2A50A Sudanese women at the heart of the revolution: https://africanfeminism.com/sudanese-women-at-the-heart-the-revolution/ STORY Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act, Pakistan, 2018 In 2018, Pakistan’s parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, a groundbreaking law that allows individuals to self-identify as transgender and have this identity recognized on official documents. The law also prohibits discrimination against transgender people, known as Khawaja Sira in Pakistan, and affirms their rights to participate fully in democratic life, including to vote and take part in public office. Under this bill, the state is obligated to ensure their protection, through "Protection Centers and Safe Houses" — along with separate prisons or other places of confinement. The Khawaja Sira community spent years building a broad coalition including members of the feminist movement, human rights lawyers and other community activists. They carefully considered different routes to build champions and trusted messengers across key elements of the state and societal system. This involved the five steps of engaging communities: Review: The campaign identified the key networks within Pakistan's societal and political landscape that could influence the passage of the bill. This included: Parliamentarians Faith leaders Key media The general public. Risk and Reward: Syed Naveed Qamar, a member of parliament, became a key champion, supported by several senators. As the campaign developed, the social reward for these parliamentarians was significant—they could be seen as defenders of human rights and equality. However, the social risk was also high, particularly in a conservative society where support for transgender rights could be seen as controversial. Relationship: The campaign took time to build relationships early in the process, such as with faith leaders. Although there were some faith leaders who opposed the idea, the Council of Islamic Ideology, a constitutional body that advises parliament on laws offered their support, particularly in terms of its relationship to upholding rights set out within Sharia Law. Reach: Activists focused on igniting dialogues in the media on the lived experience of the Khawaja Sira community and the multiple forms of discrimination they were facing. These dialogues brought attention to their historical and cultural significance in the region; as well as the urgent need to break stigma, discrimination and violence towards them and uphold their basic rights. Repetition: By building alliances with the feminist movement, parliamentarians, and faith leaders who would speak out themselves, the campaign was able to tap into a general public sentiment, since proven in research, that transgender persons should not be subject to such violence and discrimination. What came next The Khawaja Sira co-designed the Bill, which Pakistan has now passed as an Act Although it will take some time to evaluate the impacts of the bill on the rights of the Khawaja Sira communities across Pakistan, there has certainly been greater visibility of their leadership in politics and institutions since. In the 2024 general elections, 3,000 transgender voters were registered on the electoral roll and three transgender women independently contested.* However, research shows that addressing the widespread marginalization and violence towards them is a much longer term challenge.** Further, in 2023, the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan declared elements of the Transgender Persons Act incompatible with Islamic principles, and it is now subject to a public debate, where defense by members of different communities, including political, grassroots, faith leaders and media is key.*** Footnote: * https://www.undp.org/pakistan/publications/journey-mapping-transgender-political-candidates ** https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/geopolitical-insights/news/pakistan-elections-2024-widespread-exclusion-the-trans-community-3538386 *** https://tribune.com.pk/story/2378007/law-minister-defends-transgender-act ; https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/20/pakistan-trans-community-steps-out-of-shadows TOOL Networks Matrix Plot: Identify and plot the key relationships, communities, and most influential messengers (e.g., news outlets) on the matrix. Expand: Break down these relationships and groups to the most influential individuals and plot them on the matrix. Spot Gaps: Identify where there are gaps in information transfer to key networks. Fill Gaps: Find any current or emerging actors/messengers from your earlier exercises who could help. Consider how you might connect or assist key actors/communities to communicate, collaborate, and channel messages. Reality Check Review the prevailing narrative and potential counter-narrative. Understand the values the target(s) hold dear, how they make decisions, and who influences them. Plan your approach for reaching them and develop an elevator pitch for each step of the way (messenger/network member/target). TOOL Networks & Ripples Plot on the ocean chart the networks you have identified. Start the network from the deepest level they are influencing information (deep narrative / narrative / stories / interactions / messages). Where will you prioritize your efforts, when and how? Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 2 Equilibrium Chapter 7 Solidarity is a verb Justice depends on solidarity: confronting privilege and power while supporting others in their struggles. Oppression works across all system levels, and intersectional approaches help us dismantle it. There is no justice until all of us are free. Experience, relationships, and power are not limited to what we can see or say. They can be visible, invisible, and hidden, and they play out at both small and large scales within our organizations and society. To adapt a simple definition of racism* to oppression, we could say: Privilege + Prejudice x Power = Oppression Solidarity is the ongoing active practice of confronting our own power, privilege and prejudice and supporting others in their struggles. Oppression is the ongoing unjust treatment or use of authority over others. Privilege is an advantage or entitlement that benefits members of certain groups above others. Prejudice is a preconceived feeling or opinion about others. Change does not happen in a vacuum. We need to support each other’s struggles in order to secure a fairer world. This is solidarity. It is not always easy to confront these challenges and discomforts within ourselves but long-term solidarity is important. This can mean making personal sacrifices, changing our own worldviews and forgoing friends and family in order to do what’s right. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Martin Luther King Jr, letter from Alabama jail, 1963 Oppression lives in systems and can affect all of us in different ways at the same time. We have adapted the “Four I’s of oppression”* into five levels to show how oppression works upon us. Trying to challenge oppression at any of its system levels will affect and draw on the others: Internal (What level): What we believe about ourselves, defined by the inequalities, information, structures and beliefs of the dominant system. Inequalities (How level): The system elements, flows and buffers that ensure different life outcomes and income among ourselves - and how they interact and feed back on each other. Interpersonal (Where level): The access to information and relationships that affect how we perceive each other in relation to intersecting identities. Institutional (Who level): The institutions and structures that treat people who hold different identities differently because of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and more. Ideological (Why level): The ideas, assumptions and beliefs that shape our understanding of what is right, good, fair, and just. “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives” Audre Lorde Just as systems overlap and interact, oppressions can combine, divide and unite people. Intersectionality, a term created by Professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, describes the overlaps between social identities like race, gender, and class, and oppressions like racism, sexism, and homophobia. These take different forms depending on the place or cultural context where someone is. It is important to be aware that this theory was rooted in work Professor Crenshaw did on the experiences of black women in the justice system. Intersectionality as a lens and analytical approach was fundamentally about racism - particularly anti-blackness, overlapping with sexism and classism. Privilege is any special right or advantage experienced by an individual or group. People with multiple intersecting identities tend to experience multiple kinds of oppression and sometimes privileges ahead of each other, so their perspectives and experiences differ from those who experience fewer oppressions. Simply considering the “most marginalized” groups can be risky because “most marginalized” is often defined by our inability to recognize our own privileges and biases. We need to think beyond our usual limits. “If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time...But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Aboriginal activist group The longest-lasting stories based on the stars in the sky result from proactive community collaboration, the desire to find common understanding over many centuries. Collaborating with intent in this way is like applying our own gravity to the world around us. To achieve the results we want, we need to proactively dismantle oppression to create healthier systems. Problems affect different people in different ways, so we need to work together to find solutions that work for everyone. Working together to tell powerful stories with important messages can positively impact society for many years. Over the last 100 plus years, most campaign plans in Europe and North America have largely failed to focus on dismantling oppressive systems or making space for the most oppressed to build power. We propose taking a radical approach to power, systems, and solidarity to support others in achieving their goals: Review: Look again at each level of your target system’s star chart to see how oppressions show ideologically, internally, institutionally, and interpersonally. Learn: Educate yourself with the many resources online or offline about oppression and intersectionality. Listen to groups impacted by oppressions perpetuated by the system and observe the key relationships that keep it strong. Really seek to understand this. Do not put burden upon impacted groups by asking them to educate you. Practice continual self-reflection on your own privileges and assumptions. Ask yourself, what is your role in both upholding and dismantling the status quo? How can you do your bit with the privilege you have? Create: Make space for oppressed groups in joint decision-making, in ensuring and reflecting on disaggregated data, and in your messaging. Bring them with you to advocacy meetings with decision-makers. Center their voices to ensure they are heard alongside you, not behind you. This affirms the movement’s equity and starts to shift the harmful norms bound up in the system. Share: Share information, working spaces, funds, volunteers, and other resources. Repeat: Be consistent in delivering on your commitments. Resist recreating an unjust hierarchy in the movement. Solidarity means being prepared to sacrifice your own beliefs for the good of the wider movement if the most oppressed group believes this will best support its cause. Create representative membership of key groups and organizations within your own campaign. Reflect on who makes up the leadership. Be visible, practical, proactive, and committed. It has been proven that diverse and unexpected movements, where people experiencing different oppressions organize together, can have a huge impact on political decision-making. CONCEPT Cycle of Oppression Sources: *Read more on the four Is of oppression: https://www.grcc.edu/sites/default/files/docs/diversity/the_four_is_of_oppression.pdf **Privilege wheel https://unitedwaysem.org/wp-content/uploads/2021-21-Day-Equity-Challenge-Social-Identity-Wheel-FINAL.pdf STORY Breaking Barriers: Feminist Levers & Loops in Urban Mobility Transformation. Bangalore, India, 2019-2023 In 2019, traffic and air pollution in Bangalore were major problems. People were stuck in traffic for hours. Due to lack of public transport, private ownership of vehicles was higher than ever. Trees were being cut to build even more road lanes and bridges. Climate and mobility campaigners urged citizens to pledge to become car-free, and successfully pressured the local authorities to build a 75 km cycle lane. But the public transport system was abysmal, while car-friendly infrastructure meant that people instead spent more on their cars, making the problem worse and leaving the cycle lane hardly used. The campaign had failed to explore the real levers for change. So Greenpeace India teamed up with allies to dig deeper and find a way to decrease vehicle usage and improve urban mobility. They took the following steps: Learn Conducted a major audience research exercise among groups of people affected by intersecting systemic exclusions, barriers and oppressions. They found that almost 40% of commuters were women. These women were experiencing multiple, overlapping,forms of oppression severely impacting their safety and agency in the transport system: Interpersonal (Where level): One of the biggest barriers for women commuters in Bangalore was safety - from public transport to cycle lanes they experienced multiple threats from harassment to kidnapping or even worse. Inequalities (What level): When Covid hit, the vast majority of the working-class population could not afford cars and so they had to walk. Institutional (Who levels): Women from working class socio-economic backgrounds did not have cycles or two wheelers, so the time burdens of their daily tasks - from dropping their kids to school, coming back and cooking for the household and then going to their workplaces, like factories - multiplied massively. Ideological (Why level): Cars have always been a status symbol in much of India. But also, in general, city residents felt much safer in private vehicles and so preferred them. Internal (How level): The safety threats, barriers and costs of commuting, and increasing time burdens of work and unpaid care combined to make things very difficult for most women. Create The coalition decided to focus on women commuters as their primary audience. It designed the campaign around their needs and barriers: Over 200 citizens got together to deliberate on how the city’s budgets should be used and what the mobility system in the city should look like. In Phase 1 the coalition aimed to shift the narrative around the entitlement of the working-class underprivileged women to have access to less costly geared cycles which they could ride wearing saris. In Phase 2 the coalition aimed to make public transport more affordable and accessible, by campaigning for bus lanes that would ensure a faster commute. The coalition asked women from different sectors to join the campaign in planning and advocacy. This included feminist groups, women-led shopkeepers’ associations, transgender movements and several unusual allies joining hands to reclaim and share the city space and affirm their right to commute. Repeat A key message was to associate commuting with freedom. This resonated with women especially in the cultural context that the campaign was operating in. The campaign had some big wins: A system-focused approach helped women working class socioeconomic groups to drive and secure system-wide change. The opposition political party made a manifesto commitment to make buses free for women. When this party won the state election, they kept their promise. Daily female passenger numbers rose from 39% to 57%. This big win around mobility and gender increased a sense of agency felt by women across the movement, no matter where they came from. Citizens involved in city level decision making were able to feel part of a collective and garner solidarity for other issues that helped them reclaim their rights and space in the city towards creating more sustainable equitable urban spaces. The audience-empathetic approach to really understand people’s emotional and psychological barriers helped them to design strategies that shifted the narratives around the city’s mobility. The conversation around gender responsive, safe, mobilities for women and girls has risen in prominence across India. There is no doubt that campaigns like this have played a role in building the critical mass where women are driving conversations around the role of government putting forward policies and resources to address this issue. For example, The Mumbai Development Plan 2034 included a new chapter on gender and inclusion, acknowledging the importance of gender analysis and responsiveness in city planning. TOOL Social Identity Wheel The United Way for South Eastern Michigan’s Social Identity Wheel is an evolving tool to help better map out the different dimensions of our social identities. To quote them: “The wheel allows us to better understand how our identities shape experiences across all dimensions. Social identity refers to the aspects of someone that are formed in relation to the society they belong to. Rather than personality traits or interests that make up your identity and sense of self, social identities describe the socially constructed groups that are present in specific environments within human societies (race/gender/religion, sexual orientation, etc.).” Try drawing out this wheel and adding the “memberships” or identities that you already claim or that have been ascribed to you, for each identity group. TOOL Privilege Walk This exercise is ideal for a group to do together. The Privilege Walk Helps each of us consider our own privilege and in relation to each other. Can reveal hidden or invisible advantages that our upbringing, class, race, gender or other identities give to us. Can encourage us to think more deeply about how we might be perceived before, during and after we engage with others in the system. Can therefore inform how we might need to work harder to practice proactive solidarity, collaboration and inclusivity. Instructions Have participants form a straight line across the room about an arm’s length apart, leaving enough space in front of the line to move forward 10 steps and enough space behind to move back 10 steps. Read the statements below one by one. When you have read out all the statements below, ask each participant to share one word that captures how they are feeling. Ask the group: Would anyone like to share more about their feelings? Were certain sentences more impactful than others? How did it feel to be one of the people on the “back” side of the line? How did it feel to be one of the people on the “front” side of the line? If anyone was alone on one side, how did that feel? Was anyone always on one side of the line? (If yes: How did that feel?) Did anyone think they had experienced an average amount of privilege, but it turned out to be either more or less than they thought? Did anyone have the thought that their childhood had a deeper impact on their life trajectory than they had previously considered? Statements If one or both of your parents graduated from university, take one step forward. If you have been divorced or impacted by divorce, take one step backward. If there have been times in your life when you needed to skip a meal or were hungry because there was not enough money to buy food, take one step backward. If you have visible or invisible disabilities, such as difficulty hearing, take one step backward. If your household employs helpers, such as gardeners, cooks, nannies, etc., take one step forward. If you have access to transportation, take one step forward. If you have felt included among your peers at work, take one step forward. If you constantly feel unsafe walking alone at night, take one step backward. If you are able to move through life without fear of sexual assault, take one step forward. If your family ever fled its homeland, take one step backward. If you studied your ancestors and their history in elementary school, take one step forward. If your family has health insurance, take one step forward. If you have been bullied or made fun of based on something you cannot change (such as your gender, ethnicity, physical features, age or sexual orientation), take one step backward. If your work and school holidays coincide with religious or cultural holidays that you celebrate, take one step forward. If you were ever offered a job because of your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward. If you were ever stopped and questioned by the police because they felt you were suspicious, take one step backward. If you or your family ever inherited money or property, take one step forward. If you came from a supportive family environment, take one step forward. If one of your parents was ever laid off, or unemployed not by choice, take one step backward. If you were ever uncomfortable about a joke or statement you overheard related to your race, ethnicity, gender, appearance or sexual orientation, take one step backward. If your ancestors were forced to move to another country, take one step backward. If you would never think twice about calling the police when trouble occurs, take one step forward. If you took out loans for your education, take one step backward. If you and your romantic partner can appear as a couple in public without fear of ridicule or violence, take one step forward. If there was ever substance abuse in your household, take one step backward. If your parents told you that you can be anything you want to be, take one step forward. This has been adapted from the Kiwanis privilege walk exercise: https://www.kiwanis.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/privilege-walk-2023v6.pdf There are many iterations of the ‘power walk’ or ‘privilege walk’ which have been used and adapted by feminist and anti-racist educators since at least the 1990s. It is currently unclear who originated the idea, although please do let us know if you know! TOOL Anti-Oppression Checklist Review: Each level of your target system’s star chart again to explore how oppressions are showing up through ideology, internally, institutions and interpersonally. Learn: Seek out, ask and listen to intersecting groups impacted by the system and key relationships that keep it strong. How are they affected? Really seek to understand this. Check your privileges and assumptions. How can we support these groups? Create: Make space for oppressed groups in joint-decision making, in disaggregated data and in your messaging. Bring them with you to advocacy meetings with decision-makers. Centre their voices to ensure they are heard alongside not behind you. This affirms the movement’s equity. Share: Share information, intel, working space, funds, volunteers and other resources. Repeat: Be consistent in delivering on your commitments. Resist the reproduction of an unjust hierarchy in the movement. Solidarity means being prepared to sacrifice your own beliefs for the good of the wider movement, if the most oppressed group believes this will best support its cause. Create representative membership of key groups and organizations within your own campaign. Be visible, practical, proactive and committed. Previous Chapter Next Chapter