Section 3 Navigation Chapter 13 The messenger is the message Messages only work if delivered by messengers the audience trusts.Messengers are like ocean swells — carrying narratives across systems. To succeed, campaigns must choose credible, authentic voices whose motivations are clear and aligned with their audience. A messenger who truly believes their message is powerful. Messengers are like swells in the ocean: repeating currents that carry narrative through the system. Ignoring them can be a big mistake. Communicating our story through a “messenger” that our target trusts is as important as the message itself. It must be clear why the messenger is sharing, and believes in, this message. “The one who tells the stories rules the world.” Hopi proverb How can we work with messengers to drive change? A simple communications plan might focus on one message, a few media outlets, and one tactic. An uncommon sense approach maps the various actors that can help spread and reinforce our message across the system. For example: Issue experts/Scientists - Share facts that influence beliefs Artists/Musicians/Performers - Create hope, change attitudes and behaviors Journalists - Expose scandals or uncover the truth Fiction writers - Inspire hope and imagination Sector leaders - Speak for their peers Organizers - Bring together different actors and messengers Grass tops - Represent the grassroots voice We should think about our organization’s role in this ecosystem and who we can partner with to increase pressure and share communications widely CONCEPT It's Not Always What You Think Climate Outreach carried out audience research in the UK during the lead up to the UNFCCC climate conference in Glasgow in 2021. Their findings showed that the UK public trusted well known figures outside of government far more than those responsible within government regarding climate change and climate related policies. Indeed the Prime Minister and Climate Minister were trusted the least in a list of public figures. Replication of graph - Information and source: Climate Outreach, pre-UNFCCC COP26, 2021 https://climateoutreach.org/reports/britain-talks-cop26/# STORY Meatless Monday Campaign, Brazil The Meatless Monday campaign in Brazil was an unsuccessful campaign showing how not to work with online influencers. Agribusiness is a national industry in Brazil. Its focus on mass production of beef, often via cutting down forests, contributes to climate change. A Brazilian bank called Bradesco, with significant investments in agribusiness, wanted to run a PR campaign to say it had a sustainable approach to the environment. It launched the Meatless Monday campaign, paying two online influencers to promote the idea of not eating meat on Mondays, in order to help the planet. There was a huge public backlash including waves of sexist comments directed at the two influencers. Mistakes by Bradesco bank Lack of Audience Understanding: Brazil has high levels of food insecurity. The two influencers were white women from upper levels of society who had the privilege and luxury of making different food choices, unlike the 33 million people in Brazil who were struggling to get enough to eat. Promoting meatless days without considering this context showed a disconnect from the realities faced by many Brazilians. Inconsistent Messaging: The bank’s involvement in agribusiness, often linked to environmental and ethical concerns, contradicted the message of Meatless Monday. This undermined the campaign’s credibility. Poor Stakeholder Support: The bank did not provide much support to the influencers to handle the backlash. When criticisms arose, the influencers bore the brunt of it, while the bank issued a statement to protect its own reputation, which doubled down on its interests by including claims that agribusiness was good for Brazil. Ignoring Systemic Impacts: The campaign did not address the broader systemic issues such as the negative impacts of agribusiness practices on indigenous and local communities, biodiversity and resilience, or offer sustainable, long-term solutions to reduce meat consumption. It focused narrowly on one day a week without addressing the deeper values, rules, and structures that sustain meat consumption. Insufficient Strategic Communication: There was a lack of strategic communications planning. The campaign did not consider potential risks or prepare a comprehensive response strategy for negative reactions. This led to a PR disaster when backlash occurred. Understanding an audience also means understanding who they trust, and who they trust with which messages. If a trusted messenger gives an insincere, out of touch, message - this will not be received well by their audience. STORY Targeting Communities Through Specific Media & Messengers, South America, Central Africa And South East Asia The Pulitzer Center's initiative focuses on addressing pressing rainforest issues through a comprehensive strategy that integrates journalism, education, and strategic communications. The project spans various regions, including South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. The approach emphasizes adapting strategies to diverse local contexts rather than applying a uniform solution. The strategy is co-developed with local experts and community members, ensuring its resonance and impact. The primary goal was to effectively communicate and mobilize action around rainforest conservation in diverse regions with distinct cultural, political, and social landscapes. The project develops region-specific, resonant, strategies to do this. Their approach included: Regional Analysis and Customization: South America (Amazon Basin): Brazilian youth were targeted with campaigns reflecting their national narrative about the Amazon as a critical national asset. Conversely, Colombian youth, who did not identify as closely with the Amazon, required a different messaging approach to foster a sense of connection and urgency. Central Africa (DRC and Congo Basin): In the Democratic Republic of Congo, community-based radio initiatives were used to reach local populations, combined with educational outreach in schools to engage younger audiences. Southeast Asia (Mekong Region and Indonesia/Malaysia): The campaign in the Mekong region focused on influencer-driven initiatives, adapting methods to varying levels of communications freedom and regional differences in influencer culture. Methodological Diversity: Community Radio: In Central Africa, community radio was used to engage local populations in discussions about rainforest conservation, leveraging the widespread reach and accessibility of radio in these regions. Educational Programs: Schools were targeted in the DRC through partnerships with teachers to incorporate rainforest issues into the curriculum, promoting awareness and action from a young age. Influencer Collaborations: In Southeast Asia, influencers were engaged to reach younger audiences, with strategies customized according to local media landscapes and influencer dynamics. Youth Engagement: The project adapted its approach based on regional differences in youth engagement. In the Amazon Basin, strategies addressed varying levels of concern and national narratives, while in Colombia and Peru, efforts were made to cultivate a stronger connection to the rainforest. Challenges and Solutions Diverse Needs: The challenge of addressing rainforest issues across diverse regions required nuanced understanding and tailored solutions. The project overcame this by using a system thinking approach to analyse each region’s unique needs and developing customized strategies accordingly. Avoiding Uniformity: The initiative intentionally avoided a one-size-fits-all strategy. Instead, it focused on co-creating solutions with local audiences, ensuring that communications were relevant and impactful within each specific context. Empathy and Local Collaboration: The project emphasized empathy and collaboration with local communities to ensure that strategies were not imposed but rather developed in partnership with those directly affected by rainforest issues. Results The integration of system thinking and strategic communication led to several key outcomes: Increased Engagement: Tailoring strategies to local contexts resulted in more effective engagement with diverse audiences, enhancing awareness and mobilization efforts. Localized Impact: By customizing approaches, the project was able to address specific regional challenges and opportunities, leading to more meaningful interactions and outcomes. Enhanced Understanding: The emphasis on co-creating solutions with local communities fostered a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics influencing rainforest conservation efforts. By avoiding a uniform approach and instead developing region-specific strategies, the Pulitzer Center’s initiative successfully engaged diverse audiences with trusted messengers and supported rainforest conservation efforts across multiple regions. The project exemplifies how tailored, empathetic communication strategies can address complex challenges in varied cultural and social contexts. TOOL Messenger Ecosystem Identify messengers: Who do you need to reach and persuade your target networks or key relationships? Define roles: What role will your organization play? Plot them on the chart: Place them on the ripple chart. Collaborate: Set up meetings with others who have similar goals. Find common ground to work together. Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 3 Navigation Chapter 11 Needs are motives To spread a counter-narrative effectively, we must understand who needs to act, what drives them, and what barriers block them. Every individual or institution is a decision-maker, influenced by needs, motivations, and relationships. Campaigns often fail by assuming truth alone will persuade; instead, analyzing psychographics, power dynamics, and barriers helps us prioritize the audiences most likely to create systemic change. Needs help us prioritize who to target. We have identified the (counter-)narrative we want to spread. Now we need to know who needs to act, what barriers are in our way, and how to reduce those barriers. Remember, everyone is a decision-maker, making about 35,000 decisions each day. At this point, we could base our approach on one key tactic designed to reach a specific target audience with one or a few key messages. But without a more nuanced understanding of the audiences we need to reach and activate, we will likely fail to achieve the systems-level change we seek. Every decision maker, community or institution we need to reach or activate is an audience. Since everyone makes decisions, we need to navigate many streams of decision-makers to reach our ultimate target. A typical campaign might focus on one decision-maker or their supporters and assume what drives them. That campaign might also assume that the morality of their argument will win over the decision maker. But power doesn’t always care about our truth. Instead, we should look at the psychographics of each target audience and the key stakeholders that are able to influence them: their needs, motivations, their ability to influence, their lifestyle and personality. This helps us to prioritize who is most likely to act or share information. Next, we must understand the barriers preventing stakeholders and messengers from acting or sharing the new narrative. Look at the tangible and intangible factors in the strongest relationships, and the deep loops that are blocking the new narrative. Consider visible, invisible, and hidden power. Some elements might not support the current system or narrative but may still block a new narrative. TOOL Obstacles As Targets Scope Draw a Venn diagram with components of key relationships from Section 2. Include decision-makers and parts of the media ecosystem. Identify anyone or anything visible, invisible, or hidden that prevents your new narrative from taking hold. Place these stakeholders on the diagram. Profile the stakeholders Who or what is at the center that you need to focus on? Who or what matters more than others (e.g., loose regulations or public apathy)? Draw a matrix with persuadability on the x-axis and influence on the y-axis. What does this tell you? Consider How are these stakeholders affected by the issue? What do they need to survive or thrive in the system? What is their lifestyle: time-rich or time-poor? Do they like to be seen in public? What is their personality? How do they behave in public? How do they like to be seen? Why might these stakeholders be motivated to act? Why might they start, stop, or continue some action or information sharing? How can they influence the outcome we want? How many people can they influence? Is their ability easy to restrict or stop? What risk or reward is there for them taking the action we want? How do we need to influence them? Explore Could more than one theory be true? How might you test these theories? Which stakeholders should be the main targets of your campaign? Is it best for others to target other parts of the system? Previous Chapter Next Chapter

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? 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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

Section 5 Energy Chapter 25 Endings are beginnings This section reflects on the natural role of endings in movements and organizations, emphasizing that letting go can preserve energy, legacy, and justice for future work. It encourages reflection, renewal, and passing on resources or roles when needed so that movements can continue evolving within the wider ecosystem. Even our fire must one day be put out. The impact of climate change has resulted in more and more destructive forest fires that ravage ecosystems and reshape our environment. This is changing in front of our eyes and we are the cause. The fourth and most important question of reflection is “What, me?” Endings are natural and we should embrace them as we embrace birth within the cycle of life. The cost of a bad ending for an organization can include the loss of skills, experience, goodwill, data and legacy. It can even include the burden of trauma that staff and volunteers may carry to their next employer, group or movement “Endings are part of the natural cycle of growth, change, renewal and innovation within the nonprofit sector.” Stewarding Loss Project: Sensing Endings toolkit While fire can be destructive, it can also bring good change and renewal. When we encounter setbacks we must also be ready to “fail fast” and move on. We must learn to ask ourselves and others when it is time to tend down our fires and pass on the embers to others to continue the movement for change. “History is a relay of revolutions.” Saul Alinsky Normally evaluation methods and impact assessments are used at the “end” of a campaign if a goal has been achieved, if a major defeat has occurred, or if a funder withdraws its money. But the planet keeps turning and the ecosystems around us continue to seek harmony. In this Section we have reframed evaluation as reflection and action, to learn how the system has changed and what has become of our energy. Now we must train ourselves to learn what to do with that energy when it is time to pass it on. “We must ask if.. structures and organizations continue to serve the purposes for which they were first created. Are they true to the spirit that once inspired them?” F. David Peat, From Certainty to Uncertainty Many groups and organizations set up their campaigns and programs to honor people, communities or places that have been lost or harmed. The passion that we have for our work is strong and lasting. However it is important to continue to ask ourselves if we are helping in the best way to achieve the changes that people and communities want. It may be better to distribute our resources to others who can better disrupt the status quo instead of interfering with their efforts. We might have been important in getting the movement to this point, but we may not be able to take it further. Maybe we have run out of money or lost support from our partners. The answers lie in the wider ecosystem. Which is why we recommend any campaigning you do includes movement strength, equity and justice as key outcomes, connected to your Near Star and Guiding Star. “I’m not saying get rid of those twelve notes. I love what music has done and what it will be. But as a musician who is concerned about music, I say, what’s beyond those twelve notes?” Ytasha L. Womack, Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture Here we share two concepts: the Three Horizons to help you think about the necessary path to change, and a Movement Compass to identify what stage your movement is at. Then we share two tools: an Integrity Checklist to identify if you need to continue your role in achieving that change and a Fire Tending tool to understand how to wind down your role and redistribute efforts. If you have completed the exercises in this chapter and decided to continue your campaign, we recommend that you return to the start of the S.E.N.S.E. process to check if the structure and equilibrium of your target and of your organization remain the same as before. Footnotes: Rosamond Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander, The Art of the Possible, p. 8 Read further: The Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures reciprocity commitments as an example: https://decolonialfutures.net/ CONCEPT Three Horizons The International Futures Forum and other futures practitioners developed this model over ten years to understand and guide cultural change. It helps explore new ideas and actions when the future is uncertain. It can also be applied to organizations. The three horizons are: Horizon 1 - Business as usual - The organization continues doing what it has always done. As a person: Risk averse Manager. Consequences: The dominant narrative, power and relationships in the system prevail. Questions to ask ourselves: What is business as usual and how did we get here? Why do we believe our efforts are no longer fit for purpose? How quickly do we need to wind down? Is there anything we need to retain or not lose? What is dying here and how can we help it to let go and leave well? Horizon 2: Disruptive innovation As a person: The Entrepreneur Consequences: They see the benefits of both models and can apply the innovative thinking from H3 to help achieve the future that H1 really wants deep down - leading to H2+ rather than H2- Questions to ask ourselves: What are the competing visions of the future? How can we collaborate and not derail each other? What does being disruptive mean, politically, economically, socially, technologically, legally and environmentally? What are the roots of those disruptions and what would it mean to cultivate not co-opt them? How might we help helpful disruptions to spread and who could we work with? Horizon 3 - Big picture future thinking As a person: The Visionary Consequences: The future we want. They will require us to take risks, experiment, rethink things completely. Questions to ask ourselves: What is the future we want to bring about? What seeds of that future already exist, that we might help cultivate? How? On whose work are these possibilities built upon? What is being born here and how can we help it to arrive well? CONCEPT Movement Compass Image/graph sourced from Beautiful Trouble: https://beautifultrouble.org/toolbox/tool/the-movement-cycle Movement NetLab and Beautiful Trouble have refined Herbert Blumer’s attempts to map out the cycle of social movements. While movements and campaigns can evolve, flex and fluctuate in many different ways, this tool’s six movement phases can help identify patterns and next steps: 1. Enduring Crisis: Growing Public Anger Movements often start in times of injustice and frustration Focus on building your group, raising awareness, and forming strong relationships Clearly define your issues and create a compelling story to attract supporters This helps create opportunities for action 2. Uprising: Heroic Phase Identify which phase your movement is in to focus your efforts effectively The uprising phase starts with a trigger event that motivates people to act This phase is driven by a renewed sense of purpose, even without long-term plans 3. Peak: Honeymoon During growth, your cause gains significant attention Stay focused on your message and goals Use this time to recruit new members, refuel, and gather resources for the future 4. Contraction: Disillusionment After some successes, momentum may slow down, and internal conflicts may arise Focus on well-being and create safe spaces for emotional recovery Explain that this phase is normal and use it to analyze progress and consolidate gains 5. Evolution: Learning and Reflection After setbacks, it is time to rebuild Reflect on past experiences and reorganize your movement Start new projects and experiment with new goals to give your movement fresh energy 6. New Normal: Re-growth Strengthen alliances, build infrastructure, and develop skills and relationships Now, take bold actions and set the agenda in anticipation of the next crisis or trigger event Beautiful Trouble shares that the Movement Cycle helps you see contractions not as failures but as strategic phases. It guides movement organizers on what to do next and suggests effective tactics and strategies for each phase. Remember to stay grounded during high points and optimistic during low points. Read more: Use the interactive version which provides more tips on strategies and tactics for each movement phase: https://beautifultrouble.org/compass STORY Cree Campaign Against James Bay Hydroelectric Dam, Canada The Cree people of Western Canada faced an existential crisis in the 1970s and 1980s with the proposed James Bay Hydroelectric Project by Hydro-Quebec, which threatened to flood their lands and disrupt their traditional way of life. Initially, Cree leaders focused on a legal campaign to halt the project, leading to temporary victories but ultimately losing ground as the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned favorable rulings. The need for a strategic shift became evident with the announcement of Phase 2 of the project in 1989. Around the same time, Cree elders had begun to step down from the Grand Council which had been directing the campaign. Younger members began to join the Council, including new Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. This leadership would have had to consider questions such as: Are we focusing on the right deep loop and relationships? The deep loop driving the system included a disregard for indigenous voices. By shifting to more nimble and newsworthy public engagement, the campaign could have more success. Are we the right people to do this work? Greater public engagement was not something that the Cree elders had previously pushed for. By the time the first dam had been built, a younger group of Cree had taken seats at the Cree Grand Council. Are we effective in working with communities? Yes. The community trusted the Grand Council and now gave a mandate to the Grand Council to use any means necessary to oppose the construction of the second phase of the project. Should we partner with others or give them space? The decision to engage public and international partners such as Greenpeace and Sierra Club proved crucial in amplifying the Cree’s cause. Their strategy broadly followed a movement cycle: Enduring Crisis: Faced with governmental disregard, the new leaders tapped into growing public anger over environmental and indigenous rights, building a movement that resonated beyond legal confines. Uprising: They ignited the "heroic phase" by focusing on direct action, such as protests, media campaigns, and international outreach, shifting from a purely legal focus to public engagement. Peak: During the "honeymoon phase," the Cree’s cause gained significant attention, particularly in the US, where environmental and human rights became rallying points, sustaining momentum. Contraction: Anticipating internal conflicts and fatigue, the leaders ensured that the campaign was community-driven, maintaining morale and solidarity. Evolution: After the initial setbacks, the Cree reflected, reorganized, and adjusted their strategies, keeping their ultimate goals in sight. New Normal: The campaign evolved into a broader movement, embedding indigenous rights and environmental concerns into the national conversation, influencing future policies. The second phase of the campaign was successful: The campaign focus shifted from a narrow legal battle to a broader, more effective public campaign that engaged communities, media, and international audiences across the system. This holistic approach ultimately led to the suspension of the second phase This strategic transition of leadership guided by systemic thinking, ensured that the Cree could navigate their movement effectively through its various phases, achieving their goals while laying the groundwork for future advocacy. Note: For more on how the Cree were successful by focusing on the Who level of the system, see Chapter 3: Levels are Levers. Read more: The Cree Nation of Waskaganish: The James Bay Project https://waskaganish.ca/the-james-bay-project/ Non Violent Direct Action database: https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/cree-first-nations-stop-second-phase-james-bay-hydroelectric-project-1989-1994 The Link Newspaper: The Hydroelectric Crises - The Fight to Live in the North, https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/the-hydroelectric-crises-the-fight-to-live-in-the-north TOOL Integrity Checklist Step 1: Review your fire chart and your soil, star, ocean and storm charts in a group, ideally with allies. Step 2: Ask yourselves these questions: Is the system change we want still necessary? Are we focusing on the right deep loop and relationships to make this change happen? Has the decision-making process and communication in the system we want to change stayed the same? Are we the right people to do this work? Are we being effective when we work with communities to create the change we want? Should we partner with others or give them space to help achieve our vision or mission? Note: If many of your answers to these questions are No, it may be time to start tending down your fire and winding down your organization. Use the next tool for this purpose. Note (warning signs): Your campaign has passed its intended deadline or end date You are using emergency funds to keep the campaign alive The rest of the movement regularly feed back that your efforts are not needed You’ve stopped caring You feel you have something to prove You fear failure You’ve changed You’re trying to deliver on the many hours you’ve put in You think you do not have another option* TOOL Trending Down The Fire NOTE: This tool is not a replacement for professional advice, legal, financial or otherwise. This is designed to help you to think from a systems and strategic communications perspective about how to wind down your work and support others to take your movement further. Step 1: Document the evaluation, exploration and learning you’ve done so far to make your decision to shut down your campaign or organization. Step 2: Levels: Draw out a chart of your system with levels at Why, Who, Where, How and What. Step 3: Why: As a group, write the names of other campaigns or organizations working to achieve similar system change to you, and which have similar values / interests to you, on Post-Its. E.g. These campaigns or organizations may not do public campaigning, but may center women and girls in their work. Step 4: Who: Stick these Post-Its to the system level that the campaign or organization work at - e.g. influencing key relationships / reaching audiences / campaigning to change taxes. They may not yet be active on your specific issue, but may be aligned to your values. Step 5: Where: Audit your assets - the skills, funds, connections you have used in your campaign: staff, resources, funding, relationships. Which of these organizations and groups are used to working with similar assets? Step 6: How: Audit your approach so far. Which of these organizations could pick up and run with your work? Which have strong governance (management, accountability) structures and practices? Which could resume momentum fairly quickly while maintaining the integrity of your approach? Which could adapt and pivot to Storms successfully? Step 7: What: Sustainability - Do you have a viable succession plan, including how you will wind down or up your work? Could you transfer assets to another organization? Are there hidden costs to this? What essentials do you insist that anyone taking on your assets does? Step 8: Discussion: Meet with the rest of your community, allies and those you might like to pass on the torch of your work. Negotiate and agree a handover. Step 9: Narrative: What are the moments you, your team, rights holders you work with, your allies and others would like to mark? How can you bring people together to celebrate? What story do you want to tell that can strengthen the movement and help it go further? Previous Chapter Conclusion

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 4 Storms Chapter 21 Change is constant Change is constant — the question is how we respond. This chapter explores how to adapt when crises hit, whether sudden or prolonged. By learning when to ride a wave of attention and when to step back, you’ll develop strategies to test, learn, and act effectively. Drawing on natural metaphors and global insights, it offers practical principles to stay resilient and aligned with your vision. Surf the waves. Know when and how to adjust your goals and plans in unstable times. Nature responds to changes to maintain its own balance. El Niño and La Niña affect ocean temperatures, currents, fisheries, and weather. But trees bend during storms and plants protect soil and communicate danger to each other.* “Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” Cherokee Proverb A short-term surge in attention can be good or bad, depending on your actions: Media attention around a celebrity or political scandal can overshadow your work. Linking your message to current events can raise visibility, but it requires careful planning. When a storm hits, it can speed up and increase the complexity of an ordered, complex or chaotic system (see Chapter 2 for these definitions). The task of an effective systems thinking strategist is to decide effectively when to surf the wave and when to dive under it to avoid the crash. In order to be able to identify whether we charge, shelter, sidestep or adapt, we need to quickly test our assumptions, assess the potential outcomes and move on to new approaches. In general we recommend the same approach to deal with a complex system for when a storm hits: Test - Meet weekly as a team on the overall strategy. Using your existing campaign strategy and a storm chart, test one of the strategies appropriate to the storm, as suggested in this Section. Learn - Allocate responsibility for gathering data - media / social media stats, qualitative feedback from opponents or allies and more. Meet daily as a team to review results and decide whether to stop, continue or increase this activity. Act - Stop, continue or increase this activity. Learn - Continue this process. “The stakes are subtle, the timeframe longer. Risk tolerance edges down as people try to return to deliberative decision-making while resources draw thin. Human reactions also differ: Sudden crises spark fear and preoccupation with threat. People wonder: Are we going to be okay? In sustained crises, persistent challenges leave people wondering instead: Why bother?” Michaela J. Kerrissey and Amy C. Edmondso n A longer-term crisis or opportunity can have huge but also subtle effects, meaning the organization needs to sidestep or adapt: A challenge could evolve quickly: like a PR disaster (developmental storm) could damage an NGO’s reputation (existential storm), or a natural disaster (situational storm) could destroy or disrupt an organization’s operations (existential storm) A success could lead to a threat: A campaign win could lead to a large donation, leading to the need for careful decision-making on next steps. It could also lead to a counter campaign or a lawsuit A storm you create could turn against you: A poorly planned message or campaign could backfire and opponents could use it as a way to criticize you or put your organization at risk An ordered storm could become complex, or a complex storm could become chaotic: Revisiting the system complexity framework from Chapter 2, consider the best strategy to deal with the way the storm is changing In prolonged situations like this, resources and risk tolerance decrease, and people try to return to daily deliberative decision-making rather than continuing reflection and review. Change is the only constant. To prepare for change, use the steps in Chapter 19 to proactively build resilience, not just try to prevent immediate harm. This way organizations can stay on course for their vision or Guiding Star: Acting on key principles: Control: Accept what we can and cannot control. Delegate and decentralize: build a structure that supports diverse voices to gather, experiment and innovate. Commitment: Reaffirm your vision for change. Empower teams to experiment, innovate and collaborate. Challenge: Embrace uncertainty as a catalyst for transformation and improvement*. Stop rewarding short-term firefighting. Work flexibly and reflect regularly. Connection: Meet your team’s physical, emotional, social and informational needs. Collaborate with and amplify like-minded Shooting Stars (in the system). Review changes to the system and our campaign: Why (values and system structure), Who (Key relationships, Near star, Far star and Deep loop), Where (Information flows and navigation for influencing), How (Operations), What (Inputs and outputs) Considering moving among the four strategies (Chapter 18) Prepare and simulate more than one action / scenario where you can create suspense (Chapter 19) Plan activity at others’ events where they are seeking to gain attention (see 350.org for more information) More reading: Mindworks Lab: Different stages of a crisis https://mindworkslab.org/midwork/thedisruptedmind/the-crisis-timeline/ https://hbr.org/2023/06/leading-through-a-sustained-crisis-requires-a-different-approach?ab=hero-main-text Sources (formal sourcing): * https://earthsky.org/earth/plants-panic-when-wet-how-plants-communicate/ ** https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenges-leading-todays-sustained-crisis-patrick-flesner-m24ue/ TOOL Attention Economics Acting on key principles Control: Accept what we can and cannot control. Delegate and decentralize: Build a structure that supports diverse voices to gather, experiment and innovate Commitment: Reaffirm your vision for change. Empower teams to experiment, innovate and collaborate Challenge: Embrace uncertainty as a catalyst for growth and transformation*. Stop rewarding short term firefighting. Work in an agile way and keep reflecting for continuous learning Connection: Identify and share what you and your team need e.g. physical, emotional, social, instrumental or informational support - and work to meet those Review changes to the system and our campaign: Why (values and system structure), Who (Key relationships, Near star, Guiding Star and Deep loop), Where (Information flows and navigation for influencing), How (Operations), What (Inputs and outputs) Considering moving among the four strategies (Chapter 18) Simulating further scenarios (Chapter 19) Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Section 2 Equilibrium Chapter 6 Relationships are Power Systems are shaped less by individuals and more by the relationships that hold and distribute power. This chapter introduces Relationship Constellations to reveal visible, hidden, invisible, and systemic power across networks. Find the relationships not individuals that control how the system works. When we try to change someone's mindset, opinion, or behavior we must consider the power or powerlessness that person feels in themselves and the power expressed in the relationships they hold. Like the Guiding Star and Near Star represent your long-term vision and short-term objective, Relationship Constellations show us where power lies in a system. There are four forms of power: Visible Power: For example, a President has power over its citizens. Invisible Power: Traditional and religious leaders exert power over citizens and members of government. Hidden Power: Banks or corporations can exert power over a government if it is in debt or seeking approval. Social norms exert power over people, for example in some cultures the norm of taking one’s shoes off on entering a house. Systemic Power: Overarching systems and structures that underlie and enforce visible, invisible and hidden power.* “Power is the capacity of individuals or groups to determine who gets what, who does what, who decides what, and who sets the agenda.” Srilatha Batliwala, quoting and expanding on the definition of power by Aruna Rao and David Kelleher Powerlessness is not always expressed and so it is harder to spot than power. There are four expressions of power : Power over: Institutions hold control over individuals. The weather has power over us. Power to: The ability of someone or something to do something. Power with: Mutual support and collaboration with others. Power within: The capacity to imagine and have hope. It is important to acknowledge that many people feel powerless within themselves to effect change, and a responsibility of many campaigners is to find ways to support people to build their own power and agency. Our relationships with people and the wider world define us and give us power but also identity. The Tanganekald people of South Australia had more than twenty pronouns that were ungendered but that expressed people’s relationship with each other.* There are three types of system relationships which express power: Commensalist: One benefits, and the other is unaffected. This is the power to do something. For example, the golden jackal follows a tiger to scavenge off its discarded kills; barbed seeds travel on human clothing; gut bacteria living in our digestive system. Mutualist: Both benefit. This is power with others. For example, clownfish and anemones help each other. Clownfish consume parasites and provide nutrients to anemones, which in turn shield the fish from predators. Social norms can cultivate politeness among people. Parasitic: One benefits, and the other is harmed. This is an expression of power over others. For example, fleas or tapeworms on a host. These types of relationships can exist among both tangible (people, institutions) and intangible (values, norms) parts of a system. These relationships can also enable (strengthen) or inhibit (weaken) others across the system. Normally, to plan a campaign we might single out individual targets by using a Power Map** or Forcefield Analysis to identify key players in a system. However, to shift a system more effectively, we recommend using a Constellation Chart to plot the power, relationships and relationship types across the system levels. Sources: *For a more detailed explanation of power, see the Just Associates Guide to Power https://justassociates.org/big-ideas/power1/ ** https://aboriginallivinglanguages.sa.gov.au/lesson/lesson-twelve-pronouns-part-2/ ***Power mapping to design a winning campaign strategy: https://commonslibrary.org/power-mapping-to-design-a-winning-campaign-strategy/ ****Forcefield analysis https://www.mindtools.com/a23ewmr/force-field-analysis STORY The Beginning of the End of the Gulag, Russia In 1953, prisoners in the Norillag labor camp in Norilsk, Russia, had been enduring extremely harsh conditions. This was a parasitic relationship: the Russian state benefited from their hard labor. They worked 12-hour days in freezing temperatures by mining, making cement, and building roads and railway infrastructure. Many were political prisoners hoping for amnesty after Russian leader Joseph Stalin's death. However, the government only offered amnesty to criminal prisoners, leading to frustration and anger. The prisoners aimed to improve their living and working conditions and gain the attention of higher authorities in Moscow by finding a way to leverage the relationships that set the rules for their imprisonment; the relationship between the public, media and state, and the relationships through which information was communicated: 1. Organizing and Communicating across Camps: Mutualist relationships at the “What” level: Spreading the Word: After a guard killed two political prisoners, inmates in Camp No. 5 used a flag communication system to alert other camps. Starting the Strike: Yevgeny Griciak in Camp No. 4 initiated a strike by shutting down air compressors, halting work. “The rhythm of the work was set by the sound of the air hammers. As long as the hammers kept going, the inmates would work, so I shut the compressors off. The hammers stopped and everyone quit working.” Yevgeny Griciak, prisoner, Camp No. 4. 2. Gaining Support from the public outside - Commensalist relationships at the “Where” level: Demonstrating Unity: 5,000 prisoners refused to work, endured a three-day siege, and displayed a large sign saying “We Are Being Killed and Starved” to draw attention from the town’s people, who ultimately benefited from the work of the prisoners. Expanding the Strike: By 5 June, prisoners in six camps joined the strike, totaling 16,379 strikers. They organized committees, elected leaders, and united nationalities including Ukrainians, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians within the camps. 3. Reaching Power-Holders: Contacting rulemakers in Parasitic relationships via the “Where” and “Who” levels Using gender equality to provoke a reaction: Women prisoners dug graves outside in the ground and protested, knowing that guards would want to shoot them but could not. Reaching Out to Authorities: Prisoners demanded to negotiate with representatives from Moscow, inspired by similar tactics in other uprisings. Publicizing the Revolt: Prisoners used creative methods, like leaflets tied to kites, to inform the townspeople and authorities in Moscow about their situation. They set the cords of the kites on fire, so when these burnt out over the city, the messages fell down to the ground where they could be read. Griciak said that this action was partly responsible for getting the message out to Moscow. 4. Negotiating and Persisting: Shifting relationships from parasitic to mutualist (Moscow and the prison authority; and the prison and the prisoners) at the “Who” level Engaging with Moscow Representatives: A special commission from Moscow traveled to Norillag and met with prisoners on 6 June. Prisoners submitted their demands, including shorter workdays, the transfer of disabled prisoners and better communication with families. Continuing the Strike: Despite violent suppression and the banishment of some leaders among the rebels, the prison granted some concessions. Then prisoners resumed their strike when promises were not fully met. Despite initial resistance and violent suppression, the prisoners considered it a success due to the significant improvements and recognition they gained. Read more: https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/norillag-prisoners-strike-better-conditions-norilsk-uprising-1953 TOOL Relationship Constellations Steps: Levels: Draw 5 concentric circles on your page and label them according to the 5 system levels, starting with "Why" in the center and working outwards. Elements: Write on a Post-It note every key element that keeps the system in place and stops a better system from growing, including both tangible (institutions, products, people) and intangible (values, norms) elements. Reuse sticky notes from Section 1 exercises if needed. Relationship constellations: Draw lines with arrows between elements that have important relationships. More than one element can be connected, and connections can span different system levels. Determine if this power is visible, invisible, or hidden. Label them as commensalist (C), mutualist (M), or parasitic (P). Consider: Identify the critical relationships or transactions maintaining the system's health. Are they commensalist, parasitic, or mutualist? Who is winning and losing, and what is the impact on them and others? Stars: Review the guiding and near star you established for the system. Are they correct? Use this chart to better understand and influence the relationships that control the system. Previous Chapter Next Chapter

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