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Community Organisers. Naomi Diamond, Locality VSNW, 4th October 2011. Locality. Two established networks of long term, independent community organisations Merged to form a new membership body with a common cause – over 400 members in England
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Community Organisers Naomi Diamond, Locality VSNW, 4th October 2011
Locality Two established networks of long term, independent community organisations Merged to form a new membership body with a common cause – over 400 members in England A movement based on community assets, enterprise and social action We want local organisations to meet local needs today, and we want them to survive & thrive so they can meet local needs tomorrow. We want communities to be resilient and cooperative.
Community Organising • Organisers listen to people and encourage dialogue. They do not bring any message or seek any specific outcome. • Consciousness-raising rather than capacity-building. Find the ‘generative themes’ that motivate people to act. • Actions may aim to change the powerful or to create a DIY response, or both.
Our Approach • Draw on the best thinkers and practice • Create an English C21st model • Organisers locally rooted and welcome • Enterprising approach to sustainability • Liberate from Government • A mutually owned professional body
What will happen? • 500 paid community organisers spend a year working and learning within a community. Essence is listening and building networks which lead to action. • Each recruits along the way at least 15 voluntary activists who will also listen. Some start campaigns, projects or businesses to tackle problems that have been voiced widely in the community. Thousands of people are listened to and commit to taking action for the benefit of their community. • At the end of the year there will be strong networks which can continue to develop and grow. Host areas will seek ways to keep ‘their’ community organisers for longer to support networks, develop plans and take action.
Training Community Organisers • Training ‘on the job’ • 500 training bursaries (£20k covers salary, expenses and deeper training) • OCN accredited Foundation training in ‘Root Solutions Listening Matters’ by Re:generate • Guided actions, mentoring, peer learning, e -networks, annual action camp, deeper learning • Learning is cascaded to voluntary community activists through the process
Hosting Community Organisers • COs need ‘a place to be’. Hosts will be locally rooted organisations who are interested in transformation and are not afraid of challenge. Hosts provide support and help organisers to hit the ground running • 11 Kickstarters – places/orgs identified for the bid to provide range and get started quickly • 100-200 hosts over during programme. Recruitment ongoing with a new group of hosts every 3 months. • Over 200 applications. Selection difficult balance of strength of host application, geography, need, political priorities
Where are we now? • 11 kickstarter hosts have recruited between 2 and 5 trainee community organisers each • The first cohort of 47 organisers were trained last week and start work immediately. • Just announced our next 11 host communities including one in Liverpool. Difficult choices. • 11 new host areas will have their induction at this week and begin recruiting their organisers to train in December.
Myths and Debates • Community organising is about giving power to communities • Community organising creates conflict and sows division • Community organising is anti democratic • Community organising has a hidden agenda • Community organising is just another name for community development
Keep Informed • www.cocollaborative.org.uk/ • www.locality.org.uk/projects/community-organisers/ • Tweets from @corganisers using the hashtags #communityorganisers. • Programme manager’s blog at http://jesssteele.wordpress.com/.
“We believe community organising has the potential to establish a new and much healthier social contract between people and power. Community organising, grounded at local level, provides the means for people – above all those who are most excluded from the inner circles of power and privilege – to combine and be counted, to discover their ability to identify those changes which will mean most to them and, on their own terms, take action to tackle vested interests. Through community organising the realisation of individual potential and the creation of self-determining communities go hand in hand.”
