1.10 Summary of Unit 1

Monisilong Riem wants his community in Cambodia to have clean water. He produces his artwork out of discarded plastic and other trash. He says that his purpose is to educate people to save the environment and reduce using plastic.

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Monisilong Riem sits on the kerb outside a brighly coloured building. Large pieces of his artwork lean up against the building picturing images of people and nature.

Monisilong Riem wants his community in Cambodia to have clean water. He produces his artwork out of discarded plastic and other trash. He...

In this first unit you have taken some time to orient yourself to the course and to reflect on your own identity and assumptions and their role in how you can effectively make change happen. You have considered what social change is and different drivers and types of change.

You have listened to the testimony of changemakers from around the world and looked at three different stories of change tackling the same issue in different ways. We hope that this has given you a good grounding on the diversity of approaches to change.

For social change to happen, specific and concrete actions need to take place. It is not just about creating awareness and interest in an issue, for example, although that is important. Something actually needs to shift for change to take place; something that makes a real difference that we can see or experience.

You have undertaken an exercise to help you visualise a change you would like to see and imagine what the future state might be. As a changemaker, having a clearly visible goal, explaining why achieving that goal can make a real difference, and mobilising or persuading people to action are critical elements in your ability to achieve the change. In the next unit we will look more at the broad context for the change that you envision, we will analyse what specific areas of change are needed, and you will have the chance to identify objectives to achieve your change goal.

Further reading

Here are some links to sites where you can find out more about making change happen as well as more about the campaigns and change processes featured here.

• Oxfam Influencing for Impact Guide [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
• Oxfam Policy & Practice tools for influencing
• Views & Voices Influencing blog series
• From Poverty to Power
• How Change Happens
• Activists Handbook
• Mob Lab
• Beautiful Rising
• AWID Rights at Risk Resource Library
• JASS Just Power

For more information about staying safe online visit: 

• Security in-a-Box (from Tactical Technology Collective and Front Line Defenders)
• Surveillance Self-Defense (from the Electronic Frontier Foundation)
• Take Back the Tech provides specific advice for women’s rights activists working online