8.6 Pulling it all together to make change happen
Throughout this course, we have seen many perspectives and examples of change from around the world.
Whether it is mass campaigns and movements to advocate for major policies like the arms trade treaty or the freedom to marry act, or focused, community-based work to change attitudes and behaviours around gender-based violence or environmental protections, there are some clear success factors and learning that emerge.
We have aimed to share these with you throughout this course and summarise them again here.
Consider yourself
Social transformation begins with personal transformation. The personal is political. Change needs to start with you; finding your ‘power within’; within each and every one of us. It is worth taking the time to think about our own motives, our sources of power, and to recognise how our identity and experiences can inform our assumptions about what change is desirable – for whom, with whom, by whom, and how it could be achieved.
Self-awareness, understanding of our own power and privilege, and also the systems of oppression and marginalisation that others might experience much more acutely than ourselves, will help us to build more honest and trusting relationships with people we want to work with to achieve change.
Understand what it is that needs to change
Having a strong vision of what you want to achieve is essential and will keep you and others motivated and moving forward. How you can bring about change needs to be informed by a strong analysis of the context, the factors involved, and where you have influence.
To achieve your desired change, are you going to focus on the formal spaces where policies, and how they are implemented, can be influenced; or in the informal spaces, on individuals’ skills and voice, or changing social norms, attitudes, beliefs and practices? Or is it a combination of these?
Analyse power and the system you are working in
Making a strong assessment of where power lies will provide you with important information to help you identify the levers for making change happen. Where is the power visible and obvious, and where is it invisible or hidden? Consider how power manifests itself in individuals, between people and groups, and how power is expressed. Consider what will happen when power is challenged. In any given context, is power shared (‘power with’) or wielded by one individual or group against others (‘power over’)? Even in power-sharing situations, such as among allies working towards the same change goal, there can be dynamics that, if not properly accounted for, can undermine success.
Be sure to think about characteristics like gender, race, age, class, sexual orientation, and other identities which may mean that some people are either included or excluded, listened to or ignored. How can you build your power and the power and voice of others?
Work with partners and allies
The most powerful thing you can do as a changemaker is to work with others and take collective action. There is power in people working together, collaborating and partnering to expand their spheres of influence, reach out to more people, and give strength and urgency to the call to action. Your power analysis will help you to identify potential allies, including those that you might not otherwise consider (the ‘unusual suspects’), whether these are organisations, groups, or individuals. You can also pool knowledge and resources and learn from each other about what works.
Recognise your sphere of influence, then test and push it
Having a good awareness of what is in your sphere of control can help you to recognise what tools and resources, personal capacity and group power you have to influence change. Understanding your sphere of influence and where you can push out and encourage change is valuable. It is also critically important to be aware of the limitations, where there are real constraints on individuals or groups working for change in society. Being aware of those risks for yourself and others, mitigating them and making conscious decisions about them is vital.
Plan your influencing strategy and tactics
The information that you have gathered will be essential to inform your strategy. Who are you going to work with? What are you going to work on? How are you going to approach it? Will you seek to persuade those in positions of power through quiet diplomacy and going through the formal channels and due process, or will you try to force the change from the outside through a mass movement and call to action? Will you work to change people’s mindsets through compelling evidence and education, or will you appeal to their sense of justice?
Selecting your tactics comes next, and will depend on your context, the financial, human and other resources at your disposal, and the audience you are trying to reach. There is a huge range of tactics and activities available to you, from demonstrations, to social media, to songs, to face-to-face engagement. Don’t be afraid to try things out and see what works.
Tell compelling stories
Whatever your tactics, you will want to inspire people to action. Will you appeal to people’s reason, to their emotions, to their desire to take action, or all of these? Take the time to build a compelling story that can bring the issue home, make it personal, and make it too important to ignore.
Be alert to spot windows of opportunity
Don’t just do the power and context analysis once at the beginning of the process. You must constantly review and check the assumptions you have made in the light of what is working or not. Be curious about what is going on in reality and continually adapt and adjust your plan depending on what emerges and changes along the way. Also, be alert to the unintended consequences of your actions which you may need to mitigate or adapt to.
Take care of yourself and others
Change takes time and it won’t always be clear what progress you are making. There will be challenges and unexpected issues along the way which can be disheartening. Be sure to take care of yourself. Take time out and take the time to connect with others on the change journey. Share your stories, concerns and successes. There is great comfort in solidarity and from this you can build resilience and energy.
As someone who is motivated to step forward and make change happen you are a leader. Whatever your role, you can lead from where you are by having conversations, exploring issues, joining movements, and building up your knowledge and skills to make change happen.
After all, change comes from people like you – like us – moving things forward. There is nothing as satisfying and joyful as seeing it work and making an impact on the lives of people and the planet.
8.5 What advice do you have for changemakers?
