Those of us who train and educate movements, whether in informal environments or in the classroom, would like to believe that our curriculum and how we present it directly determines the extent to which our participants thrive. While this may be partially true, these factors are far from being the most important determinants of a participant’s success. […]
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For almost a decade, Macedonians have engaged in a nonviolent struggle to protect their land and air from mass pollution as a result of foreign direct investments in copper, gold, and silver mining in the Balkan state. Actions have intensified since 2017 with citizen initiatives like SOS Valandovo, Zdrava Kotlina (“Healthy Valley”), and Youth Against Stuka-Ilovica Mine of Death organizing protests and road blockades to prevent the opening of mines. They count a number of successful closures so far, but the struggle isn’t over […]
Last year was a bustling year for societies around the world that took up the cause of civil resistance. Nonviolent actions for rights, justice, and freedom were incredibly diverse, energetic, and inspiring in Latin America, where a peaceful popular awakening shook regimes, toppled governments, and captured the world’s attention. […]
Iraqis began showing their outrage in October 2019 as unemployment and poverty set root in many areas of the country, months after the government announced a controversial economic reform. Thousands have been participating in sit-ins in Tahrir and many other squares in Baghdad, Basra, as well as other areas in the southern governorates. They are outraged over almost two decades of corruption and poor public services. […]
On October 2, 2019—150 years to the day after the birth of Mohandas Gandhi—50 people from the Gandhian organization Ekta Parishad departed from the Raj Ghat memorial, dedicated to Gandhi, in Delhi. It was Day One of what will be a year-long journey on the Global March for Justice and Peace. With a jaw-dropping itinerary of 11,000 kilometers winding through 10 countries on the way to Geneva, 50 core marchers are receiving support from, and being joined by, self-organized local groups along the way. […]
In 2016, James Hansen, revered NASA Goddard Space Center climatologist and official who announced publicly in 1988, “Global warming has arrived,” stood next to me outside a North Dakota courtroom. The trial of Michael Foster, one of the five climate activists who became known as Valve Turners, was happening on the other side of the door. […]
The Al Hrak al-Shababe movement gained traction largely thanks to its strategy of putting solidarity and unity first. In fact, the movement’s list of accomplishments—both concrete and abstract—is compelling. Alongside successfully thwarting the Prawer plan, the movement also re-examined its internal inequalities as a necessary step to resisting external discrimination and oppression. […]
“The last decade saw some very powerful movements—yet almost by definition their existence means that if many of us see a need for change, we have not yet succeeded in making that change central to our societies. What can we do, beyond more of the same? Part of the answer lies in what makes a movement a movement. Behind their visible, external aspect—protest, resistance, and other challenges to institutions and powerful actors, together with trying to change people’s minds—lies the work of organizing and self-education, building networks and coalitions, discussing who “we” are, and thinking about what we are doing and how we can do it better. […]”
El 2 de octubre de 2019 el presidente de Ecuador Lenin Moreno, mediante el decreto 883, anunció la eliminación de los subsidios a la gasolina y el diésel, lo que desencadenó 11 días de protestas. Las protestas terminaron el 13 de octubre con un acuerdo entre el Gobierno y el movimiento indígena – el principal grupo que se oponía a la medida – para derogarlo y reemplazarlo por otro elaborado en consulta con el movimiento. […]
Moving into 2020 calls for reflection on events and insights gained in recent years. Here are 20 key stories from Minds of the Movement—10 that were most-read by readers, and 10 picked by editors. We hope this helps you energize and refocus for “20-20” vision in the new decade of civil resistance work! […]