Tips for Activists

Communities have been organizing for collective liberation for thousands of years!  Here are a few of the resources that others have developed that we think might be helpful to your group.  Many other resources can also be found in OPIRG’s Resource Centre.

We are always looking for more organizing tips, so please email our Resource Centre Coordinator at research.coordinator@opirg-gripo.ca if you know of an information sheet or presentation that might make a good addition to this list.

Consensus decision-making is a group decision-making process which encourages all the participants to discuss a topic and to raise their individual concerns so that the group can develop and adopt a decision which everyone can accept. It takes longer, but is better than decison-making by majority vote, because it allows us to hear from participants who are usually marginalized, and to be more creative as we develop solutions which are better and more inclusive.  For more information, see the pamphlet about Consensus Decision-Making.

“How outsiders can work in solidarity with a community “

If you are working in support of a group that you don’t belong to (for example, refugees, women or people of colour), it’s important that you listen and learn a lot. Instead of leading and making decisions, you should work to address the priorities set by the community.

Racism: Here are  11 Things white people can do to be real anti-racist allies

LGBTQ2S:  Solidarity with LGBTQ2S communities

Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, or direct social, political, economic and/or environmental reform with the desire to make improvements in society. Forms of activism range from writing letters to newspapers or to politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing businesses, rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, and hunger strikes.

One can also express activism through different forms of art (Artivism). Daily acts of protest such as not buying clothes from a certain clothing company because they exploit workers is another form of activism. One view holds that acknowledging privileges and oppressions on a daily basis ranks as a form of activism.[1] Research has begun to explore how activist groups use social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.

See this article for tips on how to organize and facilitate effective meetings.

If you are working in support of a group that you don’t belong to (for example, refugees, women or people of colour), it’s important that you listen and learn a lot. Instead of leading and making decisions, you should work to address the priorities set by the community.

Racism: Here are  11 Things people can do to be real anti-racist allies

LGBTQ2S:  Solidarity with LGBTQ2S communities

The resource link here explains how and why discrimination and oppression are deeply rooted in our society and its institutions. We can learn to become aware of the multiple layers of oppression and privilege which most of us experience, and this helps us to oppose oppression. OPIRG-Ottawa also offers Anti-Oppression workshops.

Direct action occurs when a group takes an action which is intended to reveal an existing problem, highlight an alternative, or demonstrate a possible solution to a social issue. This can include nonviolent and less often violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action participants. Examples of non-violent direct action (also known as nonviolent resistance or civil resistance) can include boycotts, sit-ins, strikes, workplace occupations, blockades, or hacktivism, while violent direct action may include political violence, sabotage, property destruction, or assaults. By contrast, electoral politics, diplomacy, negotiation, and arbitration are not usually described as direct action, as they are politically mediated. Non-violent actions can include civil disobedience, and may involve a degree of intentional law-breaking where persons place themselves in arrestable situations in order to make a political statement. Some examples of civil disobedience include blocking a road or staying at the site of a rally after the police have told people to leave.