COMMUNITY ORGANISING – what is it and how can it benefit you
When communities work together, the possibilities for positive change are endless. Community organising is the work of bringing people together to take action around their common concerns. Community organisers reach out and listen, connect and motivate people to build their collective power. When people are organised, communities get heard and power begins to shift creating real change for good.
“I decided to become a community organiser ... Change won't come from the top, I would say. Change will come from a mobilized grass roots.” Barack Obama
In March we are offering four separate bitesize sessions exploring the framework and principles that underpin community organising and how it relates to other approaches. You are welcome to attend every session as a series or just attend the ones that suit you, as each session is different. Each session needs to be booked separately to secure your FREE place.
· 9th March 9.00 – 9.45: What is Community Organising? Exploring the framework and principles that underpin community organising and how it relates to other approaches. It will help you begin to understand what community organising involves and what it looks like in the real world.
· 16th March 9.00 – 9.45: An Introduction to Listening. Exploring what listening is and why community organising always starts with listening.
· 23rd March 9.00 – 9.45: Training & Tea – An Introduction to Power. Power is at the heart of community organising - Find out why power (and the building of it) so important to community organising.
· 30th March 9.00 – 9.45: Training & Tea – The Power of Stories. Take a look at the power of stories and how important story telling is in community organising.
Simon Redding, Co-founder and Director of Monkey Park Community Enterprise, shares his experience of Community Organising in Chesterfield:
“I have been organising in Brampton since 2014, leading to the foundation of Monkey Park. Monkey Park has a target to listen to 10 per cent of the Brampton community in the next year. Last year that also led to the creation of the Brampton Community Support Network, for COVID response.
“Loundsley Green Community Trust was set up in 2011 and, from 2014 to17, the Trust hosted four full time paid community organisers. We provided all the facilities and support that they needed and worked with the National Organisers team to help these organisers to get through their Level 3 qualifications:
- In Dunston, residents helped to organise a lot of groups, centring on the library.
- In Holme Hall many initiatives were organised with SureStart, the school and residents. This led to the foundation of Holme Hall Unite, the creation of the community garden (with M&S support) and the negotiation of a community hub.
- In Barrow Hill, the community trust worked with the social action hub in Sneinton to train local 13 to 17 year old young people for the full modules. They completed the introduction, listening skills & power dynamics and were starting to go out into the community to galvanise action; since then the community trust has been focused on co-design & fundraising to create large new community facilities
“I'd be very supportive of any new community organising activity in our town and would be happy to share lessons learned.”
This training is being delivered for Community Chesterfield by Community Organisers. Community Organisers is a national charity, and the membership body and training organisation for community organising in England. They are inspiring thousands of people to get involved in community organising practice to join the growing movement of people up and down the country coming together; taking action – whether setting up a new community-led housing project, lobbying for better public transport, challenging cuts to health services, or establishing community-owned enterprises – people who are transforming their neighbourhoods for good.
The National Academy of Community Organising is a collective of local organisations and independent trainers that provide quality assured training and support for people interested in community organising. Their training courses equip people to develop their understanding and practice of community organising so that together we will transform communities for good.
The training is free to University of Derby staff and students with a connection to Chesterfield, as well as those working at or volunteering for Derbyshire-based not for profit community organisations helping people in Chesterfield.
To book your place visit our Eventbrite page here.