If you’re worried about climate collapse, and/or think that people shouldn’t be discriminated against, deported, pushed into poverty, or subject to genocide, owing to the colour of their skin, religion, place of birth, sex, sexuality or disability, but you don’t know where to begin in articulating these concerns or calling for change, this article is for you. We need everyone to move beyond just recycling and voting. It’s time to get organised. By this I mean, start being actively involved in coordinated efforts to look after your community and challenge the power structures that uphold capitalism, colonialism, social inequality and fossil fuel hegemony.
The truth is, while recycling and voting are important, we all need to be doing a lot more if anything is going to change. And things need to change, fast.
The great news is, there are so many different ways to get involved, you can definitely find one that works for you. So if shutting down an arms factory or oil rig isn’t your gig, don’t worry, keep reading. I’m going to lay out a dozen other ways you can get more politically active today. Because this movement needs everyone, and that includes you.
A quick note on why. We are past awareness-raising. Everyone knows that things are bad; we can feel it in the crunch in our budgets, the increased policing of our bodies, the vitriol on our news feeds, the rising degrees on our weather apps. We can see it in the billionaire buy outs of Western ‘democratic’ elections and the complicity of ‘civilised’ nations in the systematic siege, starvation and genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. The degree to which we know things really doesn’t matter. You don’t need to be an expert, at all, and certainly don’t let fear of insufficient expertise put you off from trying to make positive changes in your community.
If you recognise circumstances need to change, you are in the majority. And if this majority recognised the power it has, together we could change everything. Recent research has shown that ‘a huge 89% majority of the world’s people want stronger action to fight the climate crisis’, but don’t take action to demand this of their governments, because they think they’re in the minority. It is very important to understand that we are not. We are a social species, ‘instinctively drawn to majority views’ and we ‘are also more likely to do something if [we] think others are doing it too’. Therefore, understanding that we are part of the majority who want change, and can achieve it together is essential. Imagine what would happen if 89% of the population of any city, country, or continent took coordinated action to demand policy change – virtually any demand would have to be met by the governing power.
One more ‘why’ before we get to ‘how’: getting organised is liberating and empowering. It can also be frustrating, slow, fun, silly, and a whole host of other things too. But realising that politics isn’t just something that happens to you, but something you can change and shape with your own and shared efforts is life-changing. Understanding that the rhetoric of ‘I’m just one person, what can I do?’, or ‘these issues are just too big to change’, or ‘it’s too complicated and I’m too busy’ have been carefully curated by individuals with vested interests in a maintained status quo is crucial. These ideas don’t hold up, and they certainly won’t protect you from climate disaster, or the gradual erosion of your rights. You can do so much, in coalition, as part of a community. And doing so, building community power, taking collective action, affecting local or national politics, changing the status quo, is so, so empowering.
Though I encourage everyone who reads and takes something from this article to start small, hopefully bit by bit, political engagement and actively working towards a better world becomes a way of life, rather than just one more thing you have to do. Over time, perhaps the practices below move from more than just additions to your routine, and instead fundamentally alter your engagement with those around you, and perhaps shift your perspectives on consumption, work, and what we owe to one another. By practicing pre-figurative politics – the idea of embodying the decision-making practices, culture and kinship we want to see in the world we aim for in our organising to get there – we can create small pockets of the world we hope to see eventually, today.
So, the big question – what can you do, and where to begin?
Firstly, ask yourself, what matters most to you?
This might be climate justice, women’s rights, anti-racism, reducing class inequality, migrant justice, biodiversity loss, protecting democracy from corruption, the list is endless. The list is also inextricably interconnected. This is good news, because while every system of oppression is connected in a vast web, if you work on untangling even just a tiny corner of that web, you help the process of unravelling the entire thing.
Also ask yourself, what are my skills? Are you a good researcher, baker, painter, conversationalist, coder, cook, photographer, tiktoker, or writer? Are you determined, compassionate, helpful, loud? Are you good at thinking outside the box, or can you make a great cup of tea? It’s really important to recognise that you bring something valuable and unique that people around you will benefit from, and that they would love for you to share by bringing it to the movement – even if you’re not sure what it is yet.
Once you have established what is most important to you and what skills you possess, work through the options below to see which ones you think would suit you in advocating for the issues you care about.
Amplify the issue online
This one is kind of the bare minimum. If you have a social media presence, use it to share information and actions happening in relation to issues you care about. If you are really worried about what other people who follow you might think, consider if this is more important to you than the issue itself? And also remember you can share posts to your ‘close story’ or hide your stories from certain people if you are not ready to have difficult conversations about an issue while you’re just getting started.
Following climate and social justice accounts online, and sharing their posts, will not only help you learn more and amplify the reach of those already working on these issues, but will also help you identify who in your networks is similarly concerned about the issues, so you can complete some of the following steps together. But, don’t stop after sharing – amplifying campaigns is not a substitute but a supplement to getting involved too.
Attend a march
Marches, or stationary demonstrations are a perfect way to dip a toe in the pool of climate and social justice organising. Most organisers put in lots of effort to ensure they are as accessible as possible, from sharing a shorter march route to handing out face masks and having a designated welfare volunteer(s). Marches are a great way to meet lots of experienced organisers, get energised through the momentum and shared beliefs of the crowd, and learn more about the issues you’re protesting through speeches. All you really need to do is show up. If you want to bring an eye-catching sign or placard all the better, this could be a great way to begin conversations with other people attending and make connections and friends.
Marches are generally legal, there may be police presence at some, depending on their size, context and target, but most proceed without police intervention. If you are worried about the risk of arrest, there are lots of resources to help you remember your rights, but it is unlikely you’ll need them. Nevertheless, to make your experience as comfortable as possible, always try to attend marches with a friend or in a group, and bring snacks, water, a mask, suncream and a raincoat – you are more likely to need these than a bustcard (a card reminding you of your rights).
Marches are not the be all and end all of activism though. They are just a beginning. They’re where we go to meet others, and remember we are not alone in our calls for a better world. They’re where we go to draw motivation and hope from the fact others are working towards change too, and to meet other people and learn about groups we could get involved in ourselves.
Volunteer with a local community group
If you’re relatively new to activism and political organising, another great way to get started is by helping out in your local community. Why not volunteer an hour or two a week to help out at a local foodbank, clothes drive, shelter, repair cafe, library, charity shop or community centre. These activities are relatively low pressure, and don’t require specialist skills or a large time commitment, but you will get to know a lot more about your community, its members, and which issues are most important to other people around you.
Community care is one of the most powerful things you can do in the attention economy, where ad-driven companies and services vie constantly for every second of our scarce attention, and legacy media produces headlines so horrifying they are intended to keep you in a state of overwhelm and paralysed doomism indefinitely. Putting that thirty minutes you might usually (doom) scroll on Instagram, X or YouTube into your local community centre, is an act of resistance.
Such community care is also a central pillar to prefigurative politics – just imagine how different the world would be if governments, or in fact everyone, acted with the same consideration for people’s needs and potential as the leader of your local food bank, refugee group, or library. These community carers have a lot we can learn from, so consider spending just a few hours of your week or your month getting to know them and helping out the most vulnerable in your neighbourhood.
If you decide you want to change the policies (local or national) that impact those in your community, it’s time to join a local action group…
Join a local action group
Chances are someone is already organising around the issue(s) you care about, near you. Take stock of what local groups there are nearby, and what kind of events or actions they organise – campaigning, lobbing, direct actions, etc. Then, I would recommend bringing a friend and going to several different groups’ welcome talks, so you can compare and contrast to see which one feels like the best fit for you. There is no one-size fits all to activism, so don’t be discouraged if you have been to one or two talks and don’t love the vibe, try a third, it might be just what you’re looking for. The more engaging you find the group dynamic, the more suited to you the action style, the more likely you are to keep coming back, and that’s the key.
These groups will vary so widely, it’s hard to make generalisations here. But, broadly, the groups I am referring to by ‘action groups’ are those trying to secure policy change by targeting the people with the power to make policy decisions or by working to broaden the range of ideas that voters and policy-makers find acceptable (the Overton window), or by directly shutting down the industries culpable for climate crimes and crimes against humanity the object to. For example, groups lobbying their local council to divest from arms investments, or groups running advertising campaigns on the need to tax extreme wealth rather than cutting welfare benefits to spread awareness, or groups involved in more hands on direct action at oil, gas, and arms sites.
Being part of a local action group doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be super confident or take part in lots of actions though. There are so many roles within organising. For example, if you join a local climate group, the list of jobs that need doing will include: writing meeting agendas and newsletters, booking meeting spaces, organising actions, creating props (e.g. banner/placard painting), taking minutes in meetings, buying or making snacks, fundraising, outreach, research, writing chants and speeches, social media, photography, the list goes on. Don’t be put off if you don’t match the stereotypical version of a (climate) activist you have in your head – there is a roll for everyone.
If there isn’t a local group organising around what you really care about, you have two options. One, start one, and two, join another group organising around general social justice issues, help them build some extra capacity, and suggest they expand their focus to include your issue of choice.
Starting a new group might feel daunting, but if you ask some friends for help and put up some flyers, leaflets or social media posts asking if others locally are concerned, you’re sure to get some interest. Then, work out your key demands, and how you will clearly communicate them to those with the power to make the changes you want to see. Which leads me to…
Make sure your elected representatives know what you think
Your local councillors, senators, deputies, MPs, MEPs work for you. They are elected by the people and should work to represent the people’s interests and communicate their constituents’ concerns to their respective governments. So make sure, your elected officials know what your concerns are, and what you think about their voting behaviour. How? Email them, write to them, create and sign petitions to them – make it impossible for them to ignore you. (You may have guessed, I am a seasoned professional at annoying my local elected officials). You probably don’t even have to write the email yourself, lots of climate and social justice organisations understand that people are short for time, and create templates that you can copy and send in less than a minute. So going forward, make sure you do!
It might sometimes be tempting to feel that writing to our elected officials is pointless, that no matter how many emails we send or petitions we sign, they have no impact. This isn’t true. Because, elected officials – generally – want, nay, need to be elected again. Now if just one constituent wrote in and said, ‘I want to you break the party line and vote in favour of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, or I promise I will not vote for you in the next election’, a government official might brush it off as a minority view. If, say, 50% of their electorate wrote to them to express the same sentiment, they would be forced to take a different view. The bottom line in politics across the majority of nation states is that losing votes is bad. If we do not let our elected officials know which issues we care enough about to base our voting behaviour on, they will walk the party line. So, let them know.
Join the local branch of your chosen political Party
Another way to begin in political organising, is to join the political party that most aligns with your values. Then join the local branch and try to get the message of the Party out to a wider audience. This is political organising in its most traditional sense. Local parties have meetings, run events, fundraise, stand candidates for election, canvas, leaflet, ultimately all to the end of trying to get their candidates elected. These local parties are often great introductions to organising, many have been established for a long time, and there will be lots of experienced volunteers to show you the ropes.
However, many people are feeling disenfranchised with electoral politics, especially at the moment, and are choosing to take more of an activist route joining local action groups, as mentioned above. Yet, electoral politics are still how the majority of nation states are governed. Thus, if progressive folks give up on the system and don’t stand as alternative candidates and don’t fundraise and canvas effectively for those candidates, we are setting ourselves up for more major own-goals.
I live in the UK, where the threat of a populist-right Reform government at the next general election terrifies me. A look across the pond should be enough to explain why. The Democrats ran a lazy campaign, while the richest men in the world supercharged the Republican’s, and now the people of the US are paying for it. In their environment, in their healthcare, in the dismantling of their government checks and balances, in the weakening of the dollar, in the violence they experience at the hands of the state while standing up for their neighbours against raids and abductions. Look further North across the pond, or indeed across the Channel, and we find examples of just how impactful effective (traditional) political campaigning can be. In Canada, earlier this year, Mark Carney’s Liberal Party scooped a victory from the jaws of defeat, beating the Conservative Party who had been leaps and bounds ahead just months before, after appealing to widespread national fears in relation to Trump and Canada’s sovereignty. In France, last year, several leftist groups came together very rapidly in a broad electoral alliance – the Nouveau Front populaire, New Popular Front (NFP) – to prevent the far-right National Rally winning a majority. Instead the NFP won more seats than National Rally or Macron’s Ensemble.
All this to say, when people organise very strategically around elections, they can achieve a lot even in a very short time frame – and keep bad parties out of power. However, consistency and the effective frequency of campaign messaging remains crucial in the long run – especially when your opponents can rely on donations in the millions. If you feel that the majority of political parties don’t represent your best interests, get involved asap with the ones that do. And make sure as many people that you know, and that you can talk to, are voting for the party representing your interests and defending your and the planet’s rights.
Put your money where your mouth is: consumption, BDS and donations
Maybe you don’t have a lot of time for getting involved hands-on with a local party, community or action group. Fair enough, there are lots of reasons why life may be simply too busy, especially for those with childcare or caring responsibilities. But, you do probably have control over how you spend your money day in, day out. Voting for change with your wallet can make a huge difference too.
Part one of putting your money where your mouth is really asking yourself: does where you spend your money align with your beliefs? For example, if you believe that everyone deserves the human right to earn a living wage and to work in safe conditions, is this compatible with buying products from ultra-fast fashion labels such as Shein, Boohoo, Temu, etcetera, and online hyper-convenience stores like Amazon? All of whom mistreat, underpay and intimidate the people who make such low prices possible. It is worth remembering items on these sites are not actually that cheap, it is just someone else paying the price. If this does not align with your values, consider changing your consumption habits to consciously choose to buy from B-Corp businesses who are putting in the effort to ensure ethical supply chains over the temptation of convenience.
Part two of putting your money where your mouth is, is boycotting unethical brands, banks and companies all together. There are plenty of reasons to boycott companies, from complicity in the ethnic-cleansing of Palestinians, to fuelling climate collapse, to their working to undermine and endanger the rights of LGBTQIA+ people. Whatever the reason, as money makes this world go round, choosing to withhold all business from a company results in a direct loss of profit for them. This is one of the easiest, and most effective acts of political resistance you can undertake.
Part three of putting your money where your mouth is, is donating to the causes you believe in. Perhaps you’re too busy to get involved with meetings or demonstrations, perhaps in-person actions and disruptions are not accessible to you physically. Either way, if you still want to support a group and their objectives, contributing through a donation will do a lot of good, whether it’s an established political party or a direct action group. Grassroots groups especially run on tiny, tight budgets – any help will be highly appreciated, and go directly back into their work they are doing. Additionally, donating to mutual aid fundraisers is another great way to directly redistribute resources to those most in need. It’s a practice of community care, that ensures we protect and support the most vulnerable amongst us, and it’s an example of the prefigurative politics we so desperately need.
Make art
This one is fairly self-explanatory. The issues you care deeply about, make art about them : paintings, graphics, songs, poems. Then, share it everywhere. Absolutely sell it if you like, but if your aim is to get as many people caring about the issue as you can, you want as many people as possible to see it: post it online, perform it at fundraisers, turn it into stickers, viral tiktok sounds, make posters, put it in a zine, then distribute it as far and as wide as you can. Art can be such a powerful tool of resistance, because it takes time in a capitalist economy, because it stirs emotion and invokes action in others, because the act of creating it flies in defiance of the fear, apathy, and overwhelm those in power want you to feel, so you don’t engage, and so you don’t get organised.
Finally, bring friends, and take breaks
Getting started can be daunting so, for all the above, ask a friend to try it with you. You’ll be more confident and crucially, in activism, it really is a case of the more, the merrier. In mass movements, numbers count. Especially as we have so much to do. As climate activist Mikaela Loach writes ‘there is a lot of work to be done…Currently, that huge workload is being shouldered by too few people. It’s a recipe for burnout. Yet, for the amount of people who care, the workload is not unmanageable’ (It’s Not That Radical, DK, 2023: 207). If you care – which you probably do if you’ve read this far(!) – please, please get started, use this guide, get involved, and help shoulder this load.
Rest too, please take time to rest, take breaks, and take care of yourself. But take care too not to conflate self-care with burying your head in the sand – ignoring the reality at hand is the very opposite, it is careless. Rest so you can come to this work hopeful, energised and ready to do what it takes to change the world – whatever that looks like for you.
Conclusion
I hope, if you’ve made it this far in the article, that at least one of these methods of getting organised (though this list is by no means exhaustive) has resonated with you. Because, if we are to stop the climate crisis, protect democracies the world over, secure peace in current war zones and reduce inequality globally, we need so many more people to get organised.
We need you, and we need you engaged and empowered. We need you to have hope.
As Rebecca Solnit wrote in her foundational Hope in the Dark (2004) ‘Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope’. I would add, hope is impossible without action too, so no wonder so many are feeling hopeless right now. It is through community building and mutual aid, through striving towards a fairer place with better politicians and kinder policies, through resistance to oppressive forces, through the prefigurative politics of organising, that we glimpse the world we’re working towards, and derive the hope that makes today bearable.
Gil Scott-Heron probably wasn’t wrong when he wrote ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’. The powerful are unlikely to want to broadcast their possible, though not promised, defeats. However, the Revolution may yet be livestreamed, don’t just watch it, get involved and bring a friend. If not now, then when?
Be Curious
- Ask your friends and family which issues are most important to them?
- Ask a friend to try some of these getting started steps with you
- Share this article in your network if it was useful to you
- Think of other ways you could begin to get organised – join your trade union, join an anti-raid group, begin a political book club, offer to share some of the caring duties of your friends. The list above is absolutely non-exhaustive, be curious about other ways you could create change.
- Have a look for groups organising on climate and social justice near you
- Check out these great books on organising and successful past mass movements: Hope in the Dark (Solnit, 2004), It’s Not That Radical (Loach, 2023), Freedom is a Constant Struggle (Davis, 2016)
- Check out this guide for setting up an anti-raid group by Haringey Anti-Raids
