Change Module Project Choice 1 – Letter Writing
One of the key ways an individual can communicate with a person of power is to write them a letter/email. It is said that for each letter/email a person in power receives, they consider it to be equivalent to about ten people who think in a similar way the letter writer. For this assignment, you will write a letter to a person in a position of power about an issue you learned about in this module.
Background
One of the key ways an individual can communicate with a person of power is to write them a letter/email. It is said that for each letter/email a person in power receives, they consider it to be equivalent to about ten people who think in a similar way the letter writer. In order to avoid having your letter put in a forgotten pile, follow the guidelines below.
Instructions:
1.Write to a person in a position of power about an issue you learned about in this unit.
If it is an issue that is specific to your city or town, write the mayor. If it is provincial write your MLA, and if it is federal (Canada-wide, global in nature) then write to your MP. If it is to do with a school issue, write either the principal or the school board. Not sure who you should write? Ask your teacher.
oming Together for Change
You have learned a great deal about the injustices in the world, some of
the strategies and movements that have brought about positive change,
and ideas on how to create a more eco-socially just world. This final unit
focuses on the process of change, and how best to bring it about.
Unfortunately, we do not often hear about all the creative change-makers
in our daily lives because “good news does not sell.” One has to search the
change makers out; something you are encouraged to do as you work to
change the world. Trying to change the world on your own can end up
being discouraging, and in the long run, not as effective as working
together with others who share your passions and convictions.
“The Story of Change” outlines one of the key ways we can bring about the
changes we want to see in order to change our society to be more ecosocially just.
According to this video below, change happens when a group of people
share a big idea for how things could be better for many people and then
work together to bring about that change, even when it means having to
“swim upstream” against the hegemony of how things are right now. The
part you play in this change-making depends on what kind of changemaker you are. The video proposes a number of different types of changemakers: investigators, communicators, builders, resistors, nurturers and
networkers. Which type are you? See your learning guide for a link to the
change-maker personality quiz; it is also below in the Sources.
Sources
http://action.storyofstuff.org/survey/changemaker-quiz/(copy and paste
the URL into a new tab)
Factors that Effect Social Change
In his book, The Sociology of Social Change, Piotr Sztompka argues that
social change occurs when several factors come together, including the
following:
the actions taken by a large number and variety of individuals;
the collective organisation within social networks;
the roles undertaken by individuals;
the level of inclusion of a social movement: types of recruitment,
gate-keeping within an organisations and so on;
a variety of specialized groups/ systems that come together to enact
different types of change; and
the local context in which change happens: location, political climate
and so on.
The first and fourth points build on what you learned in the previous
chapter; people must work together. What the video did not talk about
was the importance to having a variety of people working together;
movements for change need to embrace diversity. Not only that, but
diverse groups need to work together with other groups who share
common goals, even if they do not agree on everything
The second point focuses on how effective the organization of groups of
people, or social networks, are; being well organized is a key to taking
effective action. If are good at organization and planning, bring this skill to
the table of change makers.
Change starts at the individual level and so the actions of every single
person are important, and the talents and experiences of everyone needs
to be used; build on everyone’s strengths.
The last point is about context; what is happening in the big picture
politically, socially and economically that will influence what needs to
change and the most effective ways to go about it. That is why it is so
important to have an appreciation for, and understanding of, the
importance of history, politics and economics. The more you know, the
more effective and strategic you can be as a change-maker.
Sources
https://socialscienceinsights.com/2017/01/30/how-does-social-changehappen/
Factors that Effect Social Change
In his book, The Sociology of Social Change, Piotr Sztompka argues that
social change occurs when several factors come together, including the
following:
the actions taken by a large number and variety of individuals;
the collective organisation within social networks;
the roles undertaken by individuals;
the level of inclusion of a social movement: types of recruitment,
gate-keeping within an organisations and so on;
a variety of specialized groups/ systems that come together to enact
different types of change; and
the local context in which change happens: location, political climate
and so on.
The first and fourth points build on what you learned in the previous
chapter; people must work together. What the video did not talk about
was the importance to having a variety of people working together;
movements for change need to embrace diversity. Not only that, but
diverse groups need to work together with other groups who share
common goals, even if they do not agree on everything
The second point focuses on how effective the organization of groups of
people, or social networks, are; being well organized is a key to taking
effective action. If are good at organization and planning, bring this skill to
the table of change makers.
Change starts at the individual level and so the actions of every single
person are important, and the talents and experiences of everyone needs
to be used; build on everyone’s strengths.
The last point is about context; what is happening in the big picture
politically, socially and economically that will influence what needs to
change and the most effective ways to go about it. That is why it is so
important to have an appreciation for, and understanding of, the
importance of history, politics and economics. The more you know, the
more effective and strategic you can be as a change-maker.
Sources
https://socialscienceinsights.com/2017/01/30/how-does-social-changehappen/
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
An intergovernmental organization (IGO) is an organization make up of
sovereign member states or other intergovernmental organizations. IGOs
are also called international organizations, although that term may also
include international non-profit organizations or multinational
corporations. IGOs are established through a treaty process. Examples of
IGOs that deal with issues affecting eco-social justice issues include the
United Nations and its various branches, the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical
Weapons (OPCW), and the International Renewable Energy Agency
(IRENA). There is a long list of IGOs that deal with a variety of global
issues. There is a link to a complete list in the Sources at the bottom of this
page.
If we want to see change on a global scale, then working with IGOs is a
powerful way to see this happen. You can work for them as an employee or
contractor, or lobby them to address an issue you see as important. It is a
way to have your voice heard by the world. Think of Severn Suzuki, from
British Columbia, who spoke to the United Nations when she was a
teenager representing the Environmental Childrens Organization in
1992. The year this course was written, it was Greta Thunberg whose
speech at the United Nations galvanized young people around the world
to strike for climate change. You do not need to speak at the UN to have
your voice heard; these young people worked with many others to get to
the point where they were invited to speak to the world. Many other
young people make significant contributions in their own communities
every day by collaborating with other concerned citizens.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is another
powerful IGO; this group of climate scientists from around the world are
the ones who provide us with the most up-to-date information about
climate change. They have been warning us since 1988 that human-caused
climate change is a serious problem, and that in order to properly lessen its
effects we need international cooperation; we need IGOs to work
together with all levels of governments around the world.
Sources
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/
https://library.carleton.ca/find/government-information/internationalorganizations/z-igo-list
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs)
Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) are non-profit organizations
that operate independently of any government, and usually focus on one
social, environmental, or political issue. Some well-known examples of
NGOs are Amnesty International, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders,
Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, 350.org, and the Danish Refugee
Council.
One of the main complaints people have with IGOs like the United Nations
is that they take too long to get things done and cost too much money
because there are so many people involved in decision making. Here is
where NGOs have an advantage; they are smaller and independent. This
makes them able to move quickly and more easily innovate to come up
with novel solutions to intractable problems like climate change and
education for women and girls.
NGOs have their own specific projects or lobby to have certain issues
addressed on a larger scale. They raise funds for international aid and raise
awareness of eco-social justice issues. They have a lot more freedom than
IGOs, who have to follow many more rules than NGOs.
For a nice summary of the advantages, disadvantages and effectiveness of
NGOs, watch this video from a professor of an IB Economics course:
NGOs have been criticized for doing work that governments should be
doing, thus getting governments off the hook from providing basic needs
for their citizens (like clean water). Of course, if you can give people clean
water, you should. The key question is: is the work NGOs do sustainable;
will it keep happening if the NGO leaves? How can NGOs make sure that
the work they do can be carried on by the people who live in that country
once the NGO is gone? The key is to work with the local people and their
governments to ensure sustainable development.
Sources
http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/advan-disadvan.html
https://revisesociology.com/2017/03/08/ngo-strengths-limitations/
Working Together: International Organizations and Local
Communities
Non-governmental organizations have begun to realize that in order to
have their eco-social justice projects be sustainable in the long run, they
need to work under the leadership of the people they are trying to help;
the people that already live there. In the past, NGOs founded in wealthy
countries would go to a ‘developing’ nation and try to save them. The
people running and working for the NGOs were still operating under the
assumption that they knew better, were superior to, the people they were
trying to help. This is the long arm of colonial attitudes stretching from the
1800s up till now. While this is still a problem, NGOs and other
organizations trying to help have started to ask how can we help and
support you? instead of taking over. They have figured out that in order
for lasting change to happen, the people who need help need to be in
charge of the change. If you see something that needs to change, before
jumping in and starting, ask the people who is already doing good work
and then join them. In this TED talk, Kirk Bowman argues that we do not
need any more new non-profit organizations; we just need to work with
those that already exist and cooperate with the people they aim to help.
tudents and Change
It is often the youth of a society that begin the fight for change. If we
consider the last century there have been, thus far, seven significant
student-led movements that led to broad social change.
In the 1960s it was students who led the civil rights movement in North
America. The lunch counter sit-in started with four Black college students
refusing to leave the lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina in the
United States. This was during a time when African Americans were not
allowed to eat, drink, or go to the bathroom in the same spaces as white
Americans.
Lunch counter sit-ins began all over the United States, with white
Americans joining in and sitting-in alongside African Americans as allies.
Students in universities across America led protests, strikes, and ‘sit-ins’
(where they refused to leave a building until the change they were asking
for was done). One example is from Columbia University where student
protests, strikes and sit-ins led to more inclusion of African American
students and a stop to university support of weapons research think tanks
during the Vietnam War.
In Canada, students in Quebec peacefully protested the raising of tuition
fees in 2012, sparking twelve weeks of protests. At one point there were
200,000 people in the streets during a protest parade. Although they were
not entirely successful, as tuition fees did go up, the protests did help to
keep the increase to less than originally planned.
More recently, student-led protests against sexual assault at Canadian
Universities has started to bring out much-needed changes.
Sources
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/a-not-so-quietstudent-riot
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/strike-of-2012-has-leadto-nearly-1500-in-annual-savings-per-student
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/us/student-protestmovements.html
http://www.mcgilltribune.com/legacy-student-activism/
Student Activism Across the Globe
In South Africa during the 1970s, student protesters in Soweto were
objecting to a law that mandated Afrikaans-language education, but they
set in motion a global movement against apartheid. This video, produced
by Civic Voices, tells the story of the causes and consequences of this
student movement:
As part of the anti-apartheid movement, Canada led the world in
demanding that apartheid cease. One strategy used was economic
sanctions, where countries refuse to trade with a country they putting
pressure on to change. This is an great example of a student-led movement
spreading around the world and being taken up by powerful
intergovernmental forces like the United Nations, in which Canada has
played a key role in the sphere of fighting global injustices.
Another well-known student protest took place in China in 1989. Students
were fighting for China to become a democracy. During a large protest in
Tiananmen Square, Chinese troops fired on the crowds; a death toll has
never been released but estimates are that hundreds, perhaps thousands,
of citizens were killed. This iconic image shows a brave student standing in
the path of tanks in the square just before he was shot down.
The government shut down the protest with such brutality that the
movement for democracy was, in this case, shut down. China still does not
have a democratic government; the Community Party of China still runs
China, and uses its power to make sure that people do not know what
happened at Tiananmen Square. You cannot Google search it in China, and
it is not taught in schools. Only in Hong Kong are vigils still held to
remember the Tiananmen Square massacre, although now that Hong Kong
has been returned to China the fight to keep some level of democracy in
Hong Kong continues.
Sources
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/05/us/student-protestmovements.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/04/tiananmen-squaremassacre-marked-with-hong-kong-vigil
Secondary School Student Activism
Most student activism in the past has been led by university students. That
may be changing as more and more secondary school students are leading
protests around the world. This may be because the youth of today are
more aware of world events and social issues due to their easy access to
information; they have the potential to be more informed than previous
generations. Social issues are also taught in schools; this did not occur to
the same extent in previous generations.
In Toronto during the month of April in 2019, students protested against
the government of Ontario wanting to increase class sizes. They walked
out of class, using social media to organize the protest and encourage
people to join them. Natalie Moore, a grade 12 student, shared her
story: “So I was speaking with some friends and I came up with the idea for
a walkout. And I just kind of spur of the moment made a post and had
friends across Ontario share it and it went viral.”
Similar use of social media to mobilize people has been used by the
student movement to create action around climate change. This
movement started in Sweden and has spread around the globe, with
students from the South Pacific to the Arctic skipping classes to protest
government’s failure to take tough action against the human causes of
climate change. This movement has been called the greatest threat to the
oil economy thus far, at least according to the head of OPEC (Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries; an international organization). The
following gives a sense of how this movement has spread across the globe:
The key to a successful student movement is to get the attention of adults
who hold power, and then keep motivating the adults to fight for change
alongside students. This is why Greta Thunberg is speaking to adults at
TED talks and the United Nations. Here is her Ted talk from 2017, when
Greta first hit the world stage:
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/05/biggestcompliment-yet-greta-thunberg-welcomes-oil-chiefs-greatest-threatlabel
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-student-walkoutprotest-education-1.5084024
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/walkout-student-activism1.5085582
https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/student-activismon-campus/
Getting Your Voice Heard
What are the best ways to get your voice heard by the public and those
adults who hold the power? One guide for student activists suggests that
after identifying what you are passionate about seeing changed, the next
step is to educate yourself about the issue; remember to research all sides
of an issue to get a fully informed perspective. Remember that it does not
matter what issue you choose to focus on, because oppression is
interconnected so by fighting one type of oppression you are fighting them
all.
After you have educated yourself, and hopefully some of your friends and
family too, you want to set a goal and then find peers to join you in
reaching that goal. Maybe you want to start a petition, raise public
awareness or stop a project you see as harmful.
You can find your peers at your school, in your community and by
contacting organizations that are already working on the issue you are
passionate about. After you have found, and/or created, a group of likeminded folks, create a plan and follow through. If you can get some media
coverage, even better.
Common methods of student activism include: internet activism, petitions,
getting media attention, boycotting, protests, strikes, sit-ins,
demonstrations, occupations, and civil disobedience. These are the most
common methods, but there are many other options. The websites listed
in the Sources section below are a great place to start.
Sources
https://www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/resources/student-activismon-campus/
https://beautifultrouble.org/
What Art Can Teach Us About Activism
In this spoken word performance, followed by reflection by the author,
Tran Myhre shares the insights he has learned about activism through art.
Kyle argues that art can be an entry point for people into an issue; it can
get them thinking and help raise awareness. More than that, it can open up
a conversation about organizing, which needs to happen if we want to see
social change. Individual awareness is not enough; we need to work
together to “build mass movements that can shift policy and culture” (Kyle
Myhre). According to Kyle, the creative process of art helps us to make
change; we need creative solutions to complex problems and we need to
think outside the box. This is where the creative process can really help.
Artists and activists both work to translate ideas into concrete examples
so that people can experience and feel the ideas. Our brains are more
likely to make a connection, and thus to care, about an issue if it is made
concrete and experiential. Art can help with that. It can also help to bring
issues into focus by making big issues smaller; make it local, make it small
and work from there. This is the difference between “saving the
environment” and meeting with a career adviser about the green economy
so you can make an informed choice about a career that makes a
difference. As Kyle says, “Zoom In.”
Art is a community and collaborative process, just like successful activism.
Have we said it enough in this course? Change happens when we work
together. Humans have evolved to cooperate, either for the good of all or
in some cases, for the worse. So be on the side of positive cooperation and
work for the change you want to see as part of a team. If you try to change
things on your own, you will burn out.
Lastly, just dive in!…..After looking of course – do your research.
Political Art
Throughout human history, art has commented on societal issues. Some
argue that all art is political in some way. In this mini lecture, PBS Digital
Studios provides an overview of some samples of political art from around
the world, and describes the political context that informed the works.
More recent examples of political art emerging out of oppression and
dissent come from Syria. In 2011, 15-year old Bashir Abazid and some of
his friends painted anti-government graffiti on some walls. They were
detained and tortured for over a month. As news of this got around Syria,
people were shocked and dismayed. Shortly afterwards, many more street
artists started to paint revolutionary messages and images in Syria. Many
consider this to be the start of the Syrian Revolution.
Sources
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/artwork-syrianwar_n_56eafa60e4b03a640a69e3df?guccounter=1
The Leap
In her Ted Talk, “How Shocking Events can Spark Positive Change” Naomi
Klein spoke about a grassroots movement called “The Leap” that brings
together both social and environmental justice. A grassroots movement is
one that is started by concerned individuals, not governments or elites. It
is a ‘bottom up’ not a ‘top down’ movement. Grassroots movements and
organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at
the local, regional, national, or international level.
The writing of The Leap Manifesto was started in the spring of 2015 at a
two-day meeting in Toronto attended by representatives from Canadas
Indigenous rights, social and food justice, environmental, faith-based and
labour movements along with many artists and activists. You can see that
people from a wide variety of perspectives came together to agree on
what they thought Canada needed to do to move forward.
The “Leap Manifesto” calls on Canadians to work together to make our
country a more just and environmentally sustainable society. It starts by
affirming the call for Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and then
asks that we work together to form an ‘energy democracy’ where the
people collectively control renewable energy systems as has happened in
parts of Europe.
There are 15 demands that the Leap Manifesto is calling on everyone,
including all levels of government, to meet as soon as possible:
True to a grassroots movement, there are local groups that are working
towards the goals of the manifesto. In the next chapter we will look at the
art of the Leap Movement.
Sources
The Art of the Leap
Now that you have had a brief introduction to the Leap Manifesto, let us
take a closer look at the art that has come out of this movement.
What do you notice about this poster? What does the image communicate
about the movement? What is the significance of the canoe paddles and
the whale tail? How do these images support the slogan?
What images are integrated into this poster? How do they support the
quote from the Manifesto?
This piece to me is about having the spirit of our ancestors behind us who
give gentle strength, love and kindness to our families and communities.
Its about having the courage to change cultural norms such as
indifference by creating new ways of living and being and returning back
to a place where leadership is about responsibility to all living beings.
Angela Sterritt is an artist, writer, filmmaker and journalist from the Gitxsan
Nation
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/15/canada-leapmanifesto-fossil-fuels-naomi-klein
The World is Getting Better
We have been focusing on the eco-social injustices of the world in this
course, which may have made you think things are pretty bad out there.
It’s important that you understand that the human experience has been
getting steadily better over the years. This is why it is important to
understand history, and to develop an appreciation for statistics. From a
psychology perspective, we know that the human brain pays attention to
bad news more than good news, which it sees as ‘boring’ instead of
exciting like life threatening bad news is. There is a danger in this focus on
bad news though; it can make us feel hopeless about the future and feel as
if we should just ‘live for today’ and not put out the effort to help make the
world a better place for everyone. Bad news does not inform us about all
the ways our efforts to make the world a better place are paying off.
Steven Pinker argues that we need to understand the importance of
acknowledging the steady progress humans have made in improving our
lives, and build on that foundation to keep up the good work. This TED talk
is quite philosophical and full of information, so put on your deep thinking
hat!
In order to balance out the bad news we are inundated with through the
media, you are encouraged to sign up for good news feeds. A quick
internet search will reveal that there are folks working hard to provide
good news stories; they just are not the ones that usually make it onto the
big TV news channels.
Keeping up to date on good news, and acknowledging the progress we
have made does not mean we should turn a blind eye to the struggles that
still face us. Of course horrible things are happening and we need to take
action. The good news is that we know what to do, and there is plenty of
evidence that when we cooperate and work for our well-being, we can be
very successful. That is something we can base our hopefulness on.
Hope and “Factfulness”
In his book “Factfulness” Hans Rosling goes over all the reasons why
humans have a tendency to over-emphasize bad news; our brains really
like it! It is why we think things are getting worse all over the world, when
in fact they are, overall, improving. There is less violence, less poverty,
more education, lower infant mortality rates, and the highest
immunization rates in history. Hans encourages us to seek out the good
news, the real facts, about how things have improved and are improving in
the world, and how social justice issues and basic human rights and
standards of living have been steadily getting better over the decades.
This is not to say the work is done; if it was this would be no need for a
course on how to increase eco-social justice in the world. What is very
important for you to understand is that due to people working hard to
improve the lives of others, and fighting to make the world a more just
place, things have gotten better. This means that you can base your hope
for a better future on the fact that positive change is happening and will
continue to happen if we keep up the good work.
Here is Hans, with his son Ola, with some excellent advice on how to live
your life based on “factfulness.” As you fight for eco-social justice in your
life, take their strategies for seeing the world with you.
What if we got Hans Rosling and Greta Thunberg in the same room? What
would Hans say to Greta? What would she respond with? Hans passed
away in 2017 so we will never see the two of them chatting, but since his
book “Factfulness” has been criticized for not giving enough weight to the
effect that human progress has had on the planet, it is interesting to
wonder how he might have responded to Greta’s TED talk and her speech
to the United Nations. One has years of experience behind him, and the
other has a profound sense of youthful urgency. Both of them are
passionate about making the world a better place.
Sources
https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/booksummaries/business/factfulness/
https://medium.com/wedonthavetime/the-book-factfulness-is-criticisedfor-taking-climate-change-too-lightly-6bdb12173ef5
Now What?
We have covered a wide variety of issues in this course, and have barely
scratched the surface when it comes to eco-social justice issues and
strategies for change. That said, having completed this course you are well
on your way to becoming an informed change-maker and are more
informed that your average Canadian. Knowledge is power, and power is
responsibility. What will you do with all this knowledge? The world awaits
your passion and gifts. Find them, nurture them, and share them with
others to make this world a place you want to live in. We can’t wait to see
what you do!
