Applying Transformative Organising approaches for more effective movement building.
How do we move from organising in silos to building lasting alignments? From fighting short-term campaigns to advancing a long-term agenda for structural change? From a narrow view of power to an expansive one — and from protesting on the outside to building governing power? Designed and delivered by the European Community Organising Network (ECON), this training will help you tackle these questions by developing your practice through the lens of Transformative Organising methodology.
This training focuses on Transformative Organising — an emerging tradition that builds on decades of movement focused practice. Developed by US-based organiser Steve Williams, most fully articulated in his essay Demand Everything, and being actively shaped for the European context by ECON and others, it offers more expansive understandings of power and longer strategic time horizons than many conventional organising models.
Transformative Organising asks us to think beyond the single campaign or issue — to see organising not just as a tool for winning concessions, but as a practice of building the kind of deep, durable power that can achieve structural change. It takes seriously the question of who is at the centre of that power-building: prioritising communities “closest to the pain” of unjust systems, and working from the ground up toward genuine transformation.
Echoes of this approach can be found in ECON’s publication The Power of Organising: Stories from Community Organising Campaigns Across Europe, which brings together experiences from across the continent to explore what a more expansive, longer-term organising practice can look like in diverse European contexts.
This training will be both rooted in the theory of Transformative Organising, and hands-on in its approach — exploring how these kinds of organising skills can be applied directly in the field. You don’t need previous formal training in organising to get a great deal out of this course. And if you are already a trained organiser, this training is designed to stretch your thinking and deepen your practice.
We will explore ideas and practices related to:
The aims of the training are to help us:
Through a blend of participatory education and immersive learning we will:
Who is it aimed at?
Anyone with experience in socially engaged action addressing ecological, political and social justice issues. We embrace a broad definition of activism that includes any form of contribution to change and social and ecological justice. That might include: Resistance – action preventing further damage to ecosystems and social justice; Renewal – action focused on developing and creating alternatives for healthier societies and communities; and Building Resilience – action supporting increased resilience in communities to weather the uncertain times ahead.
The main spoken language on the course will be English.
This course is designed and delivered by ECON trainers and follows ECON training methodology.
For accessibility and venue information see <here>.
In the solidarity economy:
(See details of our approach to radical economics here)
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An Maeyens (she/her) is a facilitator and trainer with over two decades of experience in grassroots movements. She specialises in creative, inclusive agenda design and brings deep expertise on group culture, power dynamics, and transformative learning. Starting of in the anti-globalisation movement she has trained thousands in civil disobedience, supported international coalitions, and developed multilingual training programmes and toolkits. Her work spans movements, cultures, and countries, guided by a commitment to care, accessibility, and leaderful organising.
Location:
Ari’s activism began in 2002, at age 16, as a Bosnian refugee in Canada, where they founded and coordinated a group for LGBTIQ high school students and allies. They were a co-founder and leader at kolekTIRV in Croatia and Trans Network Balkan, involved in community organizing, advocacy, program management, team coordination, capacity building, education, media work, campaigns, events, fundraising, etc. In 2024, they joined the Supervisory Board of the Croatian Trade Union Collective of United Precarious Workers and Activists (SKUPA).
Beyond the Balkan region, Ari served as a Board member at Transgender Europe (TGEU), where they held roles as Secretary, Treasurer, and later Co-chair. They have also been a trainer with the Center for Artistic Activism and served on the Advisory Committee and since 2022 as a Community Care Facilitator at FRIDA — The Young Feminist Fund. Since 2024 they are the Operations Manager at Global Philanthropy Project.
Location:
Sergio (all pronouns) was born in Romania and migrated to Germany in the early 2010s. In the past, he was a social worker with homeless people and a social consultant for Eastern European migrants for various organisations. Trained as a filmmaker, he spent two years making a documentary about the ‘civic reawakening’ in Romania and the waves of protest it brought with it. In connection to this, Sergio is currently co-steering the development of an online open-source participative knowledge production platform on activism in Romania. Over the past nine years, Sergiu has offered his skills to various journalists, grassroots collectives and campaigns, mostly working within the labour rights, climate justice, international solidarity and anti-authoritarian movements in Germany and Romania. Nonetheless, his biggest focus since 2020 has been his work as an organiser with the anarcho-syndicalist Free Workers Union, where he focuses mostly on organising Romanian migrant workers on construction sites, in factories and in the agricultural field.
Ulex: del Llatí, (argelaga en català) nom:
1. Arbust espinós de fulla perenne i floració, amb gran capacitat de regeneració i resistència. Les seves pues s’obren en entrar en contacte amb el foc i torna a brollar dels tocones carbonitzats. Planta successional que creix bé en condicions difícils. Millora la fertilitat del sòl mitjançant la fixació de nitrogen, preparant el terreny per a una renovada biodiversitat.
2. Una opció tradicional per a encendre focs. Crema amb intensitat i lluentor.
3. Un projecte en xarxa que aporta nutrició i fertilitat als moviments socials europeus a través de la formació
