This training will support participants to develop the understanding and skills required to design and deliver sustainable activism trainings which:

1. explore methods of working effectively with the personal and inner dimension of activism, helping us take better care of ourselves, equipping us to avoid burnout and to better empower ourselves for action.
2. offer tools which support more skilful inter-personal work in our groups and networks, enabling ways of organising which exemplify the values we want to realise in the world.
3. create a vibrant and supportive temporary community of activists, as a space for deep reflection, analysis, and the sharing of experience of the personal and inter-personal dimensions of our work – drawing nourishment and inspiration from each other and nature.

We aim for participants to gain the confidence and skills to design and deliver high quality shorter workshops of up to two days, and to significantly increase their understanding of the issues and facilitation skills needed to run longer residential workshops. It is also our hope that the training will create an opportunity for the development of strong peer support networks and on-going relationships in the development of sustainable activism training.

We believe that sustainable activism training needs to address all three of the above aims. To support this we will be exploring and sharing a range of relevant methodologies, design principles, and specific tools. These include:

• creating frameworks for deep reflection, analysis, and the sharing of experience;
• the application of participatory and experiential learning to sustainable activism;
• methods of opening up and holding spaces for exploring the emotional dimensions of activist experience – including strong and difficult emotion;
• creating safer spaces to support deep personal learning and transformation;
• applying mindfulness-based and reflective approaches to self-awareness and increasing emotional resilience;
• tools which integrate embodied and somatic approaches to personal and group change;
• ways of integrating the sensing, thinking, and feeling dimensions within a learning process that addresses the whole person;
• tools and approaches to working with power, oppression and conflict within groups.

Who is the training for?

The course is aimed at activist-trainers with previous facilitation/training experience who are already developing, or want to develop, trainings for sustainable activism – and are interested in the approach developed within the Sustaining Resistance project. The training is focused towards those involved in direct action, grassroots campaigning and community empowerment, addressing ecological, political and social justice issues.

Ideally participants will have participated in a Sustaining Resistance training, or be able to demonstrate a similar level of personal engagement with the inner and inter-personal aspects of sustainable activism.

We are working on grant funding to support the course. If we are successful, we may be able to offer bursary-supported places. We do not allocate places according to how much you can contribute – however we do ask participants to do what they can to generate funding to help cover the costs of the course for both themselves and others – and contribute what they can. This is important work and we hope everyone will do what they can to make it economically viable.

Note: This event will take place at the Abella site of our partner centre, close to the Ulex project.