In 2023, I was invited to design and lead a workshop titled ‘Nurturing the Groundswell’ in Derry, Northern Ireland, in partnership with Collaboration for Change and Zero Waste North West. The workshop was part of the program of The Gathering, an annual meeting of the all-Ireland network of environmental activists of the same name, and was located at The Playtrail as part of the Artitude Festival.
I had the great pleasure of spending the afternoon with a wonderful group of workshop participants. Activists with years of experience, with courageous and inspiring stories of the challenges they have faced. The workshop was also an opportunity to experiment with a new format designed to foster dialogue and relationship building. While activists share commitments to social change, they don’t always agree on ways to achieve their goals. The workshop aimed to surface different approaches and to create a space for voicing both criticism and appreciation of these differences as parts of a diverse ecology of movements working for social change.
Collaboration for Change (CfC) is a pan-Ireland network which enables grassroots activists to work together under a shared vision for a caring and resilient world that is good for people and planet. The workshop was designed to build upon and complement this ongoing work, more of which can be read about on their website and in the workshop report.
Special thanks is due to Marian Farrell from Zero Waste North West for the many hours spent with me in zoom calls and for the local preparations, and also to The Greenpeace Movement Fund. The workshop design was also inspired by my experience of on the Ecology of Social Movements course run by ULEX in November 2022. Which I also highly recommend.
Thank you to the Playhouse for permissions to use the photograph.
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