Actions Meeting Wednesday April 28
Attendees
Who |
Roles / Groups |
Max |
Facilitator |
Danny |
XR Illawarra, XR Sydney Media and Messaging |
Jane M |
XR Vic, XR Aus Media and Messaging |
Kelly |
XR WA Actions |
Ronny |
KARLA Affinity Group (SA) |
Shaun |
Money Rebellion |
Julie |
XR WA, XR Aus Mobilisation |
James |
XR Newcastle, National Fuel Blockade |
Lee |
XR Brisbane Actions |
Sam |
XR Illawarra, XR Sydney Actions |
Sandy |
XR Marion LG (SA) |
Absent:
- XR Victoria Actions
- XR Tasmania
- XR ACT
I note we were able to get a diverse mix of groups represented at the meeting this week.
Meeting Plan / Agenda
The main goals of the meeting were to interconnect members of the various groups, building trust across state boundaries, and clarify the shared purpose we should hold in a national Actions Group.
The goal of interconnecting actions rebels, building trust and communication across state boundaries was worked towards by incorporating participatory meeting processes (the Impromptu Networking and Nine Why’s) for the majority of the meeting.
Shared Purpose of Actions Group
In the Nine Why’s exercise rebels interviewed eachother to uncover the deeper purpose behind our actions, starting with the question of "What do you do when you work on XR actions?"
People responded with things like:
- Having a core crew with clear roles
- Have a runsheet
- Make a plan for the action
- Keep an eye out for the safety of people during the action
- Think of the messaging of the action
- Recruit people to help run the action
This was followed by interviewers then probing deeper to find the purpose behind the activities people engage in, with questions like “Why is that important to you?”. This line of questioning was then repeated several times, “Why? Why? Why?” to go deeper and deeper to the purpose.
At the end of the exercise the group came together to reflect on what the deeper shared purpose of the group was.
The core purpose(s) revealed were:
- Building a massive and powerful rebellion with lots of people in a fun and rewarding way
- Carrying out effective actions with a clear purpose and message.
-
Exerting lots of power through our actions to get the 3 demands met and to acheive climate justice.
Sub-purposes revealed were:
- Getting lots of bums on streets
- Building numbers, getting people and keeping them
- Pioneering: Doing something new and different
- Getting our message out effectively
- Having good visuals, music and creative flair
- Having clear roles and a plan
- Building the confidence and skill of rebels taking action
- Building strategic and organising ability
How to Proceed As a Group?
With these purposes revealed, I asked the attendees for their help on how to proceed.
With many national actions projects being planned at the moment, and with all participants in the actions group being busy organising their groups and projects, and often hard to reach, or hard to get information from, I find it difficult to prioritize tasks and effectively achieve the purpose of the actions group.
I explained that I have been organising the Actions group in a way that tries to provide interconnection, tension-processing and information in order that these various projects can work in alignment with the shared purpose of XR rebels in Australia, while the in-detail organising of each happens in the dedicated working groups, local groups and affinity groups that will make them happen. How best to support these projects, and proactively plan and organise for the future is the challenge.
The group provided some input on priorities for now.
These are:
-
Networking and Communication
- Get people into communication with eachother.
- Get people onto a shared platform: The Actions and Media channel on Signal.
- Hold a mix of formal “working group” meetings, and open and participatory meetings for Actions Rebels - one of each per month if possible.
- Start a strategy process.
Spring Rebellion
One part of the discussion was reserved to talk about Spring Rebellion.
At the moment I am receiving pressure from multiple people to set a date for a vaguely defined Spring Rebellion. The same people are not attending Actions WG meetings, and I am not feeling as if any help is being offered to organise the process, and the people applying pressure on me are putting their time and energy into other things. Until this changes, the Spring Rebellion will stall.
Goals for moving ahead with Spring Rebellion planning:
- Participation of groups that are able to significantly disrupt the economic hubs of Melbourne and Sydney
- A vision of what the Spring Rebellion would aim to achieve, and how we might achieve it.
- Feedback and buy-in from a diverse group of rebels across the country who will make it happen.
- People to help organise the process of visioning and date-setting of the Spring Rebellion.
- I ran this process for the Autumn Rebellion - it was quite demanding and time-consuming despite being done in a compressed way. I will need help if I am to be involved in the Spring Rebellion visioning and decision-making process.
Groups were encouraged to discuss these questions within their own actions groups so that we can start to move forwards.
I will aim to incorporate Spring Rebellion visioning into the next Actions meeting.
What’s Next?
Upcoming Meetings
- Wednesday 19th of May: Actions Visioning & Planning Meeting
- Wednesday 2nd of June: Formal Actions WG Meeting
- Wednesday 16th of June: Open Actions Meeting
Help Needed
I need people to help run the national Actions Working Group. Anyone who is enthusiastic and willing to learn is eligible.
Things I especially need help with are:
- Facilitating meetings.
- Taking notes at meetings.
- Having 1 on 1 conversations with people.
- Administering communications platforms.
Apart from that, any and all skills can be used in organising actions - if you have a skill, we can probably find a way for you to use it by involving you in one of the many actions projects going on. If you would like to help out, feel free to reach out to me by messaging me here or on signal, or emailing me at manicmax@protonmail.com .
Questions?
Please post below, or email me at manicmax@protonmail.com