Power and the organized community. The basics of community organizing

Source: John LeMasney

On March 12 we held a workshop for the Illyés Sándor Student College of the Eötvös Lóránd University Faculty of Education and Psychology (ELTE PPK). The course Activism is organized by students studying community development and pedagogy. Through asking the participants to elaborate solutions to two social issues, our aim with Bálint Vojtonovszki was to highlight the difference between activism and community organizing, and give an overview of the process and key concepts of organizing. Then we identified community organizing among the four types of community intervention: service provision, advocacy, community development and community organizing.


THE AGENDA OF THE WORKSHOP

17.00-17.10 INTRODUCTION

17.10-18.20 THE FOUR TYPES OF COMMUNITY INTERVENTION. In small groups, participants elaborated possible solutions for two social issues. Through analyzing the possible solutions, together with the participants we highlighted the differences between activism, advocacy, service provision, community development, and community organizing. What is power? How can we use our own power to the benefit of people in marginalized positions?

18.20-18.50 THE PROCESS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING. What do people need to become organized? Why is it good to be organized? How did Alinsky organize? What organizing techniques do you identify from the example? Alinsky critique - What is the difference between a movement and community organizing?

18.50-19.00 CLOSE

Reading:
Susan Stall and Randy Stoecker (1998): Community Organizing or Organizing Community? Gender and the Crafts of Empowerment. The feminist critique of the Alinsky model.
Gary Delgado (1998): The Last Stop Sign. Community organizing and movements. Differences, opportunities.

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Power and the organized community. The basics of participatory democracy.

Initiated by the Autonómia Foundation, we gave a training today with Bálint Vojtonovszki for young Roma and non-Roma who want to apply for the European Union's Youth In Action funds. Our aim was to help participants gain new skills so that they can more effectively reach out to people living in their settlement, involve them in the project preparation process and have more people take a role in the implementation of the project.

Participants increased their knowledge in:
- techniques to increase group cohesion
- community needs surveys: listening tours and one-to-ones
- organizing skills and building the organization
- a good leader and their responsibilities
- facilitation techniques, role of a moderator, how to cope with tension in group discussions, putting together the agenda
- involving new people in group work and recruit members
- power

TRAINING AGENDA

9.00-9.25: INTRODUCTION

9.25-9.35: COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES. We lay down the principles we want to use when we communicate in the group, thus we learn a technique to moderate a group discussion.

9.35-10.10: IDEAL SETTLEMENT - STRUGGLE FOR POWER
We use the communication principles in the group work, and in an activity we create a situation when community members cannot realize their urban development ideas due to external influence.

10.10-10.25: ORGANIZED COMMUNITY I.
We collect ideas about how a community can become stronger and more effective in representing their interest towards decision-makers.

10.25-10.45: BREAK

10.45-11.15: ORGANIZED COMMUNITY II.
Techniques to involve new people. Introducing the listening tour. We collect ideas how we can identify community issues, involve new members and build the organization.

11.15-11.35: ONE-TO-ONE
Practicing one-to-ones as part of the listening tour.

11.35-12.00: FIRST GROUP MEETING I.
What is a good meeting like? What is the role of the moderator? How can participants contribute to a successful meeting? How do you facilitate a meeting?

12.00-13.00: LUNCH BREAK

13.00-14.15: FIRST GROUP MEETING II.
Preparing the meeting. Elaborating the recruitment plan and the agenda of the meeting.

14.15-14.45: POWER
What is power? Scale line.

14.45-15.00: CLOSE

Thanks to Marci Gosztonyi for brainstorming about the training concept.

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Our young democracy

Hungary is a young democracy. It will be a healthy and real democracy when more and more social classes and groups will be able to influence and participate in the decision-making processes. In order for this to happen, people usually excluded from decision-making should be able to formulate their demands, get to the table of the decision-makers through community power, and challenge social inequality through democratic means. With a united voice and good tactics, they can achieve real representation. How can we use community organizing to enhance real democracy in Hungary? What is power? Is community organizing only confrontation? This interview with me on a Hungarian community radio station Civil Radio tells us more about these topics.

Civil Rádió: Demokrácia MOST! 2013. január 30., Part 1 (in Hungarian)
Civil Rádió: Demokrácia MOST! 2013. január 30., Part 2 (in Hungarian)

This post is the third in a series where I collect what I like in community organizing in the U.S. "Democracy is not an end but the best means toward achieving these values [equality, justice, freedom, peace, a deep concern for the preciousness of human life, and all those rights and values propounded by Judeo-Christianity and the democratic political tradition]." (Saul Alinsky) Like: community organizing is the catalyst of democracy.

Read it in Hungarian.