Social change is a collective process involving interwoven principles of consultation, reflection and informed action. It cannot be embarked upon lightly, but nor can it be done all at once by one person alone. It is by its very nature, a cumulative process.
The Team at The Building Movements Project have produced a very useful and interesting handbook targeting the not-for-profit sector, to inform the incorporation of social change models in social service work. Access the document here.
Although social change is naturally organic and adaptive and there is no prescriptive approach to effect the change you want to see in the world, there are some common principles that can help guide us:
- Understanding Systems,
- Understanding People, and
- Understanding Groups.
These principles are set out in clear terms by The Leadership Centre for Local Government, in The Art of Changemaking. Access this here: Atkinson, J., Loftus, E., Jarvis, J. (2015). The Art of Change Making. The Leadership Centre, London.
The Story of Stuff Project
In December 2007, Annie Leonard and her friends at Free Range Studios uploaded a 20-minute movie about the way we make, use, and throw away Stuff on the internet, unleashing a torrent of pent-up demand for honest conversation about the impacts of our consumer-crazed culture on people and the planet. In the six years since The Story of Stuff was released, Annie’s ‘cartoon about trash’ has been viewed more than 40 million times worldwide.
The Story of Stuff website has a wealth of resources relating to social action including blogs, films and podcasts. It is a call to action for people to make change in their communities.