15 Nov – SPARK Advent Action

By Katherine Hogg, SPARK Project Manager

This Advent, join SPARK Social Justice for an act of kindness in the community. We will be meeting men and women seeking asylum at one of the Conversation Clubs in the city. We are also going to St Vincent’s Centre to join in their organised Christmas Kindness volunteering on Mon 12 Dec and Mon 19 Dec. Christmas Kindness Volunteering | Facebook There is also the opportunity to join in with the good work of Homeless Street Angels. Following on from this, 18-30s have the chance to reflect on their experiences and take up any appropriate campaigning activity such as writing letters to their MPs and using Twitter to draw attention to the issues raised. Those who don’t want their SPARK journey to end there can apply for the paid opportunity to become an ‘animator’.

What is an animator? Well, animators gather peers around them to make others aware of instances of injustice and exclusion in Leeds and Bradford initially. They will be trained in Catholic Social Teaching and Citizens’ ‘Broad Based Organising’ techniques. Citizens’ approach to bringing about social change is:

Step 1: Organising for Power,

Step 2: Listening for issues,

Step 3: Strategizing for Impact,

Step 4: Taking Action to get a reaction,

Step 5: Negotiating for Change.

Their community organising focuses on institutions rather than individuals although works with individuals using ‘relational power’ rather than the ‘dominant power’ of those in positions of authority. Animators will work with Citizens’ organisers to campaign on more than one issue over time. They will receive training on techniques such as ‘power mapping’ as a way of understanding who has power in the community and who needs to be involved to create change. They will also learn effective negotiating and the value of one-to-one meetings in person which in these days of social media are a ‘radical act’!