Read on Twitter
As we race towards the end of a really tough year I thought I’d do a thread for the campaigners - the people who believe we can organise our way past any problem. We’re normally right and that’s both our superpower and our greatest weakness. This year we hit a wall. Hard.
I don’t think the activist community gave ourselves a whole heap of time to process, we just got to work. I love us for it, but if you’re trying to carve out some time to think about the year and campaigns ahead here are some resources and reflections in the hope they help.
This is one of the best bits of analysis I read all year, about what changemakers need to learn about power. If you’re in organising, philanthropy, politics, advocacy or think tanks I think you’ll like it a lot. https://www.niskanencenter.org/what-democrats-can-learn-from-the-republicans-about-political-power/
The very best thing I read all year was @bulldogshadow’s essay for the weary with its reminder we will get through all this sorrow if “we choose abundance over scarcity, inclusion over violence, and love over death". https://westernstatescenter.medium.com/for-the-weary-a-message-from-the-mountaintop-1968-155e87f934e6
Here are some thoughts from the start of the year from a talk for the @wellcometrust. As we approach both mass vaccine roll-out and mass burnout I think they've all stood the test of time but it is lessons 5 and 10 I'll be fixating on in 2021. https://www.acevo.org.uk/2020/02/10-things-you-can-do-to-tell-better-stories-in-the-2020s/
I know lots of activists are getting obsessed with framing and language but if we ever needed evidence that words aren't spells / cure-alls and that we need powerful images and tunes too then surely it's this political ad, the best of 2020 in my view. https://twitter.com/ericswalwell/status/1322161334696386560?s=20
I wrote this with @RDarlo about everything we've learnt in the last few years leading campaigns on internationalism and #UKAid. There is a whole load of evidence linked to in the piece but the basic summary is simple: tell love stories. https://www.globaldashboard.org/2020/03/30/12-rulesforthinkinggloballyduringcovd19/
I love Changed my Mind from the @depolproject, @aligoldsworthy and co. If we can’t get better at admitting this we’re absolutely sunk, so let’s get excellent at it. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/changed-my-mind/id1441157722
If @Imi_Ahmed has taught me anything this year, it’s the absolute truth of his mantra that *digital is different*. This podcast with @Tannerjc lays out @CCDHate's thinking brilliantly as does all the team's research this year. Check it all out. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/haters-gonna-coin-it/id1296411812?i=1000489902136
In retrospect, I wouldn’t recommend setting up a virtual think tank under lockdown but I’m proud of the #OurOtherNationalDebt report and the phenomenal contributors we had and how they charted the disproportionate impact of coronavirus on different people. https://www.ourothernationaldebt.com
The #globaldev and humanitarian sectors have *so much* work to do to understand and dismantle racism and colonialism. I come back to this piece from @hmryder again and again. #BlackLivesMatter 
https://www.globaldashboard.org/2020/06/29/a-blueprint-for-black-lives-matter-in-the-development-sector/
https://www.globaldashboard.org/2020/06/29/a-blueprint-for-black-lives-matter-in-the-development-sector/
The summer saw a whole host of fascinating research about relationships, neighbourliness and mutual aid from the @Rships_Project and others. I tried to consolidate a lot of it here. https://www.globaldashboard.org/2020/07/08/effective-activism/
I was proud to show up with this gang in support of @Hannah_O_Rourke and @kindacromulent's push to #HonourTheOffer. People fought for us to get access to education so we fought in turn and these freshers will fight when it falls to them, whenver that is. https://twitter.com/kirstyjmcneill/status/1295273020421025797?s=20
The standout campaign of 2019 for me was #IfWeDidThis and in 2020 the young leaders of @RECLAIMproject have smashed it again, with #ReclaimRECLAIM. https://twitter.com/RECLAIMproject/status/1315177558233747457?s=20
The team at @Collective_Psyc have been consistently on the money with their analysis about how our inner and outer worlds collide. This year’s output on scenarios, grief and mental health have been consistently superb. This thread gives a flavour. https://twitter.com/Collective_Psyc/status/1238709738000572416?s=20
This @theRSAorg podcast was me trying to lay out why we are going to be so fixated on intergenerational justice for #CovidsKids at @savechildrenuk and how we can all join the movement for good childhoods. https://bridges-to-the-future.simplecast.com/episodes/how-to-reframe-arguments-for-progressive-change
If you had your first campaign victory in 2020, I hope 2021 brings you many more. Happy New Year when it comes. https://twitter.com/kirstyjmcneill/status/1295382716695957504?s=20
