Power Shift: Online Training for Change 2021
An online training open to all young people and university students who want to shift power from corporations and the wealthy to those fighting for a more just and sustainable world. 5 - 29 July
Power Shift 2021 will be a month of digital workshops, events and other opportunities to build radical student networks. Join us to talk media, campaign strategy, facilitation skills, direct action and so much more. Get your tickets below!
Over the 4 weeks of this free participatory training you will:
Organise to win! Discover the tools, tactics and techniques needed to fight for justice wherever you are.
Learn to educate yourself: Find out about the root causes of global injustice, how Universities are complicit, and how to fight back.
Become part of a movement: Get to know other student organisers, and learn from a wide range of different campaigns.
Get your Power Shift 2021 tickets below!
Come and find out how universities are pushing students into dead end jobs that are destroying the planet and, most importantly, what you can do about it. On 29th July, we'll be launching the climate justice campaign chosen by our network in 2020.
what will your power shift look like?
Why join Power Shift?
Since March 2020, everything has changed. The pandemic has profoundly, and violently, reshaped almost every aspect of our lives - splitting apart communities, killing millions around the world and forcing millions more into poverty.
But in some ways, nothing has changed. Multinational corporations still make billions by exploiting the misery of others. Governments still brutalise the innocent and protect the wealthy and powerful. People are still made to suffer for the colour of their skin, their country of birth and the size of their wallets. While far from the worst offenders, UK Universities were and are not innocent in this - forcing students into crowded, unsafe halls of residence so they could collect rent, investing huge sums of money in companies which profit from climate destruction, and choosing to uphold hostile environment policies rather than help destitute migrant students left reliant on food banks for basic necessities.
But throughout this, students have been fighting back. Adapting to the difficulties caused by social distancing to come up with innovative new methods of distanced activism. Overcoming pandemic-forced isolation to build solidarity not just with other students, but with University staff and local communities. Pushing through the despair of the pandemic to visualise, and fight for, a better tomorrow. We’ve seen Universities divest from fossil fuels, rent breaks won, and a huge surge in students becoming politically active. We’ve also seen students play an important part in broader movements, from Black Lives Matter to the fight against gendered violence, to the growing demands of #killthebill. Where the political and educational establishment have failed, students have stepped up, building solidarity and taking to the streets, whether physically or otherwise.
These successes show a way forward for the student movement, but only if we learn from them. That’s why this July we’re hosting Power Shift 2021 to bring together student organisers and campaigners from across the UK for a series of free online workshops, discussions and more. You’ll get the chance to build up your network, and get training and advice from experienced political organisers; learning how to plan, fight and win campaigns for social and climate justice.
To win, our organising needs to be strategic, creative and coordinated - and it needs to take root everywhere.
Join us at Power Shift to strengthen the fight at your university.
Tickets
Week 1
July 5th 4-5.30pm Power + Privilege in Organising Spaces
July 6th 4-5.30pm Fossil Free: Divest
July 7th 4-5.30pm Intro to Facilitation
July 8th 7-8.30pm Climate, Borders & Solidarity Fishbowl
July 9th 4-5.30pm Divest Borders: Dismantling the Border Industry
Week 2
July 12th 4-5.30pm Research for Campaigns
July 13th 4-5.30pm University Governance Structures
July 14th 4-5.30pm Building a Movement
July 15th 4-5.30pm Campaign Strategy
July 16th 4-5.30pm Building a Sustainable Group
Week 3
July 19th 4-5.30pm Action Planning
July 20th 4-5.30pm Press (Local & Student)
July 21st 4-5.30pm Students of Colour Caucus
July 22nd 4-5.30pm Social Media + Petitions
Week 4
July 26th 4-5.30pm Working with Student Unions
July 27th 4-5.30pm Undoing Borders Campaign
July 29th 4-5.30pm *Campaign Launch* Fossil Free Careers
A note on caucuses:
If you’d like to organise a caucus, please contact natasha.ion@peopleandplanet.org
Accessibility Statement for Power Shift 2021
People & Planet aims to make our events as inclusive as possible within the limits of our resources.
We believe in the social model of disability ‘the concept that disability results from the interaction between a person’s characteristics and their unsuitable environment – not their medical condition.’ (1) In other words the environment needs to adapt to enable disabled people to participate fully.
We have taken the following steps to enable Power Shift 2021 to be more accessible and will be ensuring all events offer the following:
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Regular ten minute breaks to enable people to manage sensory issues and have sufficient time for toilet breaks.
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Ability to leave the event. If the session is proving difficult for any reason, any attendee can leave (and return if they wish) at any time, with no need to explain why.
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Dyslexia Friendly Slides. We will ensure our slides follow the Dyslexia Friendly guidelines. Though slides will not be available before the session we are happy to supply them afterwards.
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Screen readers. We will check if participants are using screen readers, and if they are, will minimise use of chat, and make it clear which number slide is being shared.
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Spotlight on speakers. We will spotlight speakers to ensure it is easier to follow the conversation.
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Captioning. We will be using closed captioning for all our sessions. This is new technology for us, so we will be monitoring closely. Update: Unfortunately, we had some issues in setting up the live captioning program and do apologise for that. We will be using closed captioning from 7th July.
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Join from browser. We will ensure all events can be joined from the browser and don’t require a Zoom account.
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Tips for using Zoom. We will share these in advance.
If you have any queries about accessibility or additional needs where you need support, please email Virginia.Moffatt@peopleandplanet.org and we will endeavour to meet your request within resources available.
(1) https://www.allfie.org.uk/definitions/models-of-disability/social-model-...
help us make power Shift Free
This year, because it's online, we're delighted to be able to deliver Power Shift for free!
However, it will still cost money to arrange and deliver. If it's possible for you, we would hugely appreciate a solidarity donation. To give you a rough sense of how you might support us: each workshop will cost us around £3 for each person. Please donate to cover as much of your attendance as feasible for you - but of course come to all the sessions you can, regardless of what you have donated!
what will you need for power Shift?
Usually, we would ask you to bring camping equipment.
This year, you'll need a bit of simple tech instead. All Power Shift workshops will be conducted on Zoom. You don't need to download the software on your laptop, you can just click the invitation links you will receive once you register. It's pretty simple to use, but we will give a basic intro to the various buttons and functions at the start of every workshop in the first week. You can also check out their video tutorials or information on their website beforehand if you are more comfortable doing so. We will someone offering tech support for each workshop, to help resolve any of your issues with connectivity, sound or tools.
If possible, we recommend that you use a laptop rather than a tablet or phone to join the workshops, so you can make the most of the participatory tools of our workshops. We also recommend that you use earphones.
Our workshops are all designed to be participatory, and encourage learning from each other, so please do try to set aside time and focus to join in. Of course, we recognise that people have unavoidable calls on their attention, and we'll adjust to your needs - particularly caring responsibilities. We're working to make workshops accessible - let us know your particular access needs upon registering, and any ways we can support you.