I had an amazing time at Regional Organisers training this year. After attending Power Shift 2019 for the first time I was inspired and prepared to build amazing People and Planet campaigns back on my university campus. When I heard the experiences of people attending these trainings and how it brought people together for the purpose of movement building and dismantling unjust systems, I knew that this was going to be an effective way for me to reach out and contribute to the world.
The training we got was great because it was practical and flexible. A significant part of it involved learning from others about the best ways to hold events, meetings, or actions. People shared reflections on common mistakes they had made or seen made. This enabled us to see the role of a regional organiser from different perspectives.
Workshops like ‘Training the Trainers’ were very helpful for beginners like me to be more equipped in running workshops of our own. I did a mini workshop on the campaign “Fossil Free”, and I really appreciated that even though we were given a template to work from we were encouraged to improve it and personalise it to make it more engaging and fun! The process really boosted my confidence. As someone who hasn’t participated in activism before, stepping out of your comfort zone as a regional organiser can be quite daunting. However, the week soothed some of my fears. I appreciated how caring everyone was when I didn’t understand a concept or when I needed help. I was supported all the way through.
During RO training you get a lot of constructive feedback through your discussions whilst learning about safeguarding, promoting and fundraising. Workshops such as the one on ‘Collective Liberation’ reinforced the principles underpinning movement building: that we are not free until everyone else is liberated.
I was honestly surprised by how much I learnt in such a short amount of time. The relaxed and friendly atmosphere, including plenty of breaks between workshops, made the experience less intense. I made so many new and amazing friends both during workshops and sitting around the campfire. It was really a fun experience and because of this I am very excited to be a part of planning the North and Midlands regional event this year!