Rejuvenate the Revolution
It’s spring in many parts of the world, including in much of the Beautiful Trouble Universe. 🌼🍀💗 Spring is a time for growth and rejuvenation, and it’s a perfect time to gather some blossoming tools to nourish your movements!
BEAUTIFUL TROUBLE MONTHLY JAM SERIES
Last month we launched a series of FREE jam sessions to help you use Beautiful Trouble resources and tools more efficiently and to take advantage of its hidden gems!
**Register ** for our upcoming [mostly] second Monday jams:
April 10th - Intro to Trainers’ Resources, BATMo!
May 15th - How to Use the Beautiful Trouble Strategy Card Deck
June 12th - Intro to Movement Compass
In case you missed the first session in March, which was an Introduction to the Beautiful Trouble toolbox, you can still watch the recording.
…and, as always, if you have a specific training request for your campaign, group, or action, get in touch with us!
FRESH TOOLBOX CONTENT!
Check out the two most recent methodologies that have found a home in our ever-growing toolbox!
METHODOLOGY: Hardship to grievance
When individual suffering is widespread, it’s time to connect the dots! Use this methodology to help people see their problems as a shared grievance rather than an isolated, personal difficulty.
Here’s a recent example of this methodology in action: After Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico—causing flooding, damage, and prolonged power outages—the electricity company (LUMA) restored electric supply to rich neighbors but not others. Protesters gathered in front of LUMA and used Grulla (singing carols) as a collective tactic to express their grievance and have their power restored. Together they sang: “Why do I see lights over there and the southwest lights, oh LUMA, where are they? Darkness over here, darkness over here, but why do I see lights over there?"
METHODOLOGY: Perception box
Use this methodology to develop effective and targeted campaign messaging to reach and persuade your audience.
… and did you know that our interactive toolbox is also available in Arabic, Burmese, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian? Other resources, including our Card Deck and Beautiful Action Trainer Modules [BATMo!], are available in additional languages such as Bangla and Vietnamese. Oh, and did we mention that Greek will join the list soon?!
FROM THE FRONTLINES
Looking for inspiration? Stories from frontline groups that have used the Get Up Rise Up (GURU) direct action fund to take bold and creative actions for social change are your best remedy. Check out how activists from Role Model Zambia persuaded the government to rescind its decision of refusing to pay back taxpayers the tax returns they’re entitled to.
P.S. The Get Up Rise Up fund applications close at the 5th of each month. The next funding round closes on May 5th. Groups planning creative direct actions on any issue from anywhere in the world are welcome to submit an application for rapid response micro-grants.
IN THE MEANTIME…
A right-wing chucklehead discovered us and took to the airwaves to sing our praises! The Vivek Show, the podcast of a Republican presidential candidate, discussed Beautiful Trouble this week. He’s got some pretty wacky ideas, but he does think we’re operational, effective, and that we offer an updated revolution manual to Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Well, he got that right! 😉 And YES–we (proudly) project our reality to the world.
Someone’s gotta tell him to read the wonderful theory called Prefigurative Politics!
As always, stay safe, stay beautiful, and stay inspired in the building of a new world!
