Community Organising

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Autonomia

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Joined: 15-05-12

May 15 2012 08:36

Hi,

I hope this topic is really a new one and sorry for spelling or grammar errors, I'm not a native speaker..

I'm looking for some hints and advice concerning organising in the local community. I'd like to build a neighborhood organisation, but don't know where to begin with.

I have quite some ideas like building a kind of union for jobless people with strong ties to the local community. An independent, autonomous center for jobless people could be something worth fighting for. But that's all quite a theory. I think community organising is something that needs to be practised with the people and not just thought about in theory.

So, what are your experiences with community organising? What's best to start with? What should you be careful about and what mistakes should be avoided? I have to add that I come from a country, where it lacks of a tradition in community organising and where the left, particularly the anarchist movement, is very marginal.

Chilli Sauce

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Joined: 5-10-07

May 15 2012 09:06

Mate, I would have never guessed that you weren't a native speaker.

Maybe give this a read?

http://libcom.org/organise/community-organising

Steven.

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Joined: 27-06-06

May 15 2012 09:28

Hi, first off whereabouts in the world are you?

Autonomia

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Joined: 15-05-12

May 16 2012 06:50

Thanks, Chilli Sauce, I've already read it and I think it's quite helpful, but the information on libcom could have more details. I think it's very general.

And Steven: I'm living in the outskirts of Vienna, Austria (Central-Europe).

Marx-Trek

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Joined: 13-11-11

May 16 2012 21:26

Community organizing can take many forms and people start off with "community organizing" for one reason or another. I think that community based organizing is a very important step in organizing in general. Also, this type of organizing builds on a local rather than an ideology or specific goals already set out by some organization.

Some things to avoid when doing community organizing are:

Be weary of organizing turning into charity, which only increases your chances of burning out on your efforts.

Always remember that its a community and not something that necessarily needs you, agree with you, or wants you to led.

Instead look to your own strengths and and see how they can contribute in fostering a better more autonomous community.

Regarding organizing the unemployed and under employed, that is an awesome idea. Here is a link to an attempt/campaigned waged by some unemployed: http://libcom.org/library/lernia-correctional-facility-story-swedish-unemployment-programme