You do not need any skills to do simple activism. You write to a politician, pick up the phone to call a newspaper, sign a petition, etc. You have the everything you need – up to a point.

There are many skills that are needed to set up a campaign that might work. Like how to run a meeting, how to use social media, how to encourage others to join you on your campaign, how to speak in public, how to speak to the media, how to marshal/steward a large crowd, etc.

In this section I will share some of the materials I have come across, some of my experience, etc. so that you are able to benefit from this information. There are some excellent organizers in Edmonton and I would strongly suggest that when you meet them you spend some time learning everything you can from them.

Just like taking an apprenticeship to be a tradesperson so to with being the best activist you can be – for the sake of the campaign/movement. You can learn really well and deeply from a mentor. They are there as a resource, a guide, someone that can give feedback while talking through strategies, can help you stay the course when you need that encouragement and also give you advise on being aware about burnout (a serious issue within the activist community).

Check out the information and resources in the following pages (they will be continually added to since there is always more to add to the subject). It is an organic site.

There isn’t a reason to start your activism at ground zero. There are some excellent resources from around the world and many of these are available on the web.
There is a lot of information about activism – how to guide, how to organize, how to make things (art, structures, etc), etc.

Just about EVERY activist was an ordinary person who did not have any skill in organizing, managing, negotiating, building, speaking/oration, etc – just like you and me. What started them was a passion for a cause and feeling the need to act on that passion to correct a wrong in the world. They became what they needed to move towards their goal.

Of course, there were many people that had skills that they could apply to further their cause. Whether this was baking/cooking for the team, filing, art, website, climbing, carpentry, etc. It takes many people with many skills to move an agenda along.

Sometimes big things could start with just one person (Greta Thunberg, Rosa Parks, etc.) that started something huge or where the figure that inspired a change or uprising but eventually people that align or sympathize with your cause will join.

I have listed some of the resources and such that have come through my life over the past 4 plus decades of being involved in activism because there is no reason for a person to start inventing things from scratch when there are solutions and templates to guide you or to learn from.

Remember – you do not have to be an expert on anything to start. Let passion be your driver. Action is the antidote to despair.