Activist training on-line

The web offers some wonderful resources on the topic of activism, from introductions for beginning activists to advanced training for experienced campaigners. Below are just a few of the hundreds of resources for anyone involved as an activist or volunteer.

What better place to start than with Elizabeth May, executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada? Her excellent article "How to be an Activist" at www.sierraclub.ca/activist-publication/ is valuable reading for anyone interested in activism, especially for someone beginning their first campaign. Elizabeth covers all of the basics of a campaign plus some insights learned over many years of campaigning.

After Elizabeth's article you'll want to follow up with the superb "Organize to Win: A Grassroots Activist's Handbook" by Jim Britell at www.britell.com/text/tgrassroots.html. Jim has a well-earned reputation as a savvy and effective activist and political organizer. You'll find no better handbook of grassroots techniques. His handbook is an asset in any activist's toolkit.

Speaking of toolkits, two publications have assembled pretty much everything you'd need. Activist Magazine's toolkit is at www.activistmagazine.com/index.php (click at left on "Toolkit"); and the Peace, Earth & Justice News toolkit is at http://pej.ca/tools/

While these may be oriented more toward more experienced activists, there are resources for new activists, as well as for the people who train them. ActionPA at www.actionpa.org/activism/ is the web site for a "Pennsylvania-based research, organizing, and networking center for the grassroots environmental justice movement." ActionPA's "Activism Training Materials & Resources" matches up very nicely with PlanetFriendly's "Portals & Guides" page at www.planetfriendly.net/directory.html. These two sites provide a wide range of links to information that can get even the newest recruit activist up to speed quickly.

Activists at every level depend on volunteers. Energize at www.energizeinc.com is a comprehensive resource for anyone leading or training volunteers.

Dennis Sheridan, Chapter webmaster. And now that you've learned some activist skills, turn to the Bay Chapter web site for information about key local campaigns to apply your skills to.