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Archive for July, 2010

Book Party in Portland 7/30!

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Join me and smartMeme friends at the Red & Black Cafe for a book release reading and celebration on July 30th!

7 pm - 9 pm
400 SE 12th Ave
Portland, OR (MAP HERE)

RSVP on Facebook

Join Doyle Canning, co-author of RE:Imagining Change - How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements, and Change the World (PM Press, 2010) for an evening of celebration, community building, and critical thinking about making social change.

Re:Imagining Change — How to Use Story-based Strategy to Win Campaigns, Build Movements and Change the World provides resources, theory, hands-on tools and illuminating case studies for the next generation of innovative change makers, and is an inspirational inside look at the trailblazing methodology developed by smartMeme. This unique book outlines how to apply narrative power analysis to effectively frame issues and offers plenty of juicy case studies and analysis, including a call for our movements to innovate our storytelling techniques in the face of the looming ecological crisis.

Join us for an inspiring evening of storytelling and discussion with smartMeme!

(If you can’t make it, order a copy of the book at www.smartMeme.org/book)

SmartMeme in London, U.K. July 31 Workshop

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

Calling all our U.K. friends and allies!

We’re honored to be hosted by the venerable creative action, arts and campaigning organization PLATFORM for a brief presentation and interactive workshop about smartMeme’s tools and strategic approach as documented in our new book Re:Imagining Change.

How to win ‘the battle of the story’ in campaigning, movement organizing and changing the world!

An introduction to using story-based strategy

When: Saturday 31st of July, 3pm to 6pm

Where: The Stephen Lawrence Centre, 39 Brookmill Road, London, SE8 4HU

Cost: Suggested donation of £3 to cover the room hire. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Reserve a spot: Places are limited. To reserve your place, please email your confirmation to [email protected] with one sentence about what group/project/organisation you are involved with. We are trying to ensure that there is a diverse set of participants/groups represented on the day.

Workshop Description:
Storytelling has always been central to the work of activists, organizers and movement builders. Narrative is the lens through which humans process the information we encounter, be it cultural, emotional, experiential, or political. We make up stories about ourselves, our histories, our futures, and our hopes.
SmartMeme draws from many disciplines, integrating practices from organizing, broadcast media, advertising, strategic communications, education and systems thinking into their strategy and training work. Their experiments have evolved into a set of tools they call story-based strategy — a framework to link movement building with an analysis of narrative power by placing storytelling at the centre of social change strategy.

This workshop on the 31st of July, given by smartMeme co-founder Patrick Reinsborough will introduce some of the basic techniques in how to use story-based strategy as a tool in achieving social change. The workshop is aimed at people involved in social movements, community organizing, direct action groups, progressive NGOs and anyone who is interested in engaging with them.