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.

I was so pleased to attend the 2009 national gathering of the Progressive Communicators Network (PCN), held in Chicago at the end of May. The conversations were rich, the connections were deep, and the insights were exquisite. What an amazing network!

Along with the great discussions (and party!), one of the highlights for me was the workshop on the story-based strategy model. We hadn’t done anything quite like this before. Patrick and I, with support from Anasa Troutman of the Movement Strategy Center, designed this session for this special group of skilled practitioners. It was such a wonderful challenge, and I felt myself growing into the moment. I was so humbled and honored to be in the space and share some of our “edge thinking.” And now you we can share it with you too!

Thanks to Nell Greenberg from Rainforest Action Network (who I recruited on-the-fly to shoot this low-fi video on our Flip Cam), the world can watch the workshop on smartmeme.blip.tv! Its about 45 minutes, and we go into some detail about the strategy model presented in RE:Imagining Change with examples to show each stage in the process….enjoy!

*You can download the slideshow from this presentation (its higher res than this video) at slideshare.net/smartmeme

* You can download the Story-based Strategy Campagin Model “Chart” handout HERE.

Pics from the workshop….

What PCN is all about:

PCN exists to strengthen and amplify the power, voices, and vision of grassroots movements that are working for racial, social, economic, and environmental justice. Network members use communication strategy, framing and messaging, and media tools to: 1) enhance the influence of social change movements on public policy and opinion; and 2) realize a world without poverty, racism, and other forms of oppression. The Network is a project of Spirit in Action, a movement-building support organization located in western Massachusetts.

A thousand THANK YOUs to the Progressive Communicators Network for bringing this amazing group together!

MAKE A DONATION TO PCN TODAY!

Organizers and movement builders have always helped ordinary people realize their own power-–both individually and collectively––and supported them in taking action to make their communities better. Although the lead-from-behind nature of organizing is at odds with the way our celebrity-obsessed culture has constructed heroism, social justice work is full of unsung, everyday heroes. Telling the stories of this type of heroism can not only inspire others to action but can also help redefine what it means to be a hero.

It was in this spirit that I had the pleasure of attending a fascinating and unique conference this past weekend at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavorial Sciences in Palo Alto, California. The conference was convening by the newly formed Heroic Imagination Project and was bringing together experts in different fields to examine the issue of heroism and promoting moral courage.

It was a small but very eclectic gathering of social scientists (including one who had travelled all the way from Italy to attend), entrepreneurs, educators, media industry professionals (representing a gamut from start-ups to an editor from TIME magazine) and of course yours truly from the social justice sector. The common denominator among the participants was a willingness to see heroism as a meme in the culture which could be demystified and democratized to promote the concept of everyday heroes and broader action to promote the greater good. (“Sociocentric behavior” as I learned the psychologists like to call it).

The project is the brain child of Dr. Philip Zimbardo a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Stanford University. Dr. Zimbardo is a world famous lecturer, best selling author of countless books and among the world’s most famous living social psychologists. His ground breaking work––including the controversial 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment––helped laid the foundations of the field. He was also an expert witness in the Abu Ghraib trials who challenged the U.S. government myth of “a few bad apples” and put the whole system on trial in his best selling book about the psychology of evil called The Lucifer Effect: How Good People Turn Evil.

At the core of Dr. Zimbardo’s work is an examination of how, when and why people stand up to illegitimate authority. The Heroic Imagination Project is taking the research on the psychology of evil and flipping it around to ask how can we teach our children and shift our culture to be more heroic about resisting immoral behavior. You can see his talk on the subject at the TED conference.

Dr. Zimbardo reached out to SmartMeme and asked us to come share our work around building broader social movements and discuss how taking action for social change is heroic. Although its a different starting point for discussing social justice work than we normally use it was an intriguing lens. One key concept that emerged from my presentation was that we need to shift the definition of heroism from the current focus on individual action to one of collective action. How can our communities be heroic? How can we shift our culture to embrace a heroism that has moved beyond its often militaristic origins to incorporate broader types of collective action? (I learned that in Germany the traditional word for “hero” was so connected to the Nazis that post-WW II the term is no longer used.) What would it take to make the idea of a “peace hero” as well known and applauded as a “war hero”?

These are big questions and ones that organizers and social justice advocates are addressing all the time. It’s exciting to know that smart people in other fields are tackling the issue as well because in a era of runaway crisis––from climate destabilization to the pathologies of the financial system–––we’re going to need all the heroes we can get. Stay tuned to see if the Heroic Imagination Project and collaborators can expand the definition of heroism and push the new meme into popular culture.

Professor Zimbardo speaking at an anti-war rally in 2003.

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling like this economic meltdown moment is a game-changer. The recent firestorm over the “bailout” is the beginning of a whole new conversation about our economic system, the role of the state, and extreme wealth and inequality. It is also clearly not the end of our economic woes, and things are likely going to get worse before they get better.

The recent revelations of economic trouble have produced a barrage of memes in the media and popular culture: meltdown, bailout, rescue package, and Wall Street vs. Main Street. Now, leaders tell us that we are in the midst a new economic reality – a credit crunch, foreclosure crisis, a recession, or another Great Depression.

Even as lawmakers struggle to reframe the $700 billion package as a “Rescue,” the “Bailout” meme remains more potent. The story of free market fundamentalism is unraveling, and the story has changed – but to what?

What does all of this mean for progressive strategy, and what are the stories we can tell about the real impacts and alternatives?

We’ve been glued to the news and talking to friends at partner groups like the Working Group on Extreme Inequality, the Design Studio 4 Social Intervention, and the Rainforest Action Network about what’s happening and what can be done. We’ve been inspired by efforts by groups like City Life/Vida Urbana and the Greenlining Institute. Last week I gathered with members of the Progressive Communicators Network at United For a Fair Economy in Boston to analyze the battle of the bailout story. At the PCN gathering, we also discussed what may come of the bailout and efforts to sway government, and listed the following Possible Outcomes:

• Lives are repaired: Meet needs of impacted people (people in foreclosure get refinancing etc)
• Political change: Obama is elected as a result of Bush’s economic bungles
• Changes in economic systems: Regulations are put in place, rules are changed, new definitions of economic progress are adopted
• Movement Emerges: Grassroots social movement gains ground

We had widespread agreement on these as potential goals for work in this period, and specifically discussed how these goals are not incompatible. We agreed that if we get into debates about which of these should be the most important goal, we lose sight of the gravity of this moment. All of the above is on the table. Everything could change.

The following is a rough narrative analysis of the landscape around the economic crisis using the battle of the story tool. We’re obviously just scratching the surface. I have also created a PDF VERSION battle of the bailout story for easier printing. PLEASE use this work in ways that are useful, and let us know what you think!

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PART I:

Power Holder Story: Collapse vs. Rescue
* This story uses fear to motivate action, and uses the “blame the few bad apples” frame to gloss over systemic problems.

The US way of life is threatened, and so we must act immediately. Democratic capitalism is the greatest system, and America is the greatest nation, and so even though we believe in the free market, we must intervene to save our economy. We must put partisanship and electioneering aside and make this rescue deal now – or face economic collapse.

Yes, there were some greedy individuals on Wall Street and some rouge lenders who went too far. Liberals like Barney Frank and big government caused this problem. With laws like the Community Reinvestment Act and the quasi-public Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, government forced banks to make risky loans to minorities and low-income people who had no business buying houses. People irresponsibly borrowed to buy big houses that they just could not afford, and were living far outside of their means. Now these mortgages are troubled assets for the nation’s major financial institutions, and this means that everyone is in danger in this financial crisis.

This is not just a bailout for Wall Street. There is a crunch in the credit market, and so we are all in the same boat now. Small businesses that borrow money for payroll or holiday inventory are having trouble getting loans they rely on each year. The Dow is dropping by the day and the trading floors are reeling. Banks are hoarding cash and we’re facing the highest inter-bank overnight loan rate ever. Markets in Asia and Europe are affected. We cannot listen to these constituents who don’t understand the complexities of the economy and are mis-interpreting this plan. We all need access to credit and if we don’t pass this rescue package, the experts say that the gears of the economy will stop turning and you could lose your job. The US could lose our standing in the world as the major economic power, and our nation could be thrust into an economic recession akin to the Great Depression. Besides, since the package is to buy these securities at a low rate, the taxpayers can even make the money back when the housing market rebounds.

Conflict –
Collapse vs. Rescue
The US way of life is threatened
Things just got out of hand, and we must act now

Characters –
A few greedy, corrupt Wall Street bankers
Irresponsible borrowers living outside their means
Ignorant, reactionary taxpayers
Expert Economists
Bush-Paulson-Bernanke
Barney Frank & Nancy Pelosi: Bipartisans = Heroic selfless politicians
Warren Buffet
Liberal Congressmen: forced lenders to lend to people who shouldn’t be borrowing

Images –
Lehman Bros offices closing – bankers with cardboard boxes of their stuff packed up
Bad Paper = Toxic Waste
Banks in Crisis – hoarding cash
“Black Box” of investments
Meltdown
Desperate chaos on the Trading floors
Graph of market going down by the hour
DC gridlock around the clock– lawmakers up all night with pizza and Thai takeout

Foreshadowing -
Great Depression
Economic Collapse
We’re all to blame, we’re all in this together, and we’re all going to benefit

Core memes –
Meltdown
Rescue (or Bailout)
Economic Collapse
Crisis
Buy in (not Bailout)

Underlying Assumptions -
We need Wall Street
It’s Now or Never!
The market will fix itself (after the $700 billion)
This is a crisis of confidence, and the rescue will reestablish confidence
It’s everyone’s problem now
It’s like a natural disaster, coming out of nowhere; no one could have predicted it
US is entitled to be a superpower and take drastic action to protect our privileges
You’re either with us or against us
A bunch of poor people/people of color/stupid people had no business buying houses and ruined everything

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PART II: Change Agents Story
Casino Capitalism (risk) vs. American Dream (security)
Greed Economy vs. Green Economy
* This story attempts to explain why the crisis came to be, and tie solutions into a larger progressive agenda. It’s a little long, and repetitive, but attempts to offer some ways to explain the situation in a larger context.

While a handful of billionaires have been getting very rich playing in the Wall Street casino, real wages for the rest of us in the real economy have stagnated, and personal debt has ballooned. The economic growth of the last several decades has been bubble/debt driven, rather than based on real increases in wages – and this has been Washington’s policy. While honest people have been borrowing to get by, Wall Street has been seeking high returns on speculative high risks, and has been biding their time in a dangerous game of game of chicken. Bear Sterns cried out first, and by the time AIG said “uncle”, Bernenke was there with a $700 billion bailout for the entire financial sector.

But our livelihood is not a game, and this crisis didn’t happen overnight: the $700 billion dollar bailout of the bankrupt banks was a predictable outcome of decades of policy driven by greed and an ideology that says “government, get out of the way.” Drastic action is needed – but we can’t throw a trillion dollars at the people who made the problem and expect them to fix it. We need to modernize our economic system and launch the next (green) new deal – a massive reinvestment in job creation, clean energy, and opportunity that can save the American dream from foreclosure.

The cascading implosion of major banks is the result of decades of flawed policy based on the myth that greed on Wall Street is good for everyone. This myth has shaped the economic policies of Regan and Bush, and drove Clinton to deregulate investment banks to link mortgages to the stock market and repeal Depression Era reforms designed to protect us from the risks of financial speculation. It is tempting to blame the financial crisis on a few greedy hedge funders, or even on the millions of debtors in over their heads with sub-prime mortgages. But the culprit is an ideology that has had a death grip on our country for the last 20 years, and allowed this pyramid scheme of predatory lending to spiral out of control under the Bush Administration.

The problem is more than “no one was minding the store.” The fat cats bought off their friends and Washington and turned the store into a casino. There was so little government oversight that they could shred the rules, and make up new ones as they went along. In a capital-induced frenzy, they invented new games, new ways to bet, and gambled other people’s money to profit hand over fist. The government not only let this happen – it made it all possible and celebrated it as progress.

Now the Wall Street casino has been exposed as a house of cards atop mountains of debt. As their pyramid scheme comes crashing down it threatens to devastate the real economy that provides jobs, food and opportunity for the rest of us. Bailing out America means more than buying banks – it means keeping Americans in our homes, offering a health care system that doesn’t bankrupt our families, building thriving local economies that provide honest work, and retro-fitting our nation to deal with the energy crisis.

We face an economic crisis in the midst of two wars, global warming, and a health care system in desperate need of repair. As the proverb goes – in crisis there is opportunity. Now is the time to change course: re-regulate, re-invest, and re-finance to build a green economy that houses, insures and employs every American.

Conflict -
Casino Capitalism (risk) vs. American Dream (fairness & security)
Reckless Speculators vs. Honest everyday Americans
Greed Economy vs. Green Economy
Out-of-control/recklessness vs. stability/responsibility
Crisis vs. Opportunity
Wall Street vs. Main Street (this frame is about who gets the money, not about why the crisis is happening)
Real Economy (Life Values and Community Needs) vs. Speculative Economy (Money Values and Corporate Greed)

Characters -
Wall Street - Greedy Hedge Funders
Predatory mortgage brokers
2 million people in foreclosure
Impacted people: unemployed, uninsured, over stretched, in debt
Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, Bush II

Images -
Game of Chicken
Saying Uncle
Casino / games / gambling
Liquor cabinet of capital
Top-heavy system falling over
Implosion
Debt bubble: House as ATM machine
Families forced out of homes
Imaginary money
Foreclosure Pickets
House of cards
Mountains of debt

Foreshadowing -
Next New Deal – people working in jobs that matter: energy overhaul (windmills, weather stripping, solar, rail)
Real Economic Recovery
Turn the Countrywide office into a job training facility
Micro credit lending; tell stories about people investing in people; micro-enterprises that create good jobs in local communities

Core Memes –
Next New Deal
Green New Deal
Pyramid scheme
Casino capitalism
Predatory lending
Honest work
House of cards
Crisis = Opportunity

Underlying Assumptions-
This is a crisis of capitalism
This crisis embodies institutional racism, and the predatory sub-prime market targeted communities of color. Efforts to lay the blame on borrowers is a play on racist assumptions.
People in power always manage the economy – this was deliberate mismanagement
We share collective responsibility for the well being of all – solutions must address the needs of everyone
This is a pivotal moment that could mean opportunity to overhaul the financial system and change stories on related issues: global warming, health care, ending the occupation, economic inequality, etc.
This crisis is also an ecological wakeup call. If we don’t change the real bubble that will pop is our planet…

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Brainstorm: Possible Points of Intervention for nonviolent action

Production: Organizing workers in the financial institutions

Decision: Action in Washington, Protest at the Capitol, Birdogging on the Campaign Trail, Appearences by financial industry execs

Destruction: Picketing foreclosure proceedings

Consumption: Action at the storefronts of major banks

Point of assumption: Telling a new story on Wall Street (dramatic actions at the Bull). Transforming sub-prime lender storefronts into something more helpful for communities. Launching major people-to-people micro-credit exchanges in public spaces. Exposing the assumption that hard times are the result of individual circumstances—bringing people together to share stories and find common experiences, forming alliances of mutual aid.

?

New from smartMeme : Story-based Strategies for Direct Action Design
SmartMeme is pleased to join Team Colors Collective and The Journal of Aesthetics and Protest Press in announcing the launch of the one-off online publication “In the Middle of a Whirlwind: 2008 Convention Protests, Movement and Movements”:

www.inthemiddleofawhirlwind.info

Whirlwinds provides detailed analysis, thoughtful criticism, and substantive writing on current organizing through an inquiry into movement in the United States. Through that process, Whirlwinds assembles a strategic analysis of current political composition as a tool for building political power.

SmartMeme was asked to offer some analysis on how to integrate narrative strategy into the realm of street protest, with an eye towards demonstrations at this summer’s political conventions. We responded with a brief but detailed explanation of story-based strategy elements, and ideas for “direct action at the point of assumption.”

In addition to our own submission, some of our favorite snippets of this anthology include:

Harmony Goldberg on The Right to The City Alliance:

This expansive approach to anti-gentrification organizing reflects the Right the City Alliance’s movement-building orientation. The alliance is not interested in a narrow definition of the issue; instead they want to foster a resistance that is as complex and wide-ranging as the process of gentrification itself.

Marina Karides on the US Social Forum:

The establishment of the USSF process relied on repeated transaction or tasks accomplished by various members of the National Planning Committee that started the process of establishing trust. And this trust developed beyond traditional activist sectors, extending networks outside of their “quarters” or issues. The future of building a program of collaborative social justice in the US will rely on groups and organizations extending beyond their usual body politics and into building alliances with other sectors and political leanings.

and our very own Jen Angel on Media & Activism:

All types of media contribute to discussions around social movements in their own unique and valuable ways.

What I’ve come to believe can be summarized in several points:

• Media is central to how power operates

• Media is integral to advancing the work of social justice movements

• Media is a tool to be used strategically by activists

• Activists need to prioritize and fund media

• Activists need to directly connect our activism and media to struggles and communities

• We need to meet the needs and appeal to the desires of individuals and communities

This collection begins and end with the question:

Will you join us in the middle of a whirlwind??

Visit the Whirlwinds Site

Download the PDF - Story-Based Strategies for Direct Action Design