Once in a while, the driver of the tank would gun his engines. If it was meant to tease, the people of Manila thought otherwise. Each time the tank roared, the people in the photo above laid their lives on the line -- and over the course of a few days, pulled off a successful nonviolent insurrection in the Philippines.

When do people do nonviolent campaigns? Groups most often turn to tactics of nonviolent struggle when other channels of social change seem blocked: when the electoral arena seems inadequate, lobbying and the courts hold little promise and armed struggle looks hopeless or too costly. In the U.S. there is growing alienation from the conventional institutions of change, and yet armed struggle looks almost suicidal. This is precisely the situation when, historically, mass movements have turned to nonviolent struggle. The question is: will we learn the hard-won lessons from people's movements or try to re-invent the wheel every time?

Many activists use nonviolent tactics but don't achieve the full value of the action because it's not connected to a strategy, or to a richer understanding of how nonviolent action works. What we can miss is a treasure trove of theory and practice developed by oppressed people all over the world. Not tapping it is like letting power slip through our fingers.

Activists who want more powerful change strategies... Everyone who doesn't want to wait for politicians to "save them"... Anyone who wants to channel anger and dissatisfaction into action for change

• Mapping out campaigns that mobilize people on a deeper level
  
• Creating strategy that maximizes the value of allies
  
• Building longer-lasting commitment for action among the people
  
• Avoiding getting co-opted, and dealing with those in the group who want an easy compromise
  
• Staying grounded in the midst of turbulence
  
• Balancing the strong assertiveness -- even militancy -- needed in struggle with the openness needed for wise solutions
  
• Using anger better, rather than suppressing it or letting it get out of control
  
• Figuring out the points of leverage in the power-holders
  
• Using the experience of people's movements to generate strategy ideas

We're often asked to run this workshop over a weekend, starting with registration on Friday at 7 p.m. and ending on Sunday at 4 p.m. As with all our workshops, we ask for full participation from everyonel. Aiming for excellence as a nonviolent activist raises important issues, and we always like to remind folks that emotions may surface in the course of this workshop.

When we hold this workshop in Philadelphia, the rate for the workshop is $135-$300, sliding scale based on income. Contact us for group rates.

If you have questions about the fee or the workshop, feel free to contact us!

• Printer-friendly version
• Send to friend
• PDF version