Community Building

This might not be what you think it is!! Learn more about this kind of work and the tools to help you get involved.

Why Community Building?

Communities are so important in life, they are what bring us joy and support, but they are also powerful tools in the times we are in!

There are three main reasons why, at this moment, for Extinction Rebellion, community building is so important.

  1. Communities create change in ways that matter to them
  2. Stronger communities mean healthier rebels and a stronger movement
  3. Community building generates cultural momentum and empowers rebels to take action

Communities Are Strong Forces For Change

When looking at changing the system to mitigate and adapt to the climate and ecological crises there are often two camps: individual change and governmental change. In the middle of these is community change - often overlooked but extremely powerful.

Strong communities disempower institutions that do not serve them simply by existing!

Thriving communities are known to care more for their local environments, have better health outcomes, mitigate the negative effects of poverty, and be better prepared for disasters such as floods or fires.

Communities challenge the underlying systems that drive climate and ecological breakdown, and actively set up alternatives!

Questions to Ask:

Strong Communities Create Healthier Rebels and a Stronger Movement

Extinction Rebellion has existed for over seven years! We know this work is a marathon and not a sprint. So we must take care to take meaningful action when we can and find joy and rest ahead of burnout.

Part of what makes us so resilient in this work is that we have fun while we do it! Creating spaces people want to be in and want to stay in is a big part of this. Building trust, finding ways to be creative, celebrating each other and looking after each other.

A lot of the tools we use to build community are essentially tools for building a safety network for ourselves and those around us. Isolation is a key factor in burnout and building connections and networks is a powerful way to mitigate this.

It is also important to note that through community we co-create safety for each other. This is especially important in trying times. We know that in extreme weather events it is the quality of the connections not the access to services that ensures survival.

Questions to Ask:

Through Community Building We Generate Cultural Momentum To Meet Our Demands

We know that those in power are most afraid of us when they cannot spin our actions into a niche issue. When those on the street cannot be labelled as "activists" but look like a cross section of society, that's when the government starts to get nervous.

Extinction Rebellion is at its core a community of action and hands down our strongest asset to empower people to take meaningful action is the community behind them.

This includes:

This is what community means for us.

Questions to Ask:

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Community Building mean we’re not doing Actions?

Community Building fuels our ability to take action and talking action strengthens our community. They support each other, not as separate things but as a positive feedback loop.

AND

Community building is in itself a tool for change. By forging connections, identifying strengths and cultivating curiosity in our communities we create and grow power on our own terms. We divest from the pillars of power through communities withdrawing consent and coming up with ideas for the world we want.

What does Community Building and Action look like?

Our Actions are one of our strongest tools in building community! They bring us together in place, with a shared purpose. We tell stories about our actions which define our community.

Community Building is one of our strongest tools for creating actions! Wider community support helps create inclusive and well supported actions. The insight, interests and issues local communities face bring new ideas and perspectives into our action planning, design and messaging spaces. Our local communities have shared causes that motivate them. By being part of these communities, as rebels, we can enhance our collective capacity to safely engage in more contentious action.

AND

The efforts of community citizens generate their own power and pressure which, through the addition of our assets, can amplify the impact and really drive change. Remember, it is the multiplicative effect of different groups (beyond the activist identity) that is a threat to the pillars of power, not many people joining one group.

How does Community Building get us closer to our demands being met?

Community Building is a tool to create change, it doesn’t just sit alongside NVDA, it fuels and powers it, and in turn NVDA strengthens and empowers our communities.

To build the cultural momentum needed to meet our demands we need strong bases of community power and this means meeting, joining and building the communities we exist in. Community support can come from surprising places but we only uncover it if we start the conversation.

AND

Through communities we are able to create change for ourselves. Stepping into the power we can generate ourselves to meet the challenges we face. Instead of asking the government to meet our needs, we meet them ourselves.

What is a Community?

Community can mean a group of people who share aspects of identity, purpose, interest or experience. This could be a Local Group or a Circle within XR, a group that meet locally such as a sports club or allotment group, or it could be a group such as the wider LGBTQIA+ community or faith based communities.

Community can mean the space between individual change and governmental change where people collectively make change that matters to them. This could be a litter-picking group looking after their local environment, a tenant association supporting each other on an estate, or a group of friends hosting rent parties to support each other financially.

Community can be a verb, the things people do that build trust, connection, and collective action. This could be the sharing of food, the act of making inclusive decisions, or the process of sharing skills.

What does Community Building mean in an XR context?

Community Building is both an internal and an external practice for XR. We build community for ourselves really effectively through action and support. We can build on these skills and turn them out into our wider communities.

Through identifying the strengths we have in our groups we can share those with confidence and humility. There are some spaces where we are welcomed as an XR unit, and others where we are better stepping in as community members with something to offer.

This can look like having a local band who drums at strikes, rallies and marches when asked for. It can look like holding banner making workshops for local actions to create space for the community to come together even when some of those people cannot be on the streets. Your Local Group may have strengths in face-painting, infrastructure like PA systems, storage space, poets and gardeners and musicians, all of which can be shared.

Once we know what strengths and assets we have in our Local Groups we can turn those from being focused on our work alone to being assets for the whole community.

What does Community Building ask us to do?

The current ask comes in three parts:

  1. Recognise and Celebrate what we are already doing!
  2. Get even more confident in what we do well!
  3. Connect with opportunities to use those strengths to amplify the work of your wider community.

This can look like:

  1. Telling stories about what your local group has achieved (e.g. using block printing ahead of a banner drop)
  2. Finding out who and what skills made those achievements happen (Who made the banner, how was it done)
  3. Nurture those assets by teaching others (open block printing trainings to the wider community using your experience)
  4. Discover ways to amplify the efforts of the local community using the assets of your local group. Step into the interconnectedness of justice (making connections with other groups and ask how they might value print blocks)

Processes of Community Building We Do Well!

Community Building is something each of us already does, in our teams, our Local Groups and beyond. You should be able to recognise yourself and those you know in the processes laid out here.

Key Processes of Community Building

The following 13 Processes of Community Building were identified in the research stage of the 2025 Strategy Process. Each can be clearly seen across a variety of spaces in XR and all of them come together to create our collective community.

  1. Trust Building & Mending
  2. Clear Communication
  3. Connection Building
  4. Creating Permeable Boundaries
  5. Shared Purpose
  6. Creating Safe Spaces
  7. Inclusive Decision Making
  8. Creative Expression
  9. Sharing Ideas and Skills
  10. Building Common Culture
  11. Wellbeing and Rest
  12. Negotiating Effectiveness
  13. Celebration and Acknowledgement

We will look at these processes each in turn, exploring where we do them for ourselves within XR, where we do them to bridge and build community externally, and what we can do to strengthen that which we already do.

1. Trust Building & Mending

We build trust between each other, within our structure, between XR and our allies, and we build an external sense of trust in the movement. Communities are built at the speed of trust!

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

When we are in community with people there are always going to be mistakes made and moments where trust is broken. How we come together after these missteps is so important.

❓ Questions

2. Clear Communication

Figuring out how to communicate clearly is challenging, especially in large, diverse groups, especially in spaces where participation and membership fluctuates.

Too many methods of communication creates confusion and with too few people don't know what is going on.

XR uses a variety of structures and processes to communicate internally and externally. When these work well the work of activism is easier. However, when these miss the mark trust erodes and confusion/misinformation spreads.

It's a balance! We need enough clear communication channels but not too many as to overwhelm people!

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

Remember listening is also a part of clear communication

❓ Questions

3. Connection Building

Connection to people, an organisation, or idea comes before trust. This happens person to person and at a human scale.

Connection is also how people maintain trust between each other and this works best through face to face time spent together and shared experience. Connection can also be the practical links between circles and out to the wider world.

It all starts with curiosity!

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

A good starting place is to hold a Gift Circle.

❓ Questions

4. Creating Permeable Boundaries

The boundary of any group or community should be permeable, that is it should be easy to join, leave, and return. This creates a welcoming space for new people, acknowledges the complexities in our lives, and allows the sharing of skills, experiences and talents. Also, the boundaries that create the group identity should be clear, that is if there are reasons for denying access or behaviours the group will not accept that needs to be well communicated. We welcome everyone, and every part of everyone, but not every behaviour.

Considering group boundaries, and how people experience them, is key to creating an accessible and welcoming space. Some people may have more barriers to participation than others and if a group is homogeneous then someone entering who does not fit that description will face challenges the group cannot see.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

By opening our arms wide and building connection and trust with our local communities and other communities of Identity, Interest, Practice, Place and Action we start to create that cultural momentum!

❓ Questions

5. Shared Purpose

Our communities are typically Communities of Action, it is our shared sense of purpose that ties us together. This shared purpose is held between our Demands, Principles & Values and Strategy, and the details shift with campaigns, localities and time. Purpose can also be smaller and more goal focused and co-created by a group.

In XRUK circles this shared purpose is consensually distributed by mandates through the organism using our Self Organising System. This allows rebels working in seemingly distant parts of the movement to know that they are all pushing in the same direction.

We can see the same distribution of roles towards a common goal in our Local Groups, although this is usually more fluid as local campaigns ebb and flow.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

By finding where purpose overlaps we can find fertile ground to build community and co-create actions with other groups.

❓ Questions

6. Creating Safe Spaces

Different people have different ideas of what a Safe Space looks like. The process of negotiating, adapting, and creating such spaces generates understanding of each other and community care.

We aim to create spaces where it is safe to share our ideas, to be authentic, and also to disagree with each other. We also interact in various different spaces: In meetings, socially, online, in action etc. In each of these contexts safety can mean different things.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

Noting also that safety doesn't mean free from discomfort. We look to challenge but to do so with kindness, compassion and understanding.

❓ Questions

7. Inclusive Decision Making

Communities and individuals within them make decisions all the time, about what they care about and how they act. These can be made in hundreds of different ways.

For a community to be inclusive, decision making processes need to be too. Being part of a community with strong inclusive decision making practices supports individuals to make more communal and less individualised decisions in general.

How our decision making processes adapt and change to the needs of the community participating in them is important.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

Decision making in the everyday life of a community can be seen as co-creating democracy for each other all the time.

❓ Questions

8. Creative Expression

The ability to be creative is important for any community. Creativity is integral to expressing culture, generating ideas, interest and engagement, as well as self expression and imagining the future.

Creativity is not just about artistic expression but creativity in expression of views and ways of thinking. Creativity can be found in how we plan, how we choose targets, and how inventive we are with our tactics.

Part of creative expression is self expression too. Holding a variety of ways to express creativity can make a community more inclusive and allow space for sharing and experimenting with ideas.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

It is only through our creativity that we will survive.

❓ Questions

9. Sharing Ideas and Skills

When someone joins a community they bring their skills and ideas with them whether they choose to share them or not. People do not arrive as blank slates to be moulded into rebels.

Sharing skills and ideas is a form of power sharing in communities. The ability to do so with respect and trust that they will not be misused is important in mitigating power. The more our skills, tasks and knowledge is shared between people the stronger and more resilient our communities become.

An essential part of skill and idea sharing is having a safe space to share and learn.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

To build power in our communities sharing skills is vital, if only one person knows how something is done that is a clear vulnerability to address.

❓ Questions

10. Building Common Culture

Our culture is the stories we tell, the visual and musical language we share, the behaviours we endorse and exclude, the actions we take, and the visions of the future we share. Belonging is hard to quantify but it is an experience born of participating in and co-creating shared culture. A key part of this are the stories we tell!

These stories can be a shared mythology or memory as well as expectations for behaviour and imagining about the future. The visual, verbal, musical languages a community uses are as important as the stories themselves.

Who has the ability to tell the stories and build them says a lot about the community. As does how people are able to express their individual identity as part of the whole community.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

Everyone in our community is involved in creating our common culture and generating a sense of belonging.

❓ Questions

11. Wellbeing and Rest

In extreme weather events such as heatwaves it is the quality of connections that a person has, not their access to services that ensures survival[1]. Joining and being a valued member of a community is not limited to moments of crisis, and communities can in fact build alternatives to crises.

For a community of climate activists the role that communities play in enabling wellbeing and rest for its members has to be taken very seriously. Burnout is a major issue in activism and the activities activism demands of individuals can be very extractive. Being intentional as a community to value wellbeing and rest of members is key.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

So much of activism can be framed around sacrifice and heroism, but is this what we want? We can also frame it around joy and rest and giving each other the permission to do things differently, sustainably and regeneratively.

❓ Questions

12. Negotiating Effectiveness

Communities create measures of success for themselves: long and short term goals against which their efforts are measured - success in stories not just numbers.

An action might be considered effective if there is a marked change in activities of the target, or because loads of people turned up, or because it got a lot of press attention, which measure do we choose as the most effective? And who gets to choose which successes are shouted about?

All these measures of effectiveness are negotiated all the time without even realising it.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

As communities we get to define what success and effectiveness mean to us. It will look different across the movement but with us all taking positive steps in our shared purpose we will continue to create change toward our collective vision.

❓ Questions

13. Celebration and Acknowledgement

Celebrating and acknowledging the work of members of a group, not just the wins, is an easy way to build community in every circle or group. And beyond this, celebrating the existence of group members regardless of the work they offer.

In doing so people learn from each other and understand each other's strengths, not just the issues they face. This is important as it is often the failures that stick in the mind and define a group. A smooth running experience or process is one that can go unnoticed and therefore it is most important to recognise it: it does so due to the work of others!

This works similarly when connecting with other people and groups outside of XR, appreciating their work or seeking understanding of it is a great way to build connection and community with others.

This Can Look Like:

And Externally:

Each and every one of us on this journey is worth celebrating.

❓ Questions

[1]: "Fatal Isolation: The Devastating Paris Heat Wave of 2003" by Richard C. Keller

Community Building / Mobilisation / Alliance Building

Community Building is one set of tools we can use to engage with people. It is not the only set of tools, it is simply one we have not foregrounded in XR before.

There are different ways for people to make change in the world. Sometimes these seem like they are competing with each other but multiple approaches exist in our society at any one time. These are three approaches that are often present at the same time.

There are a lot of similarities between these approaches but this table is focused on their differences and at the extreme of those differences.

Community Building Mobilising Alliance Building
How do we get people to step into their power to make change together? How do we get as many people on the street as possible for an event? How do we get as many organisations working on this as possible?
How do we get people to act in ways that matter to them? How do we get people to be part of us? How do we get organisations working on the same cause?
Everyone has power to make change when we act together that is amplified Power and the ability to make change lies with people who have power over us and and we must take it from them to have any of our own Power is organisational, organisations have power to make change people don’t
Everyone has answers to this we want to hear yours We have the answers come with us Organisations not individuals have the answers
This issue is really big and scary. How can you help in your own way? This issue is really big and scary we all need to do this thing This issue is really big and scary how do organisations all work on it in their ways?
People act in lots of ways to make a difference on this issue, not all with us. How do we connect People not acting with us are not taking this issue seriously so must be persuaded to do so Organisations not acting on this issue do not care how can more organisations take action together to make a difference
We are co-creators of change Change happens to us but we can influence it Change happens to us but organisations can influence it.
Abundance - people have the skills knowledge and experience to make change Scarcity - why don’t we have enough people to make change institutionalisation - institutions have the skills, knowledge and influence to make change.
Be curious about the outsider Be attractive to the outsider Be an organisation
How do we share compelling stories? How do we tell a compelling story? How do organisations tell compelling stories?
How do we share our skills to act in ways that matter to us? How do we upskill people to act? How do we get organisations to act?
How do we build networks? How do we build members? How do we build strong alliances between organisations?
People care about the things that matter to them People need to be made to care about this issue Organisations need to care about this issue
We generate our own power we need to share it to make more Power is finite and must be taken from others Organisations hold power to influence bigger institutions
Start with what’s strong Start with the problem Start with structures
We must go to where people are People must come to us It is the known names that count
How do we care for each other How do we extract what we can from people How do we extract from organisations.
Measure of success = connections Measure of succes = numbers Measure of success = structure
Looks for connectors to build connections Looks for leaders to bring followers Looks to organisations to build structures
People in connection = change People = mass = change People in organisations = power = change
People co-create change, democracy, justice, safety and care Institutions make change and create democracy, justice, safety and care organisations make change and create democracy, justice, safety and care
Ecosystem Our system Organisational systems
Local and everywhere National importance top down Top down organisation to organisation

Community Building Tools

Community Building Tools

Community Maps - To Understand our Communities

What are Community Maps?

Community Maps are ways for us to understand what is happening in our communities. Here we will demonstrate the following maps:

  1. Personal Maps - to understand how we interact with our communities
  2. Associational Maps - to understand who is doing things in our communities
  3. Physical Maps - to understand our local landscapes
  4. Action Maps - to understand how we take action in our local landscapes
  5. Community Portraits - to understand who holds your local communities together

Community Mapping is a tool which guides us in identifying the strengths, assets and resources within our Local Areas.

For us this means knowing who we are talking to, what is already happening, how to reach people, and how to be as effective as we can

1. Personal Maps

How is your community life?

⭐ Activity ⭐

Personal Map.jpg

2. The Life of a Neighborhood

A neighbourhood is made up of many associations, both formal and informal. An association is any group of people who gather to do things. It could be a chess club, a group of friends who go to the pub on a Friday night, or a local Scouts or Guides group.

Consider:

Associational Life

3. Physical Maps

Physical Maps look not at the connections between people but at the geography of the local area. The way communities interact is connected to their place. Some of our towns have lots of potential meeting spaces and promote connection whereas others have a lack of third space where groups of people can meet to talk.

Notice Boards

Notice Boards

Meeting Places

Where do people actually meet?

How do you interact with these spaces? Do your actions interact with them?

Meeting Places

Neighborhood Assets

The assets of your neighbourhood are anything that exists there which enriches the experience of being in that space. They could be as simple as having wildflowers planted on the verge for pollinators or as complex as regular Community Assemblies where the neighbourhood discusses how to spend money.

Consider the following assets:

Below is an example of the Neighbourhood Assest identified by locals on King Street, Norwich.

Asset Description Examples
Associations Any group of people coming together to do a thing - King Street Neighbourhood Association
- Wild King Street
- Book Club
- Save Wensum Lodge Adult Learning Centre Group
- Carrow House Artist Studios
- Clubs at the Wensum Sport Centre
Places Locations where people can meet - Skate Park
- Wensum Sport Centre
- St Julian’s Church
- The Last Pub Standing
- Butterfly Cafe
- St Peter’s Churchyard
People All the gifts people bring to the neighbourhood such as skills, knowledge, talents and experiences - Creative window displays in houses
- The existence of the associations
- Whatsapp Group
- Litter pickers
- People who adopt the planter boxes
- Gardeners who plant the planter boxes
- Friendly local business owners/employees
Institutions - Organisations that provide services for the neighbourhood - Kings Centre (Methodist Church)
- National Writing Centre
- St Julian’s Church
- Wensum Sport Centre
- St John’s Ambulance Training Centre
Exchanges Any time something is exchanged such as skills, ideas, objects, money or alternative currencies. (Noting that if a monetary exchange is not a local business it becomes extractive rather than a local asset) - The Last Pub Standing
- Yoga Studio
- Corner Shop
- Butterfly Cafe
- Bicycle Links (skills/training)
- Book Club
- Neighbours making Planters
- Whatsapp Group
- Noticeboards
Stories Things people say about the neighbourhood - Blue Plaques
- Built Heritage - medieval buildings
- Generational stories about Waterfront
- St Julien shrine and stories
- Marking of old rivers in pavement
- Artwork in windows
- Noticeboard

4. Action Maps

Where do local actions happen - why?

Consider:

Action Map of Cambridge

5. Community Portraits

People are the unit of Community

Are you a part of these networks?

I run an afteer school club.png

Lets Get Mapping!

🔥 Remember 🔥

The Legal System takes our community seriously. So should we!

Community Building Tools

Group Activities - To Build Our Own Community

Community is something we build and create for each other.

Here we have outlined a few examples of what you could do in your group to intentionally build the Community.

1. The Gift Circle

What is it?

A tool to better understand the individuals in your group, what they are interested in and the skills and experiences they bring to the group. It can be used online although works best in physical space right before a break, which then allows participants to approach each other with curiosity.

Outline:

Four questions to be asked to the group in rounds, quick enough that people cannot elaborate too much.

  1. What could you teach someone?
  2. What could you show someone?
  3. What do you know a lot about?
  4. What are you passionate about?

Then invite the group to take a break so people can approach each other to ask follow up questions on anything they picked up on.

How does this Build Community

It is a great starter activity for new groups looking to build community, making visible the strengths, skills and interests already within the group. It can also be used when people from different communities are coming together to work on a project.

Even with established groups it helps to build connection between group members who may only interact with each other in one context. By continually coming back to our passions and what is strong in our community we can start to plan activities and action from a place of strength.

The Gift Circle is also a good starting point when looking to share skills with each other. Knowing what you could possibly learn from those you are already connected to.

An Example 1. What could you teach someone?
- I can teach you to mend your trousers
2. What could you show someone?
- I can show you where to get the best gluten free and vegan banana bread in Norwich
3. What do you know a lot about?
- I know a lot about native plants
4. What are you passionate about?
- I am passionate about Zine making as art and protest

2. Campfire Stories

What is it?

An invitation to tell our stories.

This can be structured or unstructured, it can be around a literal campfire or at a community meal, or any other way you can imagine!

Outline:

Sometimes storytelling emerges naturally when you create the environment for it. Sometimes asking people outright to tell their stories helps.

Some potential spring boards:

How does this Build Community

As communities, we are the stories we tell about ourselves. Through storytelling we share what it means to be a part of this community and what connects us together.

We build our common culture through the art of storytelling. It is the overlap in our stories, the shared experiences and how we remember them that build our sense of community.

3. Local Imagery

What is it?

Flexing our creativity and individuality by designing visuals that are unique to our groups. Every XR group is unique in place, style and what matters most to them. Local imagery may focus on local campaigns, landmarks, or artistic flair and style. When we come together in big actions it is wonderful to see the diversity in our creative visions!

Local Visuals

Here are some examples including:

Outline:

Consider where the artistic and creative energy is in your group. This may be with an Arts Working Group or it may be shared between everyone.

Create time and space to play with visuals, materials and designs. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Here are some more examples of the really creative directions Local Groups have taken:

Local Imagery Photos

How does this Build Community

How we express ourselves creatively is a huge part of building our XR community. Simply the process of getting out the art materials and sitting together to create builds community whether it is painting placards or designing local print blocks.

Coming together as a group to design visuals that are unique to you, your place, and what matters to your group helps to bind you together as a group. In creating group imagery and identity we create a common culture for the group. This creates a real sense of belonging.

To be able to adorn our drums and jackets with patches and stickers that mark us as part of the group ties us together.

To go on large marches and rebellions as a group with a clear visual identity such as the Oxford Bees or the Hedgehogs in the North really demonstrates our diversity as a wider community all working towards a shared purpose in ways that matter to us.

4. Create Local Posters

What is it?

Designing, printing, and displaying physical posters is a great tool to build our communities. We can use them to share our message in a clear and striking way. We can use them to invite new people into our spaces. We can use them to tell stories and inspire action.

Outline:

First, consider the purpose of the poster. Is it to invite people to your group's meetings? Is it to advertise an event? Is it a call to action such as switching banks?

How are you going to make the ask as simple as possible? Can you put a map to your meeting space on the poster? Can you add a QR code to scan? Is it clear what the ask is?

Now, where are you going to put the posters so people can see them? Do you have a map of your local Notice Boards? You want to make the most of your printing costs so where do people stop to look at posters? Think about where we stop moving - bus stops, bathroom stalls, traffic lights.

Local Posters

How does this Build Community

Posters allow us to share our work with the wider community inviting them in and including them in our events, action and meetings. They also clearly communicate what is going on, allowing people to step in and out of interaction with the group, you may notice the same faces popping up!

Poster making can be a creative opportunity, to make something that catches the eye! There is scope to share artistic skills as well!

Make it Super Simple! Poster making can have a very low barrier to entry.
Collect:
- A4 Paper
- Coloured Pens & Pencils or Paints!
- A Photocopier
- Some enthusiastic Rebels

You can spend an evening together around a table with some snacks and everyone makes their own version of a poster advertising the meeting, how to get there, and why they love to go.

With the photocopier everyone can leave that session with 50 posters to put up in town!

Some of our best community building tools are simple, scrappy and inexpensive!

Does your group do something that belongs on this list? Let your Regional Gardener know and it may end up here!

Community Building Tools

Community Activities - To Share with Our Wider Communities

Community building asks us to identify the strengths we have in our group and share them with the wider community. This can look like holding events for the community to attend such as banner making workshops, or responding to asks from other groups such as bringing drums to a rally.

Think about what you as a group can offer and make those offerings visible! Here we have a few examples:

1. Pop-Up Spaces

What is it?

Any temporary space we create as a group. Stalls, actions, talks and exhibitions are all examples of spaces we create that pop-up in the community space!

These are the spaces we create in which people can interact with us, where conversations are started and ideas shared.

It is in these spaces that we begin to create, communicate and invite people into our visions of the world we want. Through the way we act, the care we show and the curiosity for those who step in to visit or join.

How does this Build Community

Every interaction within the wider community is a potential connection. Every connection adds to the network. And the more interconnected our communities are the stronger we become. It is only through conversation that we learn who our community conectors are, that we discover the hidden talents of our neighbours and the passions that drive each of us.

30.08.24_Upgrde Democracy_Windsor_Oil Slick_Gareth Morris-3.jpeg

2. Banner Making

What is it?

Banner making workshop is a space where members of any group can come to make banners, flags and placards for an upcoming action.

Outline:

You will need:

You can also consider having eyelets to add and a sewing machine to hem the edges either before or after painting. Remind everyone to wear scrappy clothes or bring an apron.

From this point it's up to you what you create. It may be XR themed or it may be for another group's event, or for a campaign!

More information and graphics for banner making can be found on the Banners page.

How does this Build Community

Banner printing creates a shared purpose that can be realised quickly and through simple tasks that can be done with little teaching. There is space for people to share tasks and being simple there is space for conversation and connection.

There is re little teaching involved in banner making so once someone learns how to do it they can easily pass it on to others and become a teacher or designer of some wonderful banners!

Norwich Banner

3. Block Printing

What is it?

Block printing stands are a fantastic offering of our skills into the community. They invite people to have fun in a creative way and connect.

Outline:

You will need:

All the information needed to run an effective print stall can be found here: Block Printing by the Art Blockers.

How does this Build Community

By creating a small task that can be done with the hands with very little teaching required space is created fo conversation, connection and the sharing of stories. The act of creating together also brings people together by experimenting with ideas.

There is potential for the expression of both individual and shared identity in wearing patches and printing clothes.

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4. Beginner Drumming Session

What is it?

A drumming workshop for beginners is a great offering and entry point into the thriving community of Rhythms.

It is also a great offering of skills to the community as our bands support not just XR actions but a wide range of events that happen locally, showing solidarity and care for other groups.

Outline:

You will need:

Equipment List Drums: Bass, Mid, High, Repinique, Snare
Backpack: Agogo bells, Tamborim, Shaker, Ear Defenders, Beaters, Straps for Drums

A session for beginner drummers is fairly easy to hold. Start of with learning a simple rhythm like Funk and go from there.

You can find more resources and contact XR Rhythms here: https://xrrhythms.uk

How does this Build Community

The low barrier into drumming and our Rhythms spaces creates fun entry points for new members, and space where new connections can be built.

Our Rhythms spaces really prioritise the creation of safe and inclusive space for our communities and by consistently showing up in solidarity to events organised by other groups we show are commitment to the work and purpose that exists between these groups.

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5. Zine Workshop

What is it?

A creative workshop that allows people to express themselves in many different ways! Zines have a long history in activism and are a great, low budget tool we can use to share ideas, get people thinking!

Holding a Zine Workshop invites community members to consider the skills, interests and passions they have that they may wish to share in a new creative way.

Outline:

You will need:

Either around a table or scattered on the floor, let people create whatever they want! It may be an Art Zine where they draw on all the pages, maybe they create a comic book, maybe a workshop outline people can run, maybe a collection of poems or essays on a topic. The possibilities are endless.

Make time to scan, photocopy and share the zines people have made! Maybe take a few away with you to give to friends. Some notice boards have areas for flyers and zines - share them even wider!

Zine Folding

How does this Build Community

Zines are a fantastic way to share information, ideas and resources! They are also great tools for artists, poets and writers to share tasters of their work. Encouraging people to express themselves creatively.

A workshop like this really allows a window into the skills, interests and assets in your local community. From simply socialising in such a space you now know who the artists are, who the writers are, who can offer specific skills, and what people are passionate about! This in many ways can be used as a form of gift circle.

Here are some examples of zines:

Example Zines

Glossary

In every setting we use words in a slightly different way. There is no right or wrong way to define these things. But when used here this is what we are meaning

Term Meaning
Community A group of people who share some aspects of identity, purpose, interest or experience. The space between individual change and governmental change where people collectively make change that matters to them. A verb, the things people do that build trust, connection and collective action
Community Building The active building of trust and connection between people
Cultural Momentum The state of being indistinguishable, as activists, from the general public, finding friends/allies that we don’t currently know about who are sympathetic to our goals
Broader Spectrum of Support The diversity and breadth of individuals, groups, and organisations, including those not previously aligned with the movement or its cause, who may actively endorse, participate in, or contribute to its goals.
Asset Based Community Development Methodology for sustained development of communities based on their strengths and potential, rather than by their deficits. An approach based on how communities naturally organise themselves (30 years of research into this)
Community Connectors People who are known by and know their neighbours, the people in our communities we talk to when we need help, that one person who always seems to know who to ask and who may have the answer to any question.
Permeable Boundaries Acknowledging that a healthy, functional community doesn’t claim ownership of the individuals.
Community of Place A community of individuals connected by living in the same place.
Community of Interest A group of individuals or groups who share a common focus on a given activity or goal who reinforce their mutual trust and connection through shared action.
Community of Practice A group of individuals who share a common interest or profession and actively engage in collective learning, knowledge-sharing, and skill development through ongoing collaboration, dialogue, and shared experiences.
Community of Identity A group that is organised around a shared characteristic of the people within the group. For example age, gender and parenthood.
Community of Action A group of individuals or groups who connect and interact around a given subject or issue.