Movement Assemblies
Using the Community Assembly format to 'walk the talk' within XRUK to involve all rebels in participatory democracy.
What are Movement Assemblies?
Based on the Community Assembly format, the UK Assemblies team will support our movement to continue walking the talk and to flex and strengthen our democracy muscles. You are invited to be part of that process by helping to suggest and choose the topic for our first Movement Assembly.
Assemblies are a beautiful way to bring our collective wisdom to resolve our toughest issues.
To enhance the Movement Assemblies and get the best from this process, we're using an online interactive, democratic voting platform called Polis (more info here). Polis is used all over the world by governments, academics, independent media and citizens for more inclusive decision-making. It is described as, "A real-time system for gathering, analysing and understanding what large groups of people think in their own words."
We know that when people come together in trust and love we make fairer, more inclusive, creative and transparent decisions.
Movement Assembly #1
The Question for Discussion was...
"How might we effectively engage and activate more people in the climate and nature crises?"
Speakers giving input to the assembly were from the following XRUK teams: Media & Messaging, Outreach, Action Planners Circle, Community Building, Allies and UK Assemblies and Strategy.
Did you miss the assembly and would you like to catch-up now?
- You can watch the recording (46mins) of the first part of the assembly and then take part by voting on the ideas generated from the small breakout room discussions.
- Vote on the ideas via Polis - open from 12pm (midday) on Tuesday 29th July until 12pm (midday) on Tuesday 5th August.
Feedback Survey
This was the first of what we hope to be many more Movement Assemblies to help us all to 'walk the talk' and learn more about each other, hear more voices and share ideas across the whole of XR.
Please help the UK Assemblies team improve how the assemblies are run by giving your feedback. The form takes approx. 1-10 minutes, depending on your answers.
Click here to complete the feedback survey.
Q&A
Various questions were asked during the assembly - these will all be curated and posted here asap.
Links shared during the assembly
During the first part of the assembly we heard from a variety of XRUK teams and they shared a number of links to help you learn more about their work:
- Intro music "PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER"
- Outreach
- Community Building
- Strategy
How the question was chosen by the movement
- Week 1 - You submitted your ideas for assembly topics via Polis.
- Week 2 - You voted on everyone's ideas.
- Week 3 - Results processed.
Details of the three week process to choose the question
In Week One ...
Sat 28 June - Fri 4 July
Over 600 ideas were gathered from almost 480 people throughout the week.
Duplicated ideas for topics were edited out by Moderators to minimise overwhelm and frustration of participants. However, the breadth of issues people want to discuss means everyone will see many possible ideas to vote on. See Moderation info
In Week Two...
Sat 5 - Fri 11 July
Everyone voted on the topics that were submitted in the first week.
Some duplications were merged and some sentences rephrased to statements which left 588 ideas to vote on. You didn't need to vote on every idea. Polis worked its magic even if you only voted on 20 ideas.
You can read the Guide: Polis for Participants, so you understand the process followed so far and to make the most out of taking part in the next stage of deciding the topic for our first Movement Assembly by voting on everyone's submissions.
In Week Three...
- Polis identified the most popular ideas for topics which to be the basis for our first Movement Assembly.
- UK Assemblies [the Assembly Organisers on this occasion] then supported, coordinated and publicised this assembly.
- Results are shared on the Rebel Toolkit and publicised on the Rebellion Broadcast.
Data from the Polis used for choosing the question
Polis Report
- The full Polis Report. Please note: you will not be able to download the 'raw data'.
Explainer: How Polis Works | Groups and Their Opinions
Polis takes the data and breaks the participants down into groups of people whose opinions differ significantly. This does not mean that they don’t agree on anything, but more that their priorities lie in different places.
In this case, it found three distinct groups (A, B and C).
Their opinions can be broadly defined as:
- A (43 people; 3%) – in general voted negatively on most issues and passed little, but showed support for discussing XR internal strategy, actions and reform.
- B (135 people; 11%) – in general voted positively on most issues and passed little; showed strongest support for discussing questions around structural and political change and engaging the public in the climate movement.
- C (1068 people; 86%) – in general voted positively on most issues, but passed regularly. They showed strongest support for discussing how to engage large numbers of people in the climate movement.
At the bottom of the report under the All Statements section, the results are displayed for all participants OVERALL
and broken down by group for every statement.
You can select the drop-down arrow next to Sort by: and choose different options to display the info. Two of the most useful are Number of votes
and % Agreed
.
Overall Results
The Overall results are most closely aligned to those of Group C - which makes up 86% of respondents; those in Group B actually felt more strongly positive about the Top 10 statements, and Group A felt more negative/mixed.
The aim of Polis is to allow the statements upon which most people are likely to agree ‘rise to the top’. In this case, the themes that most closely align with the majority of those participating are around engaging the wider public in the climate fight.
Summary
- Based on these results, the UK Assemblies team have involved relevant teams to co-create the question for our first Movement Assembly.
- We will all then deliberate on that question at this first movement assembly.
How we prepared for the assembly
Details of how we prepared for the Assembly included:
- Descriptions of each step of the assembly
- How Polis will be used post assembly
- Volunteer as a Facilitator or Note-taker
- Come to a pre-assembly drop-in session for a chat
Optional Pre-Reading
This was a list of things that we thought people would find helpful before joining the assembly.
- XRUK Strategic Comms Presentation Sept 2024
-
Green energy and protecting nature get the thumbs up in climate change study in 68 countries
Published: July 16, 2025 3.19pm BST
-
Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public
Published: July 8, 2025 2.54pm BST
-
Climate change reporting is not connecting with people and their real issues – what needs to be done about it
Published: November 7, 2024 2.21pm GMT
-
Five golden rules for effective science communication – perspectives from a documentary maker
Published: September 20, 2023 2.20pm BST
-
Three key drivers of good messaging in a time of crisis: expertise, empathy and timing
Published: April 14, 2020 4.15pm BST
-
Big Oil is bankrolling the UK’s election
30 June 2024
The schedule of the assembly was
- 18:00 - Intro and input - Assembly Host and Speakers + Q&A, then a short break
- 19:15 - Discussion - Break-out Rooms Deliberation
- 20:30 - Prioritise - Identify the three key ideas from your discussion. Group Note-takers will enter these into Polis, then checkout in the main room
Any questions? Contact the UK Assemblies Team.
If you find any of these processes confusing or overwhelming, need adaptations, a buddy or have other access needs, please do contact wellbeing@extinctionrebellion.uk or contact 07773 193704.
Preparing for a Movement Assembly
Facilitators and Note-takers
We are always looking for more facilitators for small breakout room discussions. You can watch the Assembly Facilitation training via recorded video.
Contact us to volunteer as an Assembly Facilitator (or to ask questions, stating whether you’re already trained or experienced): assemblies@extinctionrebellion.uk
Drop-in Sessions
Everyone is welcome to come to these with questions about the Movement Assembly process, assembly facilitation, note-taking or Polis, XR's interactive polling tool.
Every Thursday 13.00–14.00 - Join the Zoom.
Assembly Process
The first section before the breakout rooms, will be recorded. After the assembly, this will be shared for those that couldn’t attend but want to see the process and also take part in voting after the assembly. Click here for timings and registration link.
What Happens in the Breakout Rooms
- Once in the small breakout rooms, the group can decide on breaks and when these will be, or if you need a comfort break at any time, let the facilitator know.
- Each breakout room will have a facilitator (F) and note-taker (N). If the breakout room doesn't have someone with an F or N before their name, please decide amongst you who will take on these roles.
- Note-takers will record the group's contributions using this harvest doc. If you are happy to be a note-taker please join the assembly on a computer or tablet and not on your phone. Please ask people to slow down when needed to make sure contributions are recorded accurately.
- Facilitators are advised to join using a computer or tablet however, if necessary, they can facilitate if attending the assembly on a phone.
- Facilitators are there to support the group and to make sure everyone’s voices are heard. Please respect the process and use hand signals when contributing to the discussions. Facilitators will explain the hand signals in the breakout rooms.
- You will have an hour and a half in your breakout rooms. 75 minutes for your main discussion. Followed by 15 minutes to identify your three top ideas. The note-taker will then read the 3 ideas back to the group for agreement. Once the group is happy, the note-taker will enter the group's 3 ideas into Polis. Everyone will be able to vote on all the groups’ top 3 ideas over the following week.
How Will Polis be Used?
- Once your note-taker has added your group’s 3 top ideas, the Polis Moderators will check these to make sure personally identifiable information isn't included, e.g. names, email addresses, telephone numbers etc.
- Polis will then open for voting for a week, usually from midday on the Tuesday (if Assembly runs on a Sunday).
- The Polis results from this round of voting will be published on the Rebel Toolkit and everyone who registered for the Assembly will get these via email.
Any questions? Contact the UK Assemblies Team
If you find any of these processes confusing or overwhelming, need adaptations, a buddy or have other access needs, please do contact wellbeing@extinctionrebellion.uk or contact 07773 193704