Prepare for Action: Facilitator's Guide

• 1. Read First
• 2. Who is the workshop for?
• 3. Preparation
• 4. Timings
• 5. Tips For Online Training
• 6. Tips For In-Person Training
• 7. Preparation for the Spectrum Line
• 8. Deescalation Practice
• 9. Decision-Making Practice
• 10. Endings

1. Read First

Welcome to the Prepare for Action [PfA] Facilitator's Guide.

This guide is designed to support you to deliver the PfA workshop using the training video [ADD LINK]. Facilitators are the 'third trainer' alongside the two speakers in the video.

As a Facilitator, you are essential to the experience of the attendees from organising the group, leading discussions and practices to giving post-session information.

Using the video and Facilitator's Guide means that anyone can organise a Prepare for Action workshop. This will help with training:

• local or regional groups
• onboarding new rebels
• preparing for an action or event
• planning an action with allied organsations or groups

The video is publicly available and you don’t need to be a part of Extinction Rebellion to use it. It is important that anyone joining any type of action knows how to maintain peaceful civil disobedience.

This workshop is based on Extinction Rebellion's Nonviolent Direct Action [NVDA] training which began in 2019 and has been regularly updated to reflect our own evolution and changes to the law.

Read the PfA introduction for further information.

Extinction Rebellion is a volunteer-led movement and we rely on donations to support our work including producing training resources. Please encourage people to make a donation.

DONATE HERE

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For questions and further support:

• Email volunteer@extinctionrebellion.uk
• Mattermost Explore XR Reception

2. Who is the workshop for?

PfA is for people who want to know how to prepare to take any kind of peaceful action [known as Nonviolent Direct Action - NVDA]. Some people may already have prior experience of protests and could be looking for a refresher. The training includes some challenging concepts and benefits from having a faciliator to support participants. There are comprehensive notes for facilitators below.

People who are completely new to climate activism may also like to join:

• an uplifting The World We Want talk
• a welcoming Intro to XR talk
• an informal interactive Get Involved session

Another route to PfA training is to find regional and local groups on the Local Groups map where in-person training may be available.

3. Preparation

• Watch the video beforehand to familiarise yourself.

• We expect that all participants will abide by Extinction Rebellion's Rebel Agreement [sometimes known as the Rebel Code] during training sessions.

• The video can be used in-person or online. You don’t need slides and a script. You will need to be able to screenshare the video online or, in-person, project it onto a screen or show it on a large TV.

• Three activities called Spectrum Line, Deescalation and Making Quick Decisions [ADD LINKS] will require your active facilitation. These activities are enriched by the discussion and experience that participants bring - it deepens everyone’s learning.

• There are also two places where we invite a pause for thought. You will need to pause the video and invite people to consider the question. You may wish to ask for responses or for people to post in the chat.

• The links and notes in the More section below the YouTube video and information on the Rebel Toolkit, will be kept up to date.

• You may also like to prepare by reading the rest of the Prepare for Action Training book.

4. Timings

This video is based on a 90 minute workshop. How long your session lasts will vary depending on the number of participants and whether your session is in-person or online.

It is important to take as many breaks as you think your participants need e.g if you have any participants who are disabled or vulnerable they may need more breaks.

You may also wish to extend breaks if your group is relatively new and you are using the session for team building.

We have not indicated where breaks might be, but the video has sections, pauses for thought, and Section Three: Injustice, Oppression and the Police is approx. half-way through.

For Facilitators	Time
Section 1. Welcome, about XR, agenda, Rebel Code	10 mins
Section 2. Civil Disobedience and Direct Action. Why Nonviolence and Spectrum Lines	26 mins
Section 3. Injustice, oppression and the police	13 mins
Break : Agree length with particpants	5 mins approx.
Section 4. Resistance and Global Emergency	3 mins
Section 5. NVDA skills for taking part in or supporting an action	14 mins
Section 6. Action Support	2 mins
Section 7. Legal Resources	4 mins
Section 8. Action Cycle, Decision-making in Action & practice	8 mins
End & energiser + Q&A	5 mins
Total	90 mins

5. Tips For Online Training

Introducing Yourself

As we refer to Facilitators throughout the workshop please introduce yourself before the video begins. We suggest that you say you are the ‘third trainer’ and will be actively leading them through parts of the session.

Check-Ins and Check-Outs

• A good ice-breaker is to run check-ins before starting the video. Depending on numbers this can be done in Breakout Rooms or in the main room. Ask participants to share their name, preferred pronouns and what they hope to get out of the session.

• Check-outs can include how they are feeling, one specific thing they got out of the training and what are their next steps.

Housekeeping etc.

• Request that people have their microphone on in Breakout Rooms. A silent participant is unsettling for others. If a participant is unhappy with this, keep them in the main room with you.

• If participants are happy to share their email with you, email the links and other information after the training.

• To get the most out of the workshop we recommend that you pause where 'Pause for Thought' green slides prompt discussion. These are moments for reflection and to share ideas and experiences. Newer rebels can gain a great deal from the more experienced participants.

Closed Captions and Chat

• Enable Closed Captions (CC) so that people can switch them on when the meeting launches.

• It is good practice to switch the chat to Everyone so that people can’t message each other directly. To do this click on Chat, use the the three dots in the corner and switch it to ‘Everyone’. If you feel you'd struggle to respond to the chat whilst presenting the video, say you will answer all questions at the end.

• You can share the link to the YouTube video in the chat at the end of the session. Explain that all the links they need are in the More section under the video. Remind people to save the chat or, as you can't save chat on a phone, click on the link to the YouTube video and save it for later.

• If using Zoom here is full guidance on the Rebel Toolkit.

Safeguarding

• Check that any participant who is under 18 or vulnerable has an appropriate adult with them. Check that the appropriate adult is present at the beginning and they join the Breakout Rooms. If the participant is unaccompanied keep them in the main room during Breakouts or invite them to come to another session with an appropriate adult. Read XR's Safeguarding Policy.

6. Tips For In-Person Training

Pre-Prep

• Links: It is possible that some of your attendees will not be able to make a note of links. If you have their email address you can send them these or you can also produce a handout of essential links / QR codes.

• There are Extinction Rebellion GDPR compliant paper sign-up forms you can print off as well as QR codes for signing up to XR Local Groups

• Bustcards: It would be a good idea to print off the up-to-date bustcards for your area for people to keep.

Introducing Yourself

• As we refer to Facilitators throughout the workshop please introduce yourself before the video begins. We suggest that you say you are the ‘third trainer’ and will be actively leading them through parts of the session.

• Future meetings: You may wish to give information about your next meeting, action or event.

Check-Ins and Check-Outs

• Check-in: Before you start the video you might like to ask people to do a brief check-in. If your group is new or there are people new to your group this can help as an ice-breaker. Check-ins usually consist of their name, preferred pronouns, how they're feeling and what they hope to get out of the session.

• Check-out: It is always good to end with a ‘how are you feeling and what are you going to do with what you have learned today?’ Speaking an intention out loud gives it more meaning. People may also wish to get together with others with similar intentions.

Closed Captions and Tech

• Check if people need closed captions and if so, enable captions using the CC button below the video.

• Breaks/timings Guidance about breaks is above but you can also ‘read the room’ or negotiate break times with attendees.

• You will need to know how to share the video on a screen and how to pause whilst leading discussions. Full Cinema for All guide for projecting and small screens.

Safeguarding

Check that any participant who is under 18 or vulnerable has an appropriate adult with them. Check that the appropriate adult is present at the beginning and joins the discussion groups. Read XR's Safeguarding Policy.

Donations

We have mentioned donations to XR in the video. Please remind people that XR is almost entirely run by volunteers and funds are critical.This video contains the most up-to-date information, so that you know how to safely take Nonviolent Direct Action. It would be greatly appreciated if you would make a donation to XR so that we may continue our work.

DONATE HERE

7. Preparation for the Spectrum Line

A Light-Bulb Moment!

• This is the part of the video where you will need to lead your group through an important and thought-provoking exercise. You will need to do a little preparation before the session. When you do your pre-prep, please pay particular attention to Section Two: Why nonviolence and Spectrum Lines.

• You can choose to use our video or to pause it entirely and read out the progressions yourself. Both are perfectly fine. Reading it out yourself will allow you to check understanding and go at the group's pace as well as adding energy to the room. This might be preferable but using the video and pausing after each progression will have the same effect. You will find careful watching of this section of the video will help you to decide.

Online

• Pause the video.

• Check that people know how to use the chat, if people are unsure you can have a practice.

• You can read out the scenario progressions.

• Or you can pause the video after each reveal of the progression so that people can take time to decide what score to give.

• It is essential that they don’t press send on the chat until they have all three progressions. This way, for each participant, you will see in the chat:

  • Participants name: 1,3,2,

• You can then ask participants with the widest variation of scores to explain their responses and reasoning at the end of each of the three progressions. There may not be time for everyone to contribute to give their responses, however, it's of great value for the other participants to hear each other's reasoning.

• If you choose to use the video to give the progressions, you will need to be ready to pause the video between progressions to give participants time to think and then add their score to the chat. After they have pressed send, prompt a conversation about people's scores.

• If you choose to read out the progressions yourself stop the screenshare, read out the scenarios Examples A, B and C and lead a discussion about participant's responses. Then start the screenshare again at 'Extinction Rebellion’s Definition of Violence'.

In-Person

• You can prepare the room with markers indicating where the ends of the spectrum line will be. To save time later on you might like to tell people where the ends are before you start the video.
• This is a practical exercise about nonviolence and if you have anyone who has limited mobility they can remain seated and call out their position.
• You will need to pause the video between progressions to give people time to move. Or you might prefer to lead this yourself, returning to the video at 'Extinction Rebellion’s Definition of Violence' when you have finished.
• You can ask people about their choices after each progression, especially outliers or wait until you have given the three Examples. Perhaps look for the person who thinks all examples are violent, and then ask someone who tends towards the other end to give their perspective.

8. Deescalation Practice

• Not everyone relishes role-play so encourage people to see the Breakout Rooms or the discussion groups as safe spaces.

• Timings are critical. If delivering online, you will need to use Breakout Rooms or, if in-person, ask pairs to spread out around your room. Twos are best, but depending on numbers, groups of three are OK. In this case the third person is an observer and can give feedback. After 2 minutes ask people to swap roles. If they are a group of three the change over will need to be quicker.

• Some people find role-playing upsetting. If people are uncomfortable doing this, they can split into pairs and discuss the issue using active listening. This means taking turns to listen. Giving full attention without thinking about what they are going to say when it’s their turn to speak, and without interrupting.

• Always give the option not to take part

9. Decision-Making Practice

• This is intended to be an almost non-verbal exercise.

• In this scenario there are likely to be police or security guards close by. So the proposal process and hand-signals will allow for speed and privacy.

• Remind people that there will have been an action briefing beforehand and so to focus on the decision-making process rather than the value of the action.

• Depending on numbers and timings you can place people in breakouts of about 6.

• You can ask for feedback about the process first, and the decision they made if you have time.

10. Endings

• If your session has been a part of an action briefing, you can pass over to the action planners to talk specifics.

• If not, you may like to spend a few moments discussing the ‘what next’ question that we pose at the end of the video and sign-posting people wherever it is appropriate. This includes, the link to the YouTube video and note to select More under the video for relevant links. Please ask them to like and share the video. Thankyou for being our third facilitator.