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Roles within your Action Team

Roles within your group

It is advised to have these designated roles covered and a back-up for each role in case of someone being unable to attend at short notice. This is not an extensive list of roles for larger actions.

  • PROTEST LIAISON** – Ready to speak to police before/during actions, more info below
  • STEWARDS – help guide people where to go, ensuring teh safety of all those involved at an action.
  • BANNER HOLDERS - Required to take rotating shifts, recruit from attendees on teh day.
  • ROADTAKE CREW (for Marches) - Supported by experienced Stewards but normally recruited in advance or on the day if required. THese teams will need to be mobile as they will be leapfrogging the march as roads are blocked.
  • ACTION OUTREACH - recruit new rebels, speak to the public / hand out flyers.
  • DE-ESCALATION** – person who has good skills at calming a situation, e.g. speaking to a rowdy member of the public or speaking to a crowd to calm an undesired atmosphere.
  • ACTION WELLBEING** – Wear blue high-vis or sash or green for first aiders. Looking after everyone’s well-being: making sure everyone is calm and grounded. Preferably also a First-Aider. Should carry essentials e.g. water, emergency snacks, sun-cream, umbrella, heat pads, sanitary items, first- aid kit, basic toiletries, other good stuff!
  • ANCHOR – is a point of stability during the tumult of an action and offers check-ins as needed by rebels on the ground. They might be someone who can’t come to the action or wants to support from a distance, thus conserving their energies especially for pre- and post-action support.
  • MEDIA TEAM – live-streaming, Videographer, Photographer, taking footage to edit, interviewing etc.
  • SPOKESPERSON – ready to speak to any press, well-versed on the narrative of your action and core values and Demands of XR
  • TESTAMONIALS / OUTSIDE SPEAKER
  • LOGISTICS – person to lead on gathering equipment required and taking it away again.
  • ARRESTEE SUPPORT – Willing to go and wait at police stations to welcome brave rebels back to the free world: making sure they can get transport home, that they are ok, giving them massive love. Preferably go in pairs. This could be waiting long through the night so designate shifts. This person needs to communicate with the back office about where arrestees have gone. Must be sober. ACTION CO-ORDINATOR (Not the same as an ‘organiser’ in legal terms) An excellent communicator, verbally and electronically. Making sure everyone is in the loop and giving the action go- ahead in the moment. Need to think on their feet and be strategically responsive. Advised to not risk arrest and have a back-up co-ordinator. Could have one co-ordinator’s phone that is passed on if switching roles. On the ground it is use- ful to have 3 people in this role, to make quick decisions via consensus together, or individually if the need arises. But ahead of time important to have one person bottom-lining the project.
  • LEGAL OBSERVERS** (external to XR) Wear orange high-vis. On the ground at an action. Legal observers are trained volunteers who support the legal rights of activists. Legal observers are independent from the protest and do not participate. They monitor arrests, collect witnesses and help connect arrestees with support at the police station. All rebels should have the basic awareness of how to witness an arrest and report it to the back office teams.
  • RHYTHMS - Provide energy and encouragement to protestors, especially useful if groups will be occupying or locked-on.

These roles are designated as low-risk of arrest, however there is never any guarantee how the police will respond to an action and we are all responsible for ourselves and our actions: more on Legal stuff here.

Roles with a ** by them are essential if you’re planning a spicy action:

Many of these roles have circles within XR who can help if you need it.

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