Organising School - Changemakers

The Changemakers Organising School is a cross-movement training, relationship building, and leadership development space founded in the first days of Australia’s pandemic lockdown. It was created so people who wanted to take action could have a space where they could come together and interpret how to respond.

The School developed over time to a consistent weekly model teaching about relationships, power, interests, action and leadership explored through frameworks, case studies and breakout discussions.

The space opened up new possibilities for grassroots leaders to access quality leadership development and training normally reserved for paid staff, build new relationships across diverse movements and open up new perspectives on power and the intersectionality of different issues and identity.

“When Australia and much of the world began going into lockdown, I feared our momentum would be lost. The school gave us a way to reach out to new allies across the country, learn new skills and keep the momentum going even though we couldn’t come together ourselves.”

– Nicholas K McCallum

Our Purpose

We work with the change makers – the hundreds of thousands of social movement members and organisational volunteers across Australia and beyond to:

Strengthen their leadership, knowledge and skills
Deepen the relationships between the people in these movements, enabling connections between the challenges we face
Help these movements and organisations grow in number

We do this because we believe that real and lasting change on the intersecting crises that we face can only be won if it is led by the people, for the people.

“This is a fantastic course for all changemakers – whether you’re a seasoned organiser or super fresh to the movement. The tools and lessons shared are invaluable and you’ll be putting those into practise right away! The chance to connect with so many changemakers from different movements was incredibly motivating too! This course is a great way to connect, share stories & support one another.”

– Nat Rowed, Wilderness Society Organiser

Our Theory of Change

If we:

Create content and training that is engaging, timely and relevant
That targets members of social movements and organisations, particularly focused on people who have participated in a social change space for at least 6 months
And create spaces for intentional relationships to build between people from across movements

Then this will happen:

The leadership and capacity of grassroots leaders will be increased
Movements and organisations will be stronger
New relationships will be formed across movements and organisations

And the outcome will be:

Larger, stronger movements for change, led by local communities, that are better networked to each other across all forms of diversity, that will be capable of winning substantially more powerful outcomes for communities across the country and beyond

“As a brand new activist for social change, participating in these trainings has been invaluable. The series has expanded my thinking, introduced me to concepts and thinkers, provided resources, and created opportunities for relational conversations with amazing and diverse people. I learn so much from every session, which also sparks great conversations with colleagues and friends. Thanks for creating this at a time when we couldn’t have needed it more!”

– Kirsten MacLeod