In this training, we introduce you to Activist Handbook. We tell you how we are going to organise the International Rebel Assembly together. You can watch back the recording, or read the article below.

Also make sure check out Training 2.

Introduction #

We are super excited because so many people have signed up to organise a rebel hub as part of the International Rebel Assembly. We're sure that with your help, we will make it a big success! We’re counting on you!

We are from many different countries, but we are united in our shared ambitions: to fight against injustice and inequality, to end the climate crisis, to stand up for human rights, and to empower marginalised people in our society. Our diversity is our strength. Whatever challenges we will face organising this event, we will be supporting each other.

During these training sessions, you will be learning about how you can contribute as a hub coordinator and what we expect from you all, in detail.

Have questions? Send a message to Vaan via WhatsApp!

Welcoming atmosphere #

We hope we have been able to make all of you feel welcome. It is very important to us that you know we value your input a lot and when something bothers or worries you, you can always share that with us and we will try to find a solution together.

1. Introducing Activist Handbook #

In this part of the training, we’ll tell you a bit more about Activist Handbook & the International Rebel Assembly. We’ll also talk about how we’ll be organising this event together.

The Wikipedia for activists #

Activist Handbook is an online platform for activists around the world to exchange knowledge and experiences. It works just like Wikipedia: everyone can improve our articles. Our articles are never finished: they’re always changing and getting better over time, as more people contribute

Activist Handbook is open source: all our articles are free to read and reuse. This project started back in 2019 in Serbia, at a hackathon with activists from all sorts of different countries. A hackathon is a sprint-like event where people get together and build something cool in a very short time.

Last December, we organised a write-a-thon, which was organised in a similar way. And now, the International Rebel Assembly will be using the same event format, just with more people and with more countries participating. It is really an awesome experience because everyone gets super motivated to contribute their part to the team and you’re able to produce something valuable in only two days.

What kind of articles do we write? #

So what kind of articles do we write for Activist Handbook? Well, we write very practical guides that answer questions that activists have. These guides help us to organise more effectively and make more impact.

Our guides are not just about one specific type of activism (so not just climate activism, or just human rights activism). We believe all our struggles intersect, they are connected to each other. By standing in solidarity, we can make more impact. We believe that we are stronger together: we can learn so much from each other.

So to give a few examples of topics: how to organise a protest, how do you make democratic decisions as a group, how to prevent activist burnout.

So the themes that hubs will be writing about will be decided by hub coordinators. During our third training, we’ll brainstorm together what these themes will be exactly. And during the event itself, participants will select topics within those themes that they want to write about.

So within your hub, small groups of people may work together. So for example, you may have 3 people working together on one topic, and another 3 working together on another topic. And within those small groups, people may use their different skills. So one person can write, another can do research, and a third can create illustrations.

2. Introducing Rebel Assembly #

The International Rebel Assembly is a global event that takes place during the weekend of the 30th and 31st of July. Participants will be coming together in local or online hubs to write guides for activists. As hub coordinators, you are responsible for organising your hub.”

Why are we organising this event? #

Nobody is born an activist, and they don’t teach us how to change the world in school. So that is why we are writing a handbook for activists. During the event, we will all be writing guides for this handbook.

Activism is not the same in every country, so we are super happy to have people participating in so many different locations! Our goal is to build an international network of people who are interested in learning more about activism, and who want to train others in becoming more effective change-makers. This project does not end after our event in July: this is just the beginning!

What is a rebel hub? #

A rebel hub is a small self-organised group of change-makers who share the same geographical region or interest. Hubs get together online or in real life during the International Rebel Assembly.

You can start your own hub and invite fellow activists. Both individuals and existing organisations can host a rebel hub. Rebel hubs are set up by two or more hub coordinators.

During the event you can write guides in any language you want: Although we expect the hub coordinators to be proficient in English, speaking English is not at all a requirement for other hub participants. Our goal is to make Activist Handbook available in all languages.

How are we organising this event? #

As hub coordinators, you will be organising one of the hubs that will be participating in the International Rebel Assembly. You will be recruiting participants for your hub, and you will be facilitating the programme during the event itself. The prep team will be supporting you in this. And of course the hubs can also support each other.

In the timeline below you can see everything that we will be doing until the event in July. We have several trainings coming up.

There are three ways in which your hub can participate in this event. This way, everyone can join our event, no matter what internet connection you have.

Try to recruit between 10 to 20 hub participants. Make sure you have enough hub coordinators to help all the participants during the event (for example, 1 coordinator per 5 participants). Also take into account that you will have to find a location where you can meet with all your hub participants.

Your responsibilities #

As a hub coordinator, you have the following responsibilities:

1. Recruit participants
   • Invite fellow activists & friends
   • Promote on socials
   • Share the signup form
   • Make participants feel welcome
2. Arrange location to meet
   • Living room or public space (library, community centre)
   • Make sure there's enough space
   • Make sure the internet is good
3. Facilitate programme
   • Make everyone feel welcome
   • Facilitate the sessions
   • Give training on how to write
   • Share all the work you produced

Certificate of participation #

We heard some of you would like to receive a certificate of participation. Send a message to Vaan if this is the case, and then we'll give you one after the event.

Next up #

Check out training 2, in which we explain how you can recruit participants for your hub.