Week Seven Action: Join in

Last week, we asked you to take the simple step of joining up to something. Signing up or becoming a member is a crucial psychological step towards embracing the fact that we’re not alone - there are other people out there who care about the same things, and we can support and work with them to get stuff done.

The next step to building participatory muscle is to move from passive membership to actively taking part in something (whether it’s the thing you just joined, or something else). 

There are lots of ways to do this, and it’s really important that you choose a way that works for you. That doesn’t necessarily mean standing for election or joining a committee! Participation comes in many different flavours.

Here’s a few ideas for how you can take that next step.

  • Share your skills (and learn new ones). Think about what you’re good at, and find a way to offer your skills to something that matters. Dust off your gap year TEFL qualification to help refugees learn English and get settled. If you’re green-fingered, community gardens like Bristol’s St Werburghs Community Garden or London’s May Project Gardens are always looking for people to muck in (to find a local growing group, Incredible Edible could be a good place to start). We also love the Men’s Sheds movement, which creates spaces for men to “connect, converse and create” by mending things, doing bits of DIY, and generally pottering about together, sharing skills and knowledge and building social connections. 

  • Become a Citizen Scientist. Gathering data can be a really simple and convenient way to make a difference, especially if you are time-poor. You could become a Walrus Detective with the WWF’s Walrus From Space initiative, track reptiles or hedgehogs with your local Wildlife Trust, or measure local air or river quality. Members of the Campaign for Real Ale also regularly tour local pubs and score the quality of the beer offering, helping to keep standards up and traditions alive (sounds like thirsty work!).

  • Crowdfund something. If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of spare cash, you can pitch into a project you care about and join its community of investors and well-wishers. You can browse for a project near you on Ethex or Crowdfunder. We really love “community shares”, which allow you to invest in community assets and projects, receive both a financial and social return, and become a member of the project. A community share offer that’s caught our eye lately is the Music Venue Trust’s attempt to crowdfund the purchase of grassroots music venues to ensure that future generations of up-and-coming performers have a stage (or a sticky floor!) to develop their craft and attract an audience.

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A note from New Citizenship Project:

Taking small, positive actions in our individual lives is vital, but nothing beats joining forces with others, tapping into our collective power and being amazed at what we can achieve together. Indeed, the first step to truly changing the world is simply recognising that people really do want to - and can! - shape the things that matter to us for the better.

That’s not always the story we’re told, but it’s a story that’s growing in power, day by day. By having faith in humanity, locating where we personally have influence, finding other people who care about the same things, and figuring out with them how we’re going to get started, we can all step into our own “Citizen Story” and shake off the “Consumer Story” that holds us back.

To do this, however, we need to build up our “participatory muscle”. So, over the month of February, the team at New Citizenship Project is offering our own version of a “Couch to 5K" for active citizenship!

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What Year of Action means to Me

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Week Six Action: Join up