This month, July 2021, the Social Rights Alliance Advisory board met for a second time. Discussions about the Alliance’s future projects and shape ensued, questions about power and who we need to engage with to make meaningful change. To introduce ourselves to each other we all shared our go-to, favourite, most dog-eared, resource or book that we take inspiration from.
Here’s what we shared and why:
Rebel Ideas: The power of Thinking Differently by Matthew Syed
“taking away the tokenism from diversity and recognising that different opinions and different thought really make better policy making”
Training for Transformation Series by Anne Hope
“inspired by Paolo Friere…I use the activities in workshops, or I take the idea and kinda run with it, subvert it for my own purpose…”
Community Development: A Critical and Radical Approach by Margaret Ledwith
“she focuses on how you make theories practical...its going to be very dog-eared in coming months”
Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton
“to me in a very accessible first hand narrative kinda way, talks about how you build relationships in communities that have been screwed over by the world that they are a part of”
A Glasgow Gang Observed by James Patrick
“having the awareness of the structural barriers that people face in communities and having a space for the personal voice, the person experience to come out”
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
“It’s always been really inspirational to me in hard times”
How to Resist: Turn Protest to Power by Matthew Bolton
“this is full of stories of people in London, in mosques, and office blocks, churches and schools, I think its really easy to relate to when organising in this country”
Participatory Workshops: a sourcebook of 21 sets of ideas & activities by Robert Chambers
“there are about 6 pages on how to set up the chairs!...it also has a whole chapter on messing up which I find such a comfort and relief”
Participatory Learning & Action: A Trainers Guide by Jules N. Pretty, Irene Guijt, John Thompson and Ian Scoones
“it really is about the trainer relationship with the group…one to just dive into for ideas”
We hope you these books inspiring and useful too!
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