Language Intelligence is the latest book by climate blogger Joe Romm. It is a guide to rhetoric, “the art of persuasion through the systematic use of the figures of speech.” To be more precise, it is a powerfully written and invaluable guide to rhetoric. Whether you cross swords on Q&A with Nick Minchin, speak to […]
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Tag Archives: activist
Chris Rose’s “How to Win Campaigns”: Motivational Values
November 20, 2012 
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Chris Rose’s How to Win Campaigns is an asset for campaigners, particularly its chapter on Motivational Values. The chapter explains how society is composed of three distinct values-based groupings of citizens, and how messages and actions can be tailored to fit the values of each group. I explore motivational values and their implications below. I’ve […]
Read more “Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela: Leadership, Apartheid, and Climate Activism
November 18, 2012 0 Comments
Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom is a stirring book. Autobiography already has something rich and intimate about it; in Long Walk to Freedom that is combined with the nobility and inspiration of a successful struggle against injustice. In reading it, I reflected upon a few things: leadership, apartheid, and climate activism. Nelson Mandela is […]
Read more Why is the Climate Movement Celebrating Obama’s Re-election?
November 7, 2012 2 Comments
Today Barack Obama was elected to a second term as President of the United States. Also today, as a consequence of global warming, our climate system gained an amount of energy equivalent to exploding 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. In the giddy celebrations following Obama’s success, climate activists jostled over a cursory mention given in his […]
Read more Repower Port Augusta: the Walk for Solar
September 20, 2012 4 Comments
“Passengers, prepare for take off.” Blueish cabin lights illuminate my copy of Chris Rose’s How to Win Campaigns as flight DJ 247 leaves Melbourne. I’ll soon arrive in South Australia to start the journey of a lifetime, walking 300 km from Port Augusta to Adelaide in support of a campaign to build Australia’s first baseload […]
Read more On Moyer’s Four Roles of Social Activism
August 4, 2012 0 Comments
Bill Moyer’s MAP (Movement Action Plan) model for organising social movements gives social activists a conceptual framework for analysing past and contemporary social movements. One aspect of this model is “The Four Roles of Social Activism”. Moyer’s model is useful primarily because it highlights the interdependence of the four roles: he argues that “social movements […]
Read more On Uni and the Absence Thereof
July 14, 2012 2 Comments
There I was in Year 11. Sitting down with the Rector of the College, I was discussing my plans and making corresponding subject choices. ‘The world’, he told me, ‘is your oyster’. Having completed two fifths of Year 12 in Year 11, I, as per my school’s policy, went on to complete a further five […]
Read more Melbourne, 11 Months In.
June 8, 2012 1 Comment
I’m packing my room to move to my second Melbourne Sharehouse. Gradually emptying my bookshelf, sticking big A4 things into a calico bag, I come upon an A4 envelope from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s Meet Your Member Finale, July 2011. The consequence of open slather of Kris Kringle style good vibes, it contains lovely […]
Read more “The Island President”, COP15, and My Self
May 29, 2012 2 Comments
Last night at ACMI I saw The Island President, the last film being shown as part of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival. It was the tale of President Mohamed Nasheed’s fight to save his country, the Maldives, from climate change. The film followed his political defiance of the Gayoom dictatorship up to the […]
Read more On Education of, and by, Activists
May 26, 2012 0 Comments
Conventional models for education are considered by some thinkers and activists to be tools for perpetuating an oppressive and contemptible status quo. However, it is unclear how the knowledge of highly-experienced individuals can be shared in a more egalitarian way. Those involved in activist education ought to be aware of, and wary of, the tension […]
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