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Building Power Leading Change BUILDING POWER LEADING CHANGE The Institute for Change Leaders 2017/18 Annual Report The power of storytelling is one of the most important components of organizing, and it’s one of the first things we teach our students. Stories can turn despair into hope, forge a new community from disparate individuals, and awaken latent sources of power. These can be discouraging times. New challenges and crises have arisen since the story of the Institute for Change Leaders began two years ago, but so have new sources of hope and solidarity. We have trained thousands of organizers Who we are What we teach who refuse to accept injustice, and who Founded in 2016 by Olivia Chow and We teach how to tell your story to choose to unite in collective action. And based at Ryerson University, the Institute persuade and motivate others; how We have trained I know there are so many more who we for Change Leaders teaches the skills to recruit and retain volunteers; how thousands of haven’t met, who are standing ready to that organizers need in order to win to structure your team to encourage learn the tools of activism and organize social change. Olivia and her team of leadership development; and how organizers who refuse their communities. 30+ trainers have taught community and to strategize and choose tactics that to accept injustice, and political organizing to a network of almost build power. who choose to unite in The story of each of these future four thousand organizers since launching. leaders, like ours, is just beginning. Our curriculum comes from Marshall collective action. And We believe students learn best when Ganz, a Harvard professor who codified I know there are so I invite you to join us on our journey - they practice what they learn. We deliver the relationship-building organizational support, donate, volunteer, teach and our full curriculum in regular weekend framework we teach after the years he many more who we learn with us. sessions at Ryerson University, and we spent organizing the Civil Rights and haven’t met, who are work with organizations such as unions, United Farm Workers movements. He nonprofits, and social service agencies was a key trainer and organizing strategist standing ready to learn to deliver tailored training in their behind President Obama’s presidential the tools of activism gathering places. campaigns. The Institute offers the and organize their first accredited Marshall Ganz-based community-organizing course in Canada. communities. – Olivia Chow THE INSTITUTE FOR CHANGE LEADERS 2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT | 2 n 2018, the Institute for Change expanding reach, and growing AECEO’s Childcare ILeaders was pleased to continue our effectiveness and capacity. partnership with the Association of Early Child care workers Building Power Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO). These province-wide training sessions can now locate Our collaboration began last year with connected ECEs and early years power and recruit for Change leadership training sessions for Early staff with parents and engaged Childhood Educators (ECEs) in four community members to strengthen volunteers to build cities across the province. These initial AECEO’s campaign for Professional our collective workshops helped to spur the creation Pay & Decent Work in early years and of five local Communities of Practice childcare. Participants gained the skills muscles. working with the AECEO to organize and confidence to build power, and – Sue Parker, Association of and build capacity. become leaders in their work, school Early Childhood Education or community so they can effectively and Child Care Workers This year, we built on our earlier champion the rights of children to success and momentum by providing receive universal, high quality and a second training workshop, focused affordable early learning and care. on deepening local team engagement, THE INSTITUTE FOR CHANGE LEADERS 2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT | 3 Inside the fight for press freedom in Canada How the Institute for Change Leaders taught one campaigner how to fight for — and win — real change for the rights of journalists in Canada. By Duncan Pike Rally from the February 2017 ‘Day of Action’ for press freedom in Toronto. Photo: Matt Currie n October 4, 2017 Parliament from the CJFE team and our many allies, “Public Narrative.” The Public Narrative 2017, the Liberal government had Ounanimously passed Bill S-231, largely based on the Marshall Ganz answers the “why” questions of publicly agreed to support the bill. Canada’s first ‘press shield’ law for the approach to achieving social change. organizing—why I care about this protection of journalistic sources. Coming issue, why you should care, and why The Ganz framework as taught by amid a series of serious press freedom I began studying the Ganz method we need to come together to take the Institute for Change Leaders violations in Canada, the bill’s passage with Olivia Chow and the Institute for action now. The course also provided provided the tools to help make this was a rare bright spot in a generally Change Leaders in January 2017, just as the tools to strategize intelligently and victory possible. I learned to harness gloomy time for the rights of journalists. the campaign for a press shield bill was put that passion into action. the power of narrative to move our heating up, and immediately applied what community to action, to clarify the Getting a ‘press shield’ law passed was I learned to my work at CJFE. I believe Ultimately, our campaign raised public most important components of our a key goal for the nonprofit advocacy many of the lessons from the 12-week awareness of Bill S-231, linked it strategy, and to develop tactics that group Canadian Journalists for Free course at Ryerson University were crucial positively to an issue of growing public advanced our campaign goals and Expression (CJFE), where I worked as to the campaign’s eventual success. concern and directed public pressure on grew our organization. Above all, Campaigns and Advocacy Coordinator Members of Parliament and government I learned first-hand the power of during the S-231 campaign. The victory At the heart of the Ganz approach is officials with the ‘agenda power’ to effective community organizing to was the result of a year-long campaign a storytelling framework called the ensure Bill S-231’s passage. By June build power and win real change. THE INSTITUTE FOR CHANGE LEADERS 2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT | 4 Who We’ve Trained We had a busy second year, training over 1000 organizers from a diverse range of groups on how to build relationships, shift power, and create lasting change. Here are some of the groups we’ve worked with over the past year: Early Childhood Educators University students • Local Champions in Indigenous communities • Social Work Student Union at • University of Toronto Medical Scarborough-Malvern, • Oshki-Wenjack Institute, Ryerson University, September 2018 Students, November 2017 December 2017 February, August 2018 • AECEO Child Care Workers Compass • People, Power and Change, • Shoday Abinojiiwak Obimiwedoon – Early Learning Childcare, May 2018 courses at Ryerson University, Labour movements Aboriginal Head Start, February 2018 • CUPE Child Care Workers, April 2018 September - December 2017, 2018 • AMAPCEO, • Building Skills for Change, November September 2018 Democratic engagements Non-governmental organizations 2017, February and November 2018 • United Steelworkers, • A Better Niagara Community • YWCA, November 2018 April 2018 Group Incorporated, June 2018 • Ecology Ottawa, April 2018 Local residents from lower • CUPE Ontario and National, • Campaign School, • Stephen Lewis Foundation, April 2018 income neighbourhoods November 2018 February 2018 • Canadian Center for • Community Food Centres Canada, • Waterloo Regional Labour Council, • City for All Women Initiative, Victims of Torture, July 2018 April 2018 April 2018 April 2018 • FCJ Refugee Centre, • Lawrence Heights Inter-Organizational • Hong Kong Labour Movement, • Healthy Transportation Coalition, July 2018 Network (LHION), December 2017 January 2018 April, November 2018 THE INSTITUTE FOR CHANGE LEADERS 2017/18 ANNUAL REPORT | 5 ommunity organizing is about and a stirring example of Indigenous base, affecting fundraising, recruitment New C people, power, and change. power and leadership. of volunteers and the impact of But most curricula about successful campaigns. Our first workshop in May Training and organizing campaigns do not include We piloted the new curriculum in showed participants how to improve Indigenous content. To help Indigenize Indigenous environments with feedback their communications abilities and Approaches our courses, we chose to highlight a from participants and specialists in make effective use of the abundance of case study of Attiwapiskat’s struggle for Indigenous studies. We plan to continue vehicles available to them to accomplish We continued to a new school from 1979 until the new to develop case studies highlighting the campaign goals. school was built in 2014. This campaign power communities have when they refine and improve is known as Shannen’s Dream, after the organize collectively and politically. Art & Social Transformative Change our curriculum in our late student leader Shannen Koostachin. We are excited to welcome Lorraine Effective Communication Segato, a creator, musician and filmmaker, second year and were We examined how Shannen and her for Social Change to add artistic and cultural training and proud to integrate contemporaries engaged students, We were
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