Organizing in dark times

A version of this blog also appears on the Alliance magazine website. 

“What will it take to build a global civil society and funding system based on new ways of deciding and doing, that harnesses and mobilizes solidarity, money and other resources in ways that centre equity, justice and flourishing lives for all?”

This was the central question at the heart of the #ShiftThePower Global Summit, which was held just over a year ago in Bogotá and brought together 730 people from 77 countries. Today, as we write this, the recent freeze on USAID funding has cast the entire global funding system into disarray, the latest and most definitive surge in what has been a slow-burning retreat by public and private funders away from international solidarity and the defence of human rights. In this latest moment of crisis, and of the broader unravelling of the world’s systems, what sparks of hope can be reaped from the Summit?

While the global backdrop against which the Summit was held was hardly rosy, its overall framing was resolutely positive and forward-looking. This came from the conviction of many of us in the #ShiftThePower movement that “new ways of deciding and doing that centre dignity, equity and trust and that recognize the resources and inherent power of communities” are blossoming around the world. The Summit was a space to bring the “makers” of this emerging system – often scattered and isolated by geography and lack of access to networks – together. There was also plenty of room for those working for transformative change from within the dominant funding system too.

Did the Summit achieve its purpose of creating a sense of possibility that “another world is possible?” The answer, according to series of blogs and a survey of participants, was an emphatic yes. When participants were asked their three dominant feelings from the Summit, the most common were inspiring, hope and joy.

Here, we reflect on the central achievements of the Summit and how they might help shape and inform the kind of bold and radical thinking and experimentation, the new alliances and configurations of allies that are sorely needed today.

For many, the most striking feature of the Summit was its sense of intimacy and connection, despite the large number of people and the big venue. Participants felt that it was “their space”, while the content and the process gave them the opportunity to reflect on their role as individuals in a larger system.

For many, this inner work led to a profound awakening, from an “egoic self” (motivated by a career in the development industry) to a “transcendental self’ (motivated by being part of an ecosystem to make another world possible).  This translated into a commitment to build a movement together and to find collective strength, rather than merely strengthening the capacity of their individual organizations to deliver the outputs demanded by their donors.

Such movement building has never been easy. But the rise of authoritarianism, the curtailing of civil society, and the assault on social justice values, make it seem particularly daunting – if even more essential – in this current moment.  However, history teaches us that social movements are born and flourish in conditions of adversity because oppressed peoples are motivated to join them. Consider trade union organizing in the 1930s, the civil rights movement of the 1960s and, nearer to our time, the campaigns to end Apartheid and to dismantle the Berlin Wall.

Funding for such people-based action is a problem. Nina Ludd has recently written how progressive funding is “unstrategic” and “hollow.” A focus on time-bound projects divorced from public support has done little to address the concerns of working-class people or to prevent the rise of fascism. Things appear to be changing as more funders are inspired by #ShiftThePower to embrace the principle of subsidiarity and support “proximate leaders” as people who are best able to lead the work of social change. For example, Tendisai Chigwedere of the Hewlett Foundation cites how inner-work and the recognition of a mind-set of abundance enabled the Pan-African Feminist Movement to develop an alternative vision.

We must organize to build the system we want. A central pillar of the #ShiftThePower movement is on community philanthropy and its insistence on the recognition, harnessing and pooling of assets that exist within communities. This is a form of what Dan Firth calls “relational organizing”, through which people can build their own institutions, rather than fitting in with an international development system that doesn’t work. Elizaphan Ogechi from Nguzo Africa has recently written that the US foreign aid freeze can be a blessing in disguise, enabling people to find alternatives to sustain their work. He writes:

“It is critical that the changed mind-set of our people, communities, organizations, businesses and government will lift community consciousness, enhance philanthropy, use our resources frugally to address the immediate and long-term community challenges. This is a transformative moment for the aid industry to transform and be responsive to the needs of the communities. It is time to re-imagine the new international model that serves communities with dignity and respect. We aspire for new aid models that flatten power dynamics, lift communities through equal partnerships, enhance solidarity and facilitate self-determination of people, their communities and our planet.” 

With its emphasis on building relationships, weaving across and between the silos of “issues” that often divide us in professional environments (“Climate change organizations to Room 1, Gender to Room 2”, etc.), the #ShiftThePower Summit prioritized the importance of joining up what Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize-winning chemist, called “islands of coherence.” He says:

“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.”

Through adopting a mind-set of movement generosity, we can choose to break down the siloes and dissolve the artificial barriers that divide us and can each become a part of a force for a new world. We can learn from legendary activist Florynce Kennedy (1916-2000) who helped to join up different campaigns – for example on race, gender, and sexuality – to address the intersectional roots of oppression and to share tactics and connections across different movements.

We are living in a new age of monsters as the old world dies and a new world fights to emerge into existence. The push back against diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the hatred of immigrants, and the abuse of trans people is, according to Venkatesh Rao, the last throw of a dying world. Alongside the manifestation of corporate greed, government austerity and autocratic hegemony, a new consciousness is emerging. Witness the mass uprisings of protest that has mobilized Serbian society against government corruption. Such protests are on the rise and are increasingly going global. Closer to home, initiatives like Common Reserve are working towards a supportive architecture that can serve an alternative and more equitable system, while provocations to reimagine ourselves and the whole ecosystem for global development and humanitarianism (see this and this) encourage us to embrace our radical imaginations.

For this reason, Vu Le suggests that we remain optimistic. Despite the cruelty and the chaos, a new world is on her way. Our society may be like a snake shedding its skin – off with the yoke of colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy, patriarchy and capitalism. We are in the midst of a cycle of destruction and creation, which has been a recurring pattern of much of human history.

Together we can be part of the work to create the new world. The #ShiftThePower Global Summit gave us a glimpse of what can be done. While the path ahead may be rocky, we must not be overwhelmed. We must organize to support each other and build our new story for the world together. In the words of James A Joseph at the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy in Johannesburg back in 2016:

“This is a time when we need leaders…who are willing to take risk and leaders who are not afraid to stand for something. I have been a leader and I have been a manager. As a manager, I prized order, but as a leader I had to be willing to risk chaos. If you are to help shift the power and establish more just communities, you will need to take risks that may disturb your comfort zone; but I know from my experience that times of crisis are also times of opportunity and that when you provide help you also provide hope.”

Tell us, what can you bring to this new story? You can comment in the section below.

By: Jenny Hodgson, GFCF Executive Director and Barry Knight, Advisor to the GFCF