¶ Phase 2: Explaining and Collaborating
- Discover if XR suits them
- Understand how XR operates
- Understand how they can contribute to XR
¶ 🧬 Explaining what XR stands for and how they can contribute 🧬
It is advisable to invite new rebels to an XR Introduction Training as soon as possible after the first contact.
Anyone who agrees with the demands and core values can take action in the name of Extinction Rebellion. It is crucial that every rebel understands and, more importantly, feels and comprehends these core values. Introduction to XR training sessions is also an excellent time to get a feel for the atmosphere and make contacts. This helps new rebels become more independent. Doing this in a group instead of one-on-one also saves a lot of time.
Understanding what Extinction Rebellion stands for doesn't happen automatically. Therefore, it is highly recommended to organize Introduction to XR training sessions. This is an opportunity to guide new rebels in learning how XR is organized and, most importantly, why it's organized that way.
It is convenient to present all of this with the help of a presentation. Slides for this presentation can be found here.
You can also refer new rebels to the online Introduction to XR training sessions on Sundays from 14:00 to 16:30. More information can be found here.
Action training sessions also provide some introduction to the movement but less than desired. Therefore, it is advisable to have rebels attend an Introduction to XR training.
- Our demands, core values, and action consensus.
- Different tactics, such as civil disobedience, immediately putting our ideals into practice (prefiguration), and collaboration as a movement of movements.
- How our organization is structured and why, including decentralized groups, consent decision-making, emphasis on individual initiative, and communication tools such as Mattermost, Signal, and Telegram.
- Various ways you can contribute: online or in person, participating in actions or supporting behind the scenes, regularly or occasionally.
- How to get further assistance in finding something that suits them.
The most important thing here is to let rebels think about the topics themselves and engage in discussions with each other.
Once rebels have an understanding of the movement and support it, it's time to find a next step. Because there are many different possibilities within Extinction Rebellion, and the options are constantly changing, new rebels often appreciate guidance in this regard.
The best guidance can be provided in a one-on-one conversation. If your group doesn't have the capacity for that, you can do it in a group. Both options are explained below.
- Make the rebel feel welcome: take your time, ask questions, and empathize
- Try to create an informal atmosphere with room for personal matters and humor
- Explaining Extinction Rebellion is important, quite complicated, and time-consuming. Therefore, it is advisable to do this in a group and refer every new rebel to that.
- Good conversation starter: Why did you sign up for Extinction Rebellion?
- or: what attracts you to Extinction Rebellion?
- Do you have any experience with Extinction Rebellion?
- What pronouns do you use? (e.g., he/him, she/her, they/them, it/its)
- In daily life, it is still common to assume that everyone is a man or a woman and that this can be determined just by looking at them. Asking for pronouns is nice for everyone whose identity is often misread.
- What are you good at?
- (what do you do in daily life?)
- What do you enjoy doing?
- Emphasize the importance of finding something enjoyable.
- What would you like to learn?
- Are there things that you find exciting?
- How well do you speak Dutch/English?
- How digitally skilled are you, and do you like or dislike digital activities?
- Are you familiar with Mattermost, Signal, or Telegram?
- Ask about their preferences for contributing:
- Actions or behind the scenes?
- Regularly or occasionally?
- Online or in person?
Always offer multiple options so the rebel can choose. If you're not sure what the possibilities are, go through the options together. Use the Getting Started page for information on actions and possible groups.
The following information can help find something that suits a rebel:
- If the rebel is interested in actions:
- Sign up for action training,
- find a local group, and
- connect with allies for actions.
- If the rebel is interested in behind-the-scenes and structural support:
- Find a local group if the rebel wants to help in person.
- Find a community group or national circle if the rebel wants to help online.
- If the rebel wants to help behind the scenes occasionally:
- Indicate which tasks you want to do on a call-out basis with the local group.
During or after the conversation, it is helpful to take notes and update them later in your records (such as the XR CRM). This way, you won't forget anything, and you can refer to it later.
After the conversation, send the promised information, such as links to upcoming training, actions, contacts, and the date of the next conversation.
Do you suddenly have a lot of registrations in the group? Consider organizing a welcome day. This way, you can welcome many new rebels, teach them how to get started, and quickly. Here you can find a recommended program for a welcome day.
If there are not enough integrators in the group to have a first conversation with everyone, it is essential to find more integrators. It is useful if they first follow an integration training.
Until then, you can deal with large groups of registrations by finding a next step for each rebel as a group. You can do this, for example, as the last part of the Introduction to XR training. The most important thing here is:
- Ensure that rebels think along with each other so that no one stands alone.
- Ensure that everyone leaves with a next step.
A concrete example of how to approach this is as follows:
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Give each rebel pen and paper and let them write down for themselves:
- Prefer to take action or help behind the scenes?
- If taking action: Prefer online or in-person?
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Form 3 groups with rebels who prefer 1) taking action 2) helping behind the scenes3) helping behind the scenes online. It helps if each group has an experienced rebel as a facilitator.
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Taking Action:
- Try to find an action training to participate in. If several people can, recommend creating a group chat so they can support each other.
- Have everyone create a Telegram account and follow the action broadcast channel.
- Use the Telegram channel to find an action (after the action training) and ask what people think about actions. Acknowledge that it's entirely normal to find it exciting.
- Discuss roles during an action and have everyone note what interests them. Then find ways to learn more about those roles.
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Helping In-Person:
- Have everyone read the Get Started page (especially the section on what happens behind the scenes) and write down roles that interest them.
- Discuss in the group what interests people. Form subgroups based on shared interests and combine other interests into pairs.
- Let everyone brainstorm to discover the next step for their interest.
- Come back together as a group and share the next steps that have been thought of.
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Helping Online:
- Have everyone read the Get Started page (especially the section on what happens behind the scenes) and write down roles that interest them.
- Have everyone look at the community groups and national circles and write down groups that interest them.
- Have a short round where everyone shares their interests. Form subgroups based on shared interests.
- Have everyone reach out to the group they are interested in. If it's a national circle, have them first create Mattermost. An existing rebel on Mattermost must invite them.
If you have the opportunity to personally guide some rebels, it is advisable to explain at the end of the meeting how they can get that guidance.