Community Action Network

We all know that the world faces big problems but all those problems are played out and have at least part of their solution in the places where we live. People that are actively trying to make the world better, perhaps naturally, gravitate towards the big global issues but we think that activists should complement this with taking local action on these big issues. Because ultimately the only way to solve all these problems that we work on is to build strong and empowered communities who can resist injustices of all sorts and build a positive, cooperative community.

The links between them are often most obvious when we see them in a local context – the global growth economy relies on continued consumerism in our own high streets and is responsible for poverty, inequality and climate change which will see more refugees who we need to make more welcome in our communities rather than letting the government deport them (while war and the arms trade also continue to force people to seek asylum). Everything we do locally is also really positive because it builds strong communities that can build renewable energy to help us stop climate change and be resilient to that and other crises, growing our own food can make us independent from the supermarkets and organising ourselves horizontally, using direct action and creating social centres can allow us to take more control of our lives rather than waiting for the council or the government. These are just a few things that community action can do, but the complete list is as varied as the communities themselves.

As activists we’re already aware of these big issues, how they link together, and their consequences but community activism isn’t just about tackling the big injustices, sometimes it’s about challenging individual situations where people are denied access to housing or benefits that they are entitled to using the tactic of direct action casework and sometimes it’s about volunteering to support people with learning difficulties, picking up litter or organising a bingo night. I often feel that the most inspirational ‘activists’ are people like those who are carers for disabled relatives – it’s not big or headline grabbing but something needed doing and they stepped up to do it themselves not expecting the government or anyone else to do it for them. These people often come together to form tiny local charities, and these people should be part of any programme of community action.

To make a real difference on a worldwide scale you need to speak to, and involve, the people in your street, as they are part of the world community too. join forces with people who are actually self-organising already but maybe not aware of it.  Because the MOST radical thing we can do is build strong communities that can think, decide and act for themselves.