RESOURCES

As Animal Freedom storytellers and strategic campaigners we understand the power of narrative as a force for social change. We know first-hand that a persuasive, compelling narrative is one that emotionally connects with people and moves them to action. We also know that moral arguments and facts are not enough to transform a deeply entrenched status quo. But are there other aspects of storytelling that we’re not fully capitalising on? And can these lead us to new narratives that can accelerate us towards Animal Freedom even faster?

Before we get started, what is culture?

It is difficult to summarise this concept without undermining its complexity. However, in broad terms, culture is the prevailing beliefs, values, creations, norms, customs, behaviours, practices and attitudes of a group of people at a point in time. In other words, …

Broadly, methods of organising can be split into two approaches. One is mass protest organising. Mass protest organising thrives in generating moral outrage and disruption through highly publicised acts of protest. This disruption in turn polarises the public, eventually making the issue too big to ignore by mainstream society…

The health of the whole movement, with all its parts and the relationships between them, is vital to its success. This is what we call movement ecology. When different parts of a movement can support one another, coordinate their actions and effectively communicate, the power of the whole system increases exponentially.

Some social movements of the past have a clear, well understood end goal. This is certainly true for movements to overthrow dictatorships or to expel colonial rule; for the Indian independence movement (1857–1947) “swaraj” or self-rule free of British interference was the aim. Other examples include Otpor, the student movement to overthrow the dictator Slobodan Milosevic, the Palestinian intifadas and the Colour Revolutions in Eastern Europe.