Training Tuesday: Field Organizing in the Community (Part 1)

cross-posted from Sum of Change

For this week's Training Tuesday, we're going to move to a new venue, the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit, from where we have already posted several videos from keynote addresses (which you can see here).  However we also went to a bunch of interesting and informative panels on a diverse variety of topics and, beginning with the following videos on organizing for green legislation, we will be posting a bunch of clips from many of these panels.

--The Ease of Organizing

Though the focus on this panel was organizing for 'clean energy jobs legislation', the theories and tips on best practices hold true for any kind of organizing.  This panel was more or less hosted by Repower America,  (the moderator and every panelist works for them) and the speaker in all of these clips, Alicia Gurdus, is a field organizer for them.  This is part one of our selections from her remarks.  Check our Green Thoughts post this Thursday for part 2.

In the first video above, Alicia talks about how easy it is to organize in today's world.  The technology you need is accessible and (relatively) cheap, so you if you have the desire to organize for an issue you care about, it is easier than ever to do so.  In the next video (below) she talks discuss the importance on field organizing how it can magnify the power of the individual interaction to build a unified voice for your cause.

In the last two videos, Alicia goes into more specific pieces of advice for how to organize in your community, like on a college campus for example.  First, she'll explain how to approach and engage one or a group of strangers, which is often the hardest part of you job.  Then, she has some strategies for the next step after you've gotten someone to talk with you, getting them to support you and say yes.

--Why Field Programs Exist



--How To Approach and Engage Strangers



--Getting People to Say Yes, Best Practices for Field Programs



Check our next Green Thoughts post this Thursday for Part 2 on 'Field Organizing in the Community'. Next week, Training Tuesday will move on to look at field organizing with in your local business community.

For more info on the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit, please go to www.paprogressivesummit.com

For more Training Tuesday grassroots training videos, please go to www.SumofChange.com/trainingtuesday