| Time to take action? |
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| Written by Julie Gibbon, 2006 | |
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Page 1 of 3 Could the rumours be true? Julie Gibbon reports on how a WI campaign in Northumberland staved off the closure of a rural train station. What makes you angry? Litter-louts? Lack of childcare provision? Or maybe speeding cars in your streets? If you ran the world – or at least your local area – what would you change?Many of us bash on to friends and family at the dinner table about the issues that ignite our ire. But this changes nothing. To make a difference, you have to take action, to channel the energy of your outrage into bringing about change. You have to roll up your sleeves and get campaigning. But how do you start? According to the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, a new charity set up in the name of the late, prominent campaigner to help support the next generation of campaigners, the starting point is the same regardless of the issue: “Research is the cornerstone,” says the charity’s Chief Executive Claire McMaster. “Many people leap over this stage, but it’s vital if you want to run a successful, sustainable campaign, and make best use of what are often limited resources.” Importantly, she continues, you must identify appropriate tactics for the context, analysing who you need to influence and how. “It’s pointless organising a huge demonstration outside the Town Hall over an issue the Town Hall can’t influence.” Susan Warr agrees. As WI Federation Chairman for Norfolk, she has been involved in detailed research for their campaign to make it compulsory for pedestrians and cyclists to wear reflective vests at night. “You must do your homework,” she confirms. “We had to make sure that no other regulations already exist in the UK, albeit unenforced, and that nothing coming from Europe would render our campaign redundant.”  Norfolk WI vice chairman Sue Warr and chairman Jean Wilson launch the road safety campaign at the Norfolk WI AGM at St Andrews Hall. Norwich. is backing the campaign, and has given organisers 2,000 reflective vests on a sale-or-return basis, to promote the message. A useful resource, especially for novices, is the BBC’s online campaigning forum Action Network. This harnesses the outreach of the Internet to put campaigners in touch with campaigns, from cleaning out a canal in the Wirral to fighting global poverty. The site also offers valuable information on getting campaigns started, as well as understanding our democratic institutions and their remits. MisrepresentationIt’s important for campaigners to evaluate continually their outcomes and to adapt tactics accordingly, says the Foundation. Extensive press coverage, for example, can be both blessing and curse. “Beware of others misrepresenting your campaign for a better headline,” warns Claire.This was the experience of Liz Anderson, Cornwall’s past Federation Chairman. “We were mostly delighted with the raft of local and national press coverage for our current campaign to support local shops,” she explains. “But some papers published headlines saying ‘WI boycotts supermarkets’, which wasn’t our message at all.” Members across Cornwall are pledging to use local facilities more, spreading the message to family and friends, and lobbying their MPs to review parking fees that often discourage local trade. Of course, one of the central tenets of the NFWI is the importance of campaigning, and the organisation has earned an enviable reputation for challenging all manner of injustice and abuse. A snapshot of current WI campaigns around the UK reveals members creating carbon-neutral villages, tackling anti-social behaviour in their area, fighting human trafficking and improving school meals for local children. Statistics show that we Brits are increasingly committing ourselves to campaigns. The World Values Survey found that the percentage of the population who had taken to the streets to protest had more than doubled between 1974 and 2000 to 13 per cent, and that those signing petitions had risen from 23 per cent to 81per cent. Pundits believe one reason could be people’s lack of connection and disaffection with political parties, which leads them to take action themselves. |
