There’s something about positive political actions that can bring people together.
You might just find you’re making friends for life — and we can all use more friends.
Click any of the images to see them at a larger size.
SHOP LOCAL
Using local businesses is one of the most pleasant political actions there is.
You get your goods (often with exemplary customer service) *and* the warm glow of satisfaction that comes from knowing that your money is going directly into the local community.
Image by Lucy Knisley
PRINT MONEY
Towns like Totnes and Lewes in the UK have created their own local banknote. It can only be used within the town walls, meaning that its recipients must shop local, and its benefits never leave the local community.
Image by Kel Winser
START A COLLECTION
Consult the websites of migrant aid charities and food banks to see what kind of food is needed — usually dried or tinned goods.
Then ask your neighbours to help you collect them. Allocating one type of food to each street in your neighbourhood can be good — and then the competitive instinct kicks in as you see which street can come up with the most.
Image by Fumio Obata
PUT OUT A WELCOME MAT
Let refugees know that they are welcome.
Befriend them, give them a friendly smile, put a poster up in your window (or that of your workplace), donate clothes and toys.
You may even consider fostering or sharing your home with those who need a roof over their heads.
Image by Karrie Fransman
HANG UP A WELCOME SIGN
If you own a business or work somewhere public, display a sign to make it clear that everyone is welcome.
In Portland, Oregon, USA, the Independent Publishing Resource Center made signs that read: We welcome ALL races,ALL religions, ALL countries of origin, ALL sexual orientations, ALL genders. We stand with you. You are safe here.
If you’re a maker, you can produce something similar — and make them available to others. Offer them via social media, using your local hashtag, Facebook page or message board.
Image by Sally-Anne Hickman
BUILD A WALL OF KINDNESS
While Donald Trump was first talking about his divisive wall, the concept of a “Wall of Kindness” was blossoming in Iran.
Stretches of wall are painted and furnished with pegs. Then, people hang clothes, food and and goods that they no longer need for the homeless or poor to take.
The concept is spreading: several UK towns currently feature their very own walls of kindness (in the case of Brighton, it’s a seafront shelter of kindness…)
Image by Jaime Huxtable
PLANT RADICAL ROOTS
Start a community gardening project where everyone reaps what you sow together.
You’re growing cheap, healthy food, and at the same time, creating friendships, getting fresh air and exercise, improving mental health, and reducing the amount of fruit and veg that needs to travel half way round the world.
Image by Zara Slattery
PART-OWN YOUR STUFF
When every house in the street has their own electric drill, laminator, or anything else that you might only use a couple of times a year, it only benefits one thing — capitalism!
Let’s save some money, make friends amongst our neighbours, and do a bit of good for the environment by starting a sharing group. If that goes well, you could work up to sharing bigger things, like cars…
Image by Joe Decie
SUPPORT A FAMILY
Could you help a family who are new to your country?
In the UK, groups can become ‘Community Sponsors’: “you will be allocated a family fleeing conflict, and it will be your responsibility to support the resettled family from the moment of arrival in the UK.”
Other countries have similar schemes — check your local council or national government website for details.
Image by Karen Rubins
JOIN THE PARTY
It costs surprisingly little to become a card-carrying party member. It also gives you the right to vote on important party decisions, like leadership and the stance they take on important issues.
Image by Freya Harrison
FORM A POSSE
Gather people together — online or in your living room.
What are you going to achieve — the downfall of the state? Helping the homeless? Changing legislation? Make an action list. Then act.
Research shows that meeting in person is a more effective way of staying motivated and productive.
Image by Jan Wheatley
BECOME AN EVENTS MANAGER
No need to wait for someone else to organise it: running an event is easy, especially if you’re a fan of checklists.
Hire a venue, make a Facebook page, alert the ‘what’s on’ magazines: bingo!
Now you can run a fund-raising event, or invite speakers, or collect and sort goods for the homeless. Or take it outside: a ramble or a group cycle rally can also be a great chance to raise funds and plan action.
Image by Yen Quach
TEACH LANGUAGE
Help people who have just arrived in your country by getting them started with the lingo. It’s one of the most basic, yet life-changing things you can do — and by virtue of being a native speaker, you’re already an expert.
Image by Kane Lynch
BECOME A BIG TWITTER FISH
In this day and age, cultivating a large set of Twitter followers isn’t just a vanity project: it’s an asset.
Followers can be mobilised for important causes, to RT your message and amplify it across the Twittersphere.
Image by Deborah Fajerman
CRAFT YOUR PROTEST
Sarah Corbett found traditional methods of protest to be aggressive, loud and unkind – so she embraced Craftivism, a gentler form of protest.
Her project to give embroidered handkerchiefs to the Marks and Spencers board worked: it brought about a change in policy that saw a higher-than Living Wage being introduced for the department stores’ workers.
Craftivism encourages contemplation, community and critical thinking — and anyone can do it.
Image by Joan Reilly
ATTEND MEETINGS
Go to your political party’s local meetings: otherwise known as creating an instant social circle for yourself, filled with people who share your world view. With the added bonus that you can change the world.
Image by Emily Haworth-Booth
CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL
In Madrid, one restaurant charges its customers during the day, and uses the profits to feed the homeless in the evening.
Image by Jeroen Janssen
SWAP SKILLS
Save some money and make some friends: pay for services like babysitting or carpentry by doing whatever you’re good at in return. Setting up a local bartering system can bring communities together, too.
Image by EdieOP
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
Run a zocalo. Named after the Mexican city square, a zocalo is a simple scheme to encourage neighbourhood community.
The official Zocalo website says: “On Zocalo Day we invite you to step out from your home, plonk a chair on the street and get to know your neighbours. Of course, if you want to share tea and biscuits with them, all the better. Zocalos are mercifully free of fund-raising, red tape, council intervention and bunting. And with any luck, at the end of the night you’ll find you’ve acquired a whole load of new friends who just happen to live down the road”.
Some of those new friends might be people who are very much in need of a neighbourhood community, to combat loneliness or because they find it difficult to leave the house.
Image by Amy Lam
START A CLUB
Casserole clubs are an Aussie concept: volunteers share extra portions of home-cooked food with people in their area who aren’t always able to cook for themselves — the elderly, the disabled, the lonely. Cooks share once a week, once a month, or whenever works best for them.
Image by Laura Sorvala
All artwork on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
SHOP LOCAL
Using local businesses is one of the most pleasant political actions there is.
You get your goods (often with exemplary customer service) *and* the warm glow of satisfaction that comes from knowing that your money is going directly into the local community.
Image by Lucy Knisley
PRINT MONEY
Towns like Totnes and Lewes in the UK have created their own local banknote. It can only be used within the town walls, meaning that its recipients must shop local, and its benefits never leave the local community.
Image by Kel Winser
START A COLLECTION
Consult the websites of migrant aid charities and food banks to see what kind of food is needed — usually dried or tinned goods.
Then ask your neighbours to help you collect them. Allocating one type of food to each street in your neighbourhood can be good — and then the competitive instinct kicks in as you see which street can come up with the most.
Image by Fumio Obata
PUT OUT A WELCOME MAT
Let refugees know that they are welcome.
Befriend them, give them a friendly smile, put a poster up in your window (or that of your workplace), donate clothes and toys.
You may even consider fostering or sharing your home with those who need a roof over their heads.
Image by Karrie Fransman
Draw The Line 