Training in NYC – February 8-9, 2014

Training in NYC – February 8-9, 2014

                
 

JOIN US FOR A ONE-OF-A-KIND

CREATIVE ACTION TRAINING

FOR NYC ACTIVISTS AND ORGANIZATIONS
 

Do you want to dramatically amplify your impact on decision-makers, media, and the public?

Are you need of new skills, tools, and approaches that will get you fired up to create innovative campaigns?

Is it time to start thinking (and acting) outside the box?

 

 

Three of the leading creative action organizations in the country – Beautiful Trouble, The Yes Lab (brainchild of the Yes Men), and the Center for Artistic Activism – are joining forces for a special weekend of trainings for organizations, networks, and activists.

Would you like to join us?

We will be conducting a 2-day intensive training February 8 & 9 at NYU and delving deep into all our creative toolboxes. Also, the Yes Lab will be unveiling our powerful new action development tool, the Action Switchboard. It’s going to be an exciting weekend where we all learn how to up our collective game. Individuals as well as organizaitons are encouraged equally to apply.

If you’d like to join us, APPLY HERE. If you can't make it, pass the word on to friends and colleagues. We are expecting more applications than there are spots in the workshop so not everyone who applies will be able to participate. We will start contacting accepted applicants on Feb. 1st.

HOW MUCH TIME?

The training is two full days: Saturday Feb 8 from 10-6 and Sunday Feb 9 from 10-5. The first day will be focused around strategy and principles, the second day applied tactics. We strongly encourage groups to attend both.

WHAT WILL WE LEARN?

STRATEGY! Trainers will lay a foundation of strategic tools and frameworks, such as…

  • Mapping your Spectrum of Allies
  • The 5 Points of Intervention
  • How to choose both Primary and Secondary Targets
  • Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis
  • Collapsing the Pillars of Power
  • Using Social Marketing Scale
  • Life Cycle Analysis/Mapping

TACTICS! We will dig deep into the Beautiful Trouble toolbox of creative tactics, which will offer your team a full spectrum of tools for creative brainstorming….

  • Action Logic
  • Making the invisible visible
  • The 4 Categories and 198 Methods of nonviolent action
  • “Prefigurative” Interventions
  • Knowing your cultural terrain
  • Expressive and instrumental actions
  • Putting your target in a decision dilemma
  • When and how to use specific tactics like: Human Banner, Guerrilla Projections, Creative Disruption, Flash Mob, Media-Jacking, etc.
  • and much much more!

THE ACTION SWITCHBOARD

You will also be among the first to be introduced the Yes Lab’s revolutionary new tool, the Action Switchboard. The Action Switchboard is a human-staffed web-platform that connects activists, organizations, and people with skills in order to create and execute creative direct actions. Anyone can propose an action, recruit participants, and solicit funding all with the help of Yes Lab trained facilitators. Organizations can even sponsor issue areas or goals around their campaigns.

SKILLSHARE

In addition to all of the above, there will also be hands-on training in specific applied skillsets:

  1. Light brigades (with NYC Light Brigade founder Athena Soules)
  2. Stenciling (with protest-art veteran Nadine Bloch)
  3. Street Theater (with award-winning actress and director Monica Hunken)
  4. Meme creation (with BT and B4B founder Andrew Boyd)
  5. Crafting media releases for creative campaigns (with Yes Lab)
  6. Media hoaxes and identity correction (with Yes Lab)

WHAT DOES IT COST?

All attendees are asked to make a sliding scale contribution, based on ability to pay. Anchoring organizations are asked to contribute $1-2k for their team to attend, up to 5 people. Paid staff coming on their own are asked to contribute $250/person. At large individuals or unpaid activists

For more information, see our sliding scale cost sheet.

To discuss in more detail, contact us.

PART OF AN ORGANIZATION? BE AN ANCHOR!

Come as an anchoring organization and bring as many as 5 people from your team. We will focus on taking one of your campaigns through a full creative development process, from strategy to tactics, from innovative ideas to the brass tacks of successful action design. Our best people will be at your service. Only $1-2K. It’s an incredible value for the time, tools and skills your team will receive.

HOW WILL THIS BENEFIT US?

So glad you asked! Among many benefits, your organization will receive…

  • The training to design and develop real-world actions that can be immediately deployed to serve your campaign goals.
  • The ability to build innovative action ideas atop a solid strategic foundation, that focuses and maximizes their impact.
  • Access to knowledge and skills already in your organization and team that have previously been unavailable.
  • New, inspirational approaches to your work that revitalizes your team and get’s them fired up.
  • An opportunity to form new alliances and recruit new blood.

NOTE: If you are an anchoring organization, we will prepare select tools specifically attuned to your current campaigns.

HOW DO WE APPLY?

We have only 50 spots, and they are filling up fast. If you are interested in coming, please APPLY HERE as soon as you can. Our operators are standing by.

NOTIFICATION

We are expecting more applications than there are spots in the workshop. Not everyone who applies will be able to participate. We will start contacting accepted applicants on Feb. 1st.

 

CONTACT

For more information: info@yeslab.org.

We look forward to having you in the room with us, along with some of the movement’s best trainers and creative campaigners, and watching your campaigns take shape!

See you there!