General Resources
Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action & Strategies, from the folks who help create Otpur, the people power movement that overthrew Slobadan Milosevic, the brutal Serbian dictator.
Gipfelsoli, based in Europe, news, resources, and archives from the global justice movement.
Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns, War Resistors League International, excellent online manual
Pace e Bene,resources for nonviolent action and living
People’s Global Action,website and archive, a worldwide co-ordination of radical social movements, grassroots campaigns and direct actions in resistance to capitalism and for social and environmental justice. PGA is part of the anti-globalization movement.
Starhawk’s Activist Resources, this web page you’ll find resources for nonviolent direct action and anti-oppression trainers/preparers and magical activism workshop facilitators. You’ll find sample agendas, exercises, wall charts, handouts, and notes on how trainings went.
The Vernal Project, a project by Randy Schutt, offers lots of great resources and training agendas
Seeds for Change, trainers collective from the UK with lots of great resources
The Virginia Organizing Project, great articles and advice for organizers
Turning the Tide. Program of Quakers for Peace and Social Witness to advance the understanding of active nonviolence and its use for positive social change.
Art and Action
Bread and Puppet Theater, based in Vermont, this group offers amazing political performances, marches in protests, offers trainings in their base in Glover, Vt. Great puppet museum and stencil art!
Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, European-based site of interesting culture jamming, artistic actions and more
Clandestine Insurgent Radical Clown Army, CIRCA
Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, has been using water, flour, newspaper, paint, and unlimited imagination to tell stories that explore the struggles and celebrations of human existence.
The Puppeteers’ Cooperative Home Page , Boston, includes sketches to show how to make large puppets and ideas for puppet processions.
Puppet Uprising in Philly presents performances by puppeteers from all over the world. Some are full-length theatrical works that utilize puppets, other events are cabarets of several short puppet shows.
The Puppetry Homepage is a very comprehensive puppetry resource.
Theatre of the Oppressed , uses interactive theater and stories. Developed by Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director during the 1950’s and 1960’s to move a “dialogue” between audience and stage. The workshops are virtually a training ground for action not only in these performance forms, but for action in life.
Wise Fools Community Arts Bay Area Puppeteers that uses art and theatre as vehicles for community building, self-determination, social and political change. Great puppet-making manual!
Collective Liberation
Applied Resource Center – provides research, analysis and training
AORTA Collective – devoted to strengthening movements for social justice and a solidarity economy, based in Philadelphia
Catalyst Project – provides political education and movement building in the Bay Area
People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond – long time training group focuses on Un-Doing Racism based in New Orleans
The Highlander Center – long time social justice political education and cultural center
Movement Strategy Center – provides an array of resources, education and training
Project South – grassroots organization developing people of color leadership for social justice and liberation.
Western States Center – provides trainings and resources in the Pacific Northwest
Colours of Resistance – lots of good tools and resources
Racial Equity Tools – numerous resources
ColorLines, a national news magazine about race and politics
List of Anti-Racism Resources and Organizations, from the UN Cyber School Bus
Critical Resistance, organizing against the prison-industrial complex
Anti-Oppression Resources, from the School of the Americas Watch
Race: The Power of Illusion, from PBS
Fundraising
Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence
Online Fundraising Tips from the Network for Good
Fundraising Guide for Activists, from Seeds for Change
Health
First Aid for Radicals and Activists: Fight the power, do no harm. Downloadable handbooks on street medic preparation, good info on chemical weapons from the Black Cross Health Collective
Power-Under: Trauma & Nonviolent Social Change free e-book
Legal
American Civil Liberties Union,offers support on civil litigation to defend rights, offers resources including downloadable on “know your rights card”.
Just Cause Law Collective Great downloadable handbooks for legal and jail preps, legal observer handbooks, & activist handbooks.
National Lawyers Guild, offers criminal defense work for protests, online resources and all around good legal ally for political movements
Magical Activism
How to Organize a Council Circle – a magical approach to consensus-based meetings
Media
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), the national media watch group, advocates for greater diversity in the press, and scrutinizes media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. FAIR has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. As an anti-censorship organization, FAIR exposes important news stories that are neglected and defends working journalists when they are muzzled.
FAIR’s Media Activist Kit includes “how-to” guides for identifying, documenting and challenging inaccurate or unfair news coverage, along with information about how to promote independent media.
Free Press– Free Press is a national nonpartisan organization working to increase informed public participation in crucial media policy debates, and to generate policies that will produce a more competitive and public interest-oriented media system with a strong nonprofit and noncommercial sector.
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation engages in media activism, media analysis and provides resources.
Media Alliance is a San Francisco-based training and resource center for media workers, activist and community organizations. Promotes a diverse, accountable and ethical media.
Progressive Communicators Network – great online tools for media activists
Project Censored maintains a large list of media activist organizations.
The Spin Academy – is dedicated to working with social justice organizations ready to deploy communications strategies for social change.
Smartmeme – builds movement and amplifies the impact of grassroots organizing with a new strategy and training resources, values based communication, collaborations and meme campaigning.
Permaculture
Permaculture Resources from Starhawk
Rising Tide North America Resource Packet, tons of games, information, resources, and ideas for explaining and coping with climate change
Demotech Design for Self-Reliance, how to build just about anything by yourself
Trainers Groups
Alliance of Community Trainer – based in Austin Texas, provides trainings on environmental sustainability, permaculture, bioremediation, strategic campaigns, nonviolent direct action and organizer skill-building.
Seeds of Peace Collective, A dedicated group of people who formed a collective to support non-violent direct action after the Great Peace March in 1986
The Action Mill – based in Philadelphia,
The Change Agency– an Austrialian group with a lot of great resources!
Nonviolence International – works to build nonviolent movements around the world.
Rainforest Action Network based in San Francisco, good activist resources
The Ruckus Society based in the Bay Area, this site has training manuals for action planning, media, climbing, scouting, video taping, and hanging from a billboard.
SmartMeme – resources on strategic messaging and campaign work using the power of story
Tools for Change – based in Seattle, TFC provides consulting, facilitation, mediation and training services. 25 years of help individuals and organizations address issues of power, embrace cultural diversity and tap into intuitive and creative resources.
Tool for Change – Canada -A project of OPIRG Toronto, Earthroots, and Greenpeace Canada, Tools for Change helps people develop skills to advocate for social, economic, and environmental justice.Tools for Change also posts resource guides, case studies, and other useful material on their website at Toolsforchange.net.
Training for Change This training organization, led by George Lakey, has descriptions of exercises to be used during trainings.