XR DNA: Our story, strategy, values & structure

Posted on by Dave

This is a packed day to explore in detail what makes XR different, what makes it tick, to share the Self Organising System theory of XR, to explore ideas for mobilising local group members, and to share and practice tools for effective meetings and decision-making in your groups. You will learn loads, connect with some great people, and leave with renewed energy for XR and the part that you play. Not to be missed!

Liquid refreshments will be available throughout the day. Please bring a packed lunch or you can buy lunch locally. Fully supervised children are welcome.

Venue
See the booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
The venue is accessible by wheelchair.

Building an effective Affinity Group: Facilitation skills for AG members (2/2)

Posted on by Dave

Are you looking to do everything you can to ensure that your affinity group functions really well – has productive, inclusive and engaging meetings and enables all its members to make their best contribution?

This two-part workshop, run for us by experienced trainer, facilitator and campaigner Kathryn Tulip, is for affinity groups in Oxford and the surrounding towns and will help you plan, structure and facilitate your meetings in such a way that everyone can follow, contribute and get the most from them.

Over two sessions, you will look at good practice in meeting facilitation; discuss ways to address common difficulties such as meetings going off track; explore group dynamics; and get some practice in facilitating.

  • Workshop 1 is on Saturday 21 September, 14.00-17.00.
  • This is Workshop 2 – on Tuesday 24 September, 19.00-21.30.

It’s best if you come to both, as there’ll be a chance to do some reflection in between the workshop and put ideas into practice in the second session.

Venue

To be confirmed.

Building an effective Affinity Group: Facilitation skills for AG members (1/2)

Posted on by Dave

Are you looking to do everything you can to ensure that your affinity group functions really well – has productive, inclusive and engaging meetings and enables all its members to make their best contribution?

This two-part workshop, run for us by experienced trainer, facilitator and campaigner Kathryn Tulip, is for affinity groups in Oxford and the surrounding towns and will help you plan, structure and facilitate your meetings in such a way that everyone can follow, contribute and get the most from them.

Over two sessions, you will look at good practice in meeting facilitation; discuss ways to address common difficulties such as meetings going off track; explore group dynamics; and get some practice in facilitating.

  • This is Workshop 1 – on Saturday 21 September, 14.00-17.00.
  • Workshop 2 is on Tuesday 24 September, 19.00-21.30.

It’s best if you come to both, as there’ll be a chance to do some reflection in between the workshop and put ideas into practice in the second session.

Venue
Please see Eventbrite for details. This event is ticket-only.

Venue accessibility information
Fully accessible (room is on ground floor)

Glorious Rabble Practice

Posted on by Dave

We want to be part of a mighty singing, chanting throng at the climate protests in the week of Oct 7th. This is not so much a choir as an exercise in super funky shouting… with drums and horns, too, no singing experience at all needed!

The general idea of the glorious rabble is the development of an awesome funky shouty repertoire for climate occasions, and the getting together of the forces to make this happen. The main bits of this are:

  1. cool chants, and
  2. ways to use them

The proposal is that the glorious rabble will then join with the drumletariat and the horns of infinite justice, at such occasions as may be arranged, especially to do with the Oct 7 XR protests. This might include:

  1. actions at the occupation sites
  2. any marches that may take place
  3. flash mobs in busy places

So, we’ll have some rehearsals, where we’ll learn some stuff and how to use it, and we’ll video this, for use as a learning resource for people who are in other places. These rehearsals will be damned good fun, and may also feature drummers/horn players

The Glorious Rabble is a loose term for the development of some skills in group chanting which make it sustainable, funky and fun. I’m hoping that the ultimate result is very inclusive of all kinds of input, and a live and fun singing/shouting culture. I’d be very happy to just sit back and watch this happen, but I believe we must be constantly vigilant towards our mortal enemy: lame, boring, worthy chanting!

An example from Australia is given in the YouTube video Warm is not Cool. It will be funded by a whip round of however much you feel like contributing.

We have the organiser of the training days being held in London who will be in Oxford to give us (rather you) a rehearsal session at St Columba’s on Sept 22nd at 16.00 hours for about 90 minutes.

Please complete the doodle poll to indicate attendance.

Venue
St Columbas Church, Alfred St (off High St Oxford)

Please complete the doodle poll to indicate attendance.

De-escalation & Non-violent Culture Training (15th Sept)

Posted on by Dave

Nonviolence is vital for our movement: It’s an absolutely key element of our theory of social change and strategy. It models the world we want to live in and it’s a personal and collective practice which requires commitment.

Nonviolence works because it inspires, builds trust and opens doors for large numbers of people to get involved and express themselves. Beyond blame and judgement, nonviolence recognises that all of us are part of this system and that we live interdependently (what happens to you affects me and vice versa) and all of our futures are at stake.

In the workshop, we will… (depending on the length of the workshop and needs of the group):

  • Explore what nonviolence means to us and why it’s effective.

  • Share practical tools in:

    • Nonviolent atmosphere creation during actions and occupations,

    • 1-2-1 and large crowd deescalation (including during swarming),

    • Utilising song, music and body in deescalation and nonviolent atmosphere creation,

    • Meditation and breath for nonviolence,

    • Internal conflict transformation for your XR groups.

  • ‘Train the trainers’: Support for anyone who’d like to help spread Nonviolence and Deescalation training, or take on another role relating to supporting Nonviolence in XR

This is an indepth workshop, particularly suitable for rebels with pre-existing interest / skills in Nonviolent Atmosphere, NVC (nonviolent communication), de-escalation, conflict transformation, restorative processes, calming space holding (singers and drummers etc) and facilitation.

Musicians / poets / storytellers / meditators (etc. etc.) who may be able to help encourage non-violent atmospheres are especially welcome to come and deepen their skills!

Please bring snacks and food for yourself and / or to share.

There’s no charge for this event, but donations towards our room hire costs will be gratefully received.

Venue
See the booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
The venue is wheelchair accessible. For any access needs, please contact us to ensure that we can do our best to meet them.

Talking about the climate emergency (2nd Oct)

Posted on by Dave

This workshop is for XR rebels who want to build their confidence having difficult conversations about climate change with friends and family, colleagues, or passers-by at XR rebellions or demonstrations. We will be working with some tools that derive from psychotherapy that will help you to have those tricky conversations about climate change by understanding more of what goes on beneath the surface.

The workshop isn’t about how to communicate the facts, how to give a talk or how to deal with a very aggressive member of the public – though you may find that it gives you the confidence to go into situations of that kind.

The workshop was created by Rosemary Randall, long-standing expert on climate psychology, and will be led by Rebecca Nestor, an experienced facilitator who has been trained by Rosemary.

Venue
See the booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
Wheelchair access, disabled toilets

Updates
The end time for this event was incorrectly listed as 10.00pm. It is actually 8.30pm.

Talking about the climate emergency (26th Sept)

Posted on by Dave

This workshop is for XR rebels who want to build their confidence having difficult conversations about climate change with friends and family, colleagues, or passers-by at XR rebellions or demonstrations. We will be working with some tools that derive from psychotherapy that will help you to have those tricky conversations about climate change by understanding more of what goes on beneath the surface.

The workshop isn’t about how to communicate the facts, how to give a talk or how to deal with a very aggressive member of the public – though you may find that it gives you the confidence to go into situations of that kind.

The workshop was created by Rosemary Randall, long-standing expert on climate psychology, and will be led by Rebecca Nestor, an experienced facilitator who has been trained by Rosemary.

Venue
See the booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
Wheelchair access. Disabled toilets. Hearing loop on request

Non-Violent Direct Action training (17th Sept)

Posted on by Dave

(Update: Corrected date from 19th to 17th)

This training will cover the practice of non-violent techniques, including:

  • the background and rationale behind non-violent direct action
  • the relationship between NVDA and the law, and resources to find out more and decide your level of action
  • how affinity groups take action together
  • passive resistance and practical exercises
  • protecting against burnout in actions, and regenerative actions

Venue
Please see the Eventbrite booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
Disabled parking
Fully accessible with two disabled toilet and shower facilities downstairs and one upstairs. There is an automatic lift to access the first floor.

Non-Violent Direct Action training (4th Oct)

Posted on by Dave

This training will cover the practice of non-violent techniques, including:

  • the background and rationale behind non-violent direct action
  • the relationship between NVDA and the law, and resources to find out more and decide your level of action
  • how affinity groups take action together
  • passive resistance and practical exercises
  • protecting against burnout in actions, and regenerative actions

Venue
See the booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
Ramped access to the building with some public disabled parking spaces. An accessible toilet on the ground floor and a lift to Upstairs Hall.

Oxford XR Regenerative Culture Skillshare

Posted on by Dave

The aim of this evening is to introduce you to a range of exercises and processes to help keep your activism healthy, enjoyable and collaborative.

These times are testing times. With the call to action comes the call to engage with projections of the future, and evidence of climate tipping points. Our response starts with our inner climate, what we do with how we feel about climate change, and how that influences our activism.

We’re part of the social turning point, where we say business as usual is not an option. Whilst this means taking our care and concern to the streets, to strikes, to talks, to demonstrations, it also means a turning point in how we respond. We need to be grounded, connected, collaborative, compassionate and flexible. We need to develop ways of being – in ourselves, in our groups and with the wider world – to call forth this energy.

Come, learn and share practices, exercises and techniques to help you stay connected, grounded and strong together, for the coming weeks, months and years.

This is open to anyone in XR interested in learning and developing healthy regenerative culture. If you are in an affinity group, please ensure that at least one person from your affinity groups comes. If you aren’t yet in a group, please come anyway!

This event is free to attend, but donations to cover the hall hire are much appreciated on the evening.

Timing
We can access the hall from 7.15 pm. Please aim to arrive then, ready for a prompt start at 7.25. If you arrive later please ring the buzzer by the front door on Lake Street.

Refreshments
There will be hot drinks and biscuits available on the evening

Parking
There is very limited car parking space by the venue and very tight turning at the end of Lake Street, so please arrive by bus / foot / bike if possible.

Venue
See the booking page for venue details.

Venue accessibility information
The venue is on the first floor. It is wheelchair accessible, but we need to know in advance to ensure that a lift operative can be there on the evening, so please email XrOxfordRegen@gmail.com if you require this.