Changemakers' Toolkit
Welcome to the Sheila McKechnie Foundation's Changemakers' Toolkit, a free training resource for people trying to bring about change, whether through outreach or influencing policy, and changemakers of all kinds.
On these pages you will find 3 modules:
Each module is broken into sections which explore different tools, case studies, with exercises at the end of each section to put into practice what has just been covered. We estimate that each module will take around 1 to 2 hours to complete.
They will help you to develop your understanding of campaigning and change-making, and provide tools to allow you to reflect and plan. Our aim is to help you campaign more confidently straight away, and give you a framework to further build your knowledge over time.
The Toolkit is based on the Sheila McKechnie Foundation's training which draws on years of experience working with hundreds of campaigners and activists.
Our ambition is to add to the Toolkit over time, providing changemakers with a comprehensive library of campaigning resources. We’d love your feedback on how the Toolkit works for you and what else you would like to see added, and you can contact us at volunteering
wikimedia.org.uk.
We can bring about change
editFrom big shifts to national policies, to the thousands of local campaigns doing everything from keeping libraries open, changemakers are shaping society for the better.
Change is possible, but it is not easy. Campaigning for change can be a lonely business, taking a huge amount of energy from campaigners and exposing them as targets for those against their cause. For those campaigning at the grassroots, in marginalised communities, these challenges are heightened.
There is a shortage of free guidance and resources to support changemakers. SMK is here for people trying to make change and with this Toolkit we want to help fill the gap.
About the modules
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Here are some frequently asked questions
editWhat's a campaign?
editA 'campaign' is activity undertaken to change something – or to stop something from changing. The key thing about a campaign is that it needs to be time-limited and winnable – to have a clear goal to work towards and to know when it has been secured.
How do I know if I’m a campaigner?
editA 'campaigner' is anyone pursuing change. It could be something big and society-wide – like action on climate. Or something smaller and more personal – like trying to secure the support a child needs at school. You might also be called an activist or a changemaker.
If you're working to change things, you’re a campaigner!
Acknowledgements
editThe Changemakers' Toolkit has been developed by the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and Wikimedia UK, with the support of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF). Thank you as well to Lucy Moore who assisted WMUK in adapting the content, and the focus group of Wikimedians whose feedback helped us tailor the toolkit to Wikimedia audiences.
Wikimedia 2030 strategic direction is a vision of change. Arguing for those changes within our contexts require all of us to have advocacy, campaigning and changemaking skills. Confidence and skills to convince a local cultural institution to work on knowledge equity. To lobby the government to include Wikimedia in digital literacy programmes. To argue for public policies that support open knowledge. Many parts of the world are (increasingly) hostile to us and our mission. We need to equip everyone in our movement to push back.
There is an identified need gap in wiki community skills development. This project aims to address it and was funded by the WMF.