Our Vision
Southern
Region
Regional Training Group
After reviewing our national and regional contexts and
where we stand with regards to becoming a multicultural organization, we
developed a vision for how to address our training needs.
We
recognize that training is but one mechanism to build an effective base of
activists and that we must not rely on it solely.
We also recognize that many of our goals reflect the need for our
activists to enter into a process. These
processes, for example, include becoming anti-oppressive and working in
partnership with other community activists, which requires experience and
building relationships. Training
can help to guide that process, but it is by no means a guarantee that activists
will follow such processes. We must
look at other means to develop these processes, like mentoring and caucusing.
We
also recognize our own limitations in building a training program.
None of us are experts in all fields; therefore, we must look to other
organizations and persons for guidance and resources in developing our
trainings.
We
asked ourselves the following questions:
What
are we training for?
Who
are we training?
What
do we want them to do?
What
do they need?
We
developed a model to illustrate our answers
(see
diagram below)
The
triangle labeled “Values that inform training and everything we do” details
the philosophical foundations that all activists have, to some degree, and
should continue to develop in order to become effective agents of change.
These foundational threads run throughout the triangle because they
inform each area within an activist’s development.
People
get involved in the struggle because of personal experiences that makes human
rights relevant. Such experiences
may be a story one has heard or personal experiences of oppression.
Everyone of us has some capacity for each of these threads as we do human
rights work. Key to our work is the
full development of each one of these threads.
The
overlaying triangle labeled “Necessary knowledge and skills” charts where
various activists might enter the realm of social change.
Again, activists require development in knowledge and skills areas in
which they are not already proficient.
The
bars to the right of the triangle show the course that a certain group of people
might take in their development. The
first bar represents the average Amnesty member who needs a basic understanding
of human rights and AI in order to do effective work.
That is why this part of the bar is solid.
The rest of the line is dashed because an activist might require these
skills/knowledge as they expand their work.
The
second bar to the right represents group leaders and volunteer leaders who must
develop organization skills, organizing skills paired with content priorities,
partnership and outreach skills with an anti-oppression analysis.
Their particular situations will require them to learn certain tactical
skills and develop expertise in various content areas.
The
third bar to the right represents the general public who should have a basic
understanding of human right. This is essential to creating a human rights culture and to
cultivating activists.
The
fourth bar represents non-AI human rights activists who may have any of these
skills and knowledge. These are
people with whom we should work in partnership and they may become Amnesty
members.
Our
plans for future training reflect this model.
