Jessica Bell's blog

Ontario's $7-billion climate plan abandons Toronto's transit riders

jessicabell — Tue, 17 May 2016 16:24:30 +0000

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The Wynne Government is right to develop an ambitious strategy to tackle catastrophic climate change and rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the province’s $7 billion plan does not invest enough in public transit.

Want to pay more for the subway? Time to raise the alarm over Metrolinx's secretive fare scheme

jessicabell — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 18:47:50 +0000

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We're concerned that Metrolinx's plan to meddle with Toronto's fare structure will hurt Toronto transit riders.

Provincial agency Metrolinx and the TTC will discuss fare integration at a joint-board meeting from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. on Wednesday April 27 at 97 Front Street.

Toronto still waiting for a transit champion

jessicabell — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 15:43:26 +0000

Transit advocacy group, TTCriders’s newly released Vote Transit report card shows that Toronto’s 1.6 million daily riders are still waiting for a mayoral candidate to become a transit champion.

Released this morning, the purpose of TTCriders' Vote Transit report card is help Toronto’s transit users easily understand how the mayoral candidates plan to fix their commute.

Media case study: Why did our TTCriders Sardine Awards campaign get so much media?

jessicabell — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 13:47:22 +0000

Last month, the awesome folks at TTCriders organized a photo competition, where TTC users were encouraged to take a photo of their overcrowded commute (hence the sardines reference) and send it to us. We then chose the best photo and converted it into an award to give to MPP Glen Murray for failing to fix transit in Toronto. Well, we actually chose four, because we couldn't decide which one was the best.

See below for one of the winning photos. This photo was one of four award winning photos.

The tyranny of activist flakiness

jessicabell — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 13:53:55 +0000

I just led a workshop on decision-making and structure for organizations. Participants wanted to talk about accountability, and what you can do to make sure people do what they say they are going to do.

I have decided to publish this article in order to start the conversation around this important issue.

Please post comments. How do you deal with flakiness in yourself and others?

This article explores the problem, causes, consequences and possible solutions to one of the bigger unspoken problems facing social change organizers -- flakiness.

Help Tools for Change choose its workshop topics for 2013/2014

jessicabell — Sat, 29 Jun 2013 14:47:38 +0000

Tools for Change wants you to fill in our survey so we can choose workshops that are useful to you and your group. We take your feedback and organize the most popular workshop topics.

Workshops range from a few hours to a day in length and are held in downtown Toronto. Please share this survey with other organizers and change makers. Please submit your feedback by July 8, 2013.

Fill in the survey.

Five things I wish I knew when I first became politically active

jessicabell — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 15:14:29 +0000

At this year’s awesome George Brown College Labour Fair Conference, I shared five things I wish I knew when I first became politically active ten years earlier. What do you think of these things? What do you wish you knew when you started being politically active?

Here they are:

1. Understand the political campaign

KI Nation paddlers hunted by Wapusk, the polar bear

jessicabell — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 17:37:29 +0000

This blog post was written by Earthroots organizer and KI trip paddler David Sone. During August and September, a team of paddlers from KI Indigenous Nation paddled 350 km to raise awareness about their community's decision to protect their entire 13,025-square kilometre watershed under Indigenous Law.

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I will never look at a white rock in the same way again, at least not while camping in polar bear country.

At dusk after settling into camp on a large island in the Severn at the mouth of the Beaver River, Allan, who has been filming the far shore, calmly says "there's a polar bear over there."

Migration, trading, rivers: The latest update from the KI Nation paddlers

jessicabell — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:47:12 +0000

Migration: An update from the KI Nation Paddlers, Sep., 3 2012

www.kilands.org

Peanut butter on Wassa crackers with honey for lunch again is getting maybe a little too familiar.

Our meal is interrupted by Ronald who points up river emphatically. We look but can't see anything new.

"Caribou," he whispers, "swimming."

KI Nation paddlers report back on their trip to protect their watershed

jessicabell — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 16:27:09 +0000

Fish Pole: Aug. 29 Update from the KI Nation Paddlers

For lunch today we stopped by a fast-flowing stream that enters the Fawn from the west amid a grove of large old white spruces that form a great camping spot. Terry said that this place is named "Fish Pole" in the language. We didn't have to ask why.

Within 20 minutes Richard had caught half a dozen gorgeous 2 pound Brook Trout. They are fascinating fish whose colourful spots blend perfectly into the pattern of the pebbled river bottom. Brook Trout need very clean, cold water to thrive as they do in these waters. The rivers up here have some of the healthiest Brook Trout populations anywhere.

Following an ancient route: KI Nation paddlers share their story as they proceed to Hudson's Bay to protect their watershed

jessicabell — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:28:14 +0000

An Ancient Route - August 24, 2012

Big Trout Lake is truly enormous. It is 661 square km of of water that is clean enough to drink straight from the lake. Paddling even a small part of it makes for a long day and sore arms. We were rewarded with a stunning sunset over the silhouette of stoic black spruce trees as we approached our first camp site.

Tools for Change program to teach social change skills to Torontonians

jessicabell — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:57:40 +0000

The Tools for Change program has launched its 2012/2013 workshop series to provide Torontonians with the skills they need to advance social change.

During the 2012/2013 school year, Tools for Change will host 19 workshops, including training on media strategy, meeting facilitation, grassroots fundraising, campaign planning, social media, political writing, research skills, political writing, navigating conflict, direct action, public speaking, and more.

Tools for Change’s workshop topics were chosen by surveying past workshop participants, as well as members and volunteers of non-profits and activist groups from across Toronto; the most-requested workshops become part of this year’s series.

KI Nation to paddle to protect their watershed

jessicabell — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 20:33:14 +0000

From August 24 to September 7, a team of paddlers from the KI Indigenous Nation will venture 400 km beyond the nearest road to travel the ancient trading route from their remote fly-in community to Hudson's Bay.

They are calling on Ontario to respect their deep connection to the wild Fawn River watershed – a foundation of their culture, and the threatened heart of the world's largest intact forest.

“The KI people have protected our entire home watershed through Indigenous Law,” said KI Chief Donny Morris. “Now we are calling on Ontario to respect our protection before this sacred landscape is poisoned by the diamond, gold, and metals mining companies who have set their sights on it.”

New Ruckus Society how-to guide on strategic direct action

jessicabell — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 02:29:53 +0000

Check out this nice little brochure for people interested in designing creative direct actions. The booklet was developed by myself (Jessica Bell) and Joshua Kahn Russell, as well as Ruckus Society staff Sharon Lungo and Megan Swoboda. (And thank you to Cam Fenton for designing.) Instead of drilling into the nuts and bolts of executing an action, we decided to write a guide to help you dream up the 'what', meaning a direct action idea that is strategic, effective, doable, and awesome.

Movement elder Marshall Ganz shares his organizing wisdom

jessicabell — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:51:42 +0000

Marshall Ganz is one great social movement elder.

He organized with Caser Chavez to build the United Farm Workers of America Union in the 1960s. He helped set the grassroots strategy that underpinned Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Ganz has also spent the last decade or so teaching and writing about social movements at Harvard University. Ganz has a lot of useful information to share! His two websites (he's got the Practicing Democracy Network one and then his Harvard University one) are chock-full of ideas, tools and resources for organizers.

Occupy NYC organizer shares her tips on avoiding activist burnout

jessicabell — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:06:20 +0000

This article was written by Occupy organizer, Cheyenna Weber. It's a nice read. Thank you for writing this essay Cheyenna. For those in Toronto, Tools for Change is hosting a workshop on avoiding activist burnout on Thursday, January 26, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Into social media fundraising? This is how it's done

jessicabell — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:40:22 +0000

This post comes from Beth Kanter, social change guru and trainer extraordinaire. I donated to Students for Free Tibet during their fundraising drive in 2008. SFT's fundraiser, Melanie Raoul, walked up to me (and everyone else at this training we were at in San Francisco), and said "Can you donate to our group? We're part of this fundraising competition being run by the Case Foundation. We're in second place." I said, "Yes, of course," and she immediately escorted me to her computer so I could donate with my credit card on the spot. Very impressive.

Democracy Center releases guide on corporate campaigning

jessicabell — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:35:30 +0000

The Democracy Center has just published a free downloadable 55-page guide called "Beating Goliath: a resource for corporate campaigners."

I think this "Beating Goliath" guide does a very good job at selling the strategy of corporate campaigning and also explaining the basic components that make up a corporate campaign.

I also appreciated the authors' decision to tease out best practices by showcasing case studies of successful corporate campaigns.

New 'Tools for Change' handout on facilitation

jessicabell — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:42:40 +0000

This Tools for Change Handout on Facilitation was compiled by myself (Jessica Bell). The content was developed by Leah Henderson and I while we were preparing for the two workshops on facilitation we hosted earlier this year. There are a lot of facilitation guides out there but very few are directed to facilitating in the advocacy and social movement world.

The handout covers a range of useful topics, including:

1. What a facilitator does and does not do

New campaign planning handbook for Canadian union activists

jessicabell — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:20:07 +0000

The Toronto and York Region Labour Council has just published Mike Balkwill and Rob Fairley's campaign planning guide for activist leaders and union organizers.

Written by and for activists, the beautifully designed and pragmatic 32-page guide contains many useful tools and tips.

Download Mike and Rob's "The Campaign Planning Handbook".

The tools and tips I appreciated from the guide, include:

Six great social media and tech websites for activists

jessicabell — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:46:05 +0000

First, a bit of context. I don't think social media tools are the magic bullet! If you're in doubt, read Malcolm Gladwell's article "The Revolution will not be Tweeted". Gladwell argues that Facebook, Twitter and other online tools build weak ties between a lot of people. But what we need for revolution, Gladwell argues, are people who are willing to sacrifice a lot, and sacrifice depends upon deep ties with people. Chances are you won't risk your life for a Facebook friend.

Sara Robinson's facilitation strategies for dealing with Occupy's asshole problem

jessicabell — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:47:16 +0000

One of the many obstacles facing the Occupy movement is the challenge of facilitating massive public meetings and decision-making processes.

These hurculean meetings take place in a setting where: