This Training of Trainers came at a pivotal time in our movement. As organizers who are on the front lines fighting for workers, immigrants, and marginalized communities here and across the world, we are in a consistent battle to remain hopeful in the face of such great challenges, and creating a strategic collective vision for a better future is a vital part of maintaining hope.
The purpose of these training sessions is to remind us of why we fight, to give us the tools to use our skills as educators to organize the masses appropriately, and to serve as a personal reflection and grounding of our individual commitment to the work.
With healing justice and popular education at the forefront of organizing, we tap into the lived experiences of our participants to motivate our desires to continue the fight for a better world, even when times may seem impossible.
Every training is a new experience, with new people from all walks of life. Some are veterans in the struggle, and some are brand new. We are all here for the same reason: to fight and build, with love and purpose, and to co-create a strategic collective vision for a better future.
If there is one lesson I would take from this training, it is the need for a clear and strategic vision for the way we move forward. We are living in unprecedented times, and the type of movement we build, the demands we have, and the tactics we use will be crucial in creating a new world, not just defending what we have but building something new.
The few days shared in our training are a reflection of the world we are building: a space where all our needs are met; where people feel safe in their bodies and identities; where we may have disagreements, but we have an open and safe space to talk and emerge even more unified than when we started. The ruling class wants to get rid of spaces like this because it is in these spaces that people can tap into their humanity and build something that is truly revolutionary.
Read the full article about co-creating a strategic vision for a better future by Victor Urquiza at United for a Fair Economy.