Inspiration on making change happen in an effective, creative and courageous way
I've been thinking a lot lately about the role of campaigners. About how we are there to challenge, to ask the difficult questions, to pull together the evidence for change, and to put forward a vision of how things can be different.
Campaigners have seen some major sources of inspiration this year. Medical and care staff speaking up on the reality of dealing with Coronavirus. The groundswell of Black Lives Matter to hold us all accountable for structural racism. Marcus Rashford speaking out on families’ experience of food poverty to secure one Government U-turn and battle for another.
Each year the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, who work to help people unleash social power, run their National Campaigner Awards to celebrate the best campaigns and campaigners. I love that these Awards celebrate those who have made change happen in the most effective, creative and courageous ways. This year's awards were full of amazing grassroot organisations being recognised for their work giving disparate voices a platform. For inspiration, I would recommend looking at the stories of how Charity So White are driving the charity sector to lead the way in rooting out racism and Carolyne Willow's dedication to protecting children's rights. The most uplifting moment of the night was definitely the acceptance message by Howes Primary School, whose young campaigners had successfully raised awareness of the need for more accessible leisure facilities for children.
I was also so proud this year to have professionally supported one of the winners - We Care Campaign, who won Best Digital campaign. We Care is a volunteer led campaign who are determined that the voices of the seven million unpaid carers in the UK are heard and that their contribution to society is valued. Founded by Katy Styles, powerhouse campaigner, craftivist and unpaid carer to her husband and mother, the campaign group formed on a Google Hangout and has worked hard to build an online community to give a platform to carers’ voices.
In the run up to last year's General Election, determined that unpaid carers voices should be heard, We Care worked quickly to develop a manifesto of asks for unpaid carers before the election date was even set. Recognising that digital engagement is often more accessible than in-person events for unpaid carers, they arranged for their community to share their views through a Google Hangout, the We Care Facebook group and Twitter DMs. Their manifesto was then developed to focus on the top five points raised. All this preparation meant the campaign could quickly launch on 4 November, ahead of the official start of political campaigning on 6 November.
Branded as the ‘sticking plaster’ campaign to highlight how unpaid carers are the bandage holding together the UK’s health and social care, We Care produced materials to support a clear journey for their supporters. This was carefully designed to support unpaid carers to take action while being mindful of their time. It was specified how long each action would take - whether that was printing out a postcard to send to your MP, sharing the We Care Manifesto with friends or family, or attending a hustings event. Carers were encouraged to send postcards to their MPs, engage with them online, and attend hustings events. The campaign encouraged unpaid carers, as an under-represented group, to register to vote and turn out at the polls.
To support the campaign to consistently show up online, I created six weeks of social media content to share across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Each week was themed to bring out different aspects of the campaign. For example, one week focused on facts to highlight just how many people have unpaid caring responsibilities in the UK and another focused on sharing carers’ stories and encouraging others to talk about their own experiences. In addition to a countdown to the General Election, the campaign also built up to Carer's Rights Day on 21 November as a key awareness day in the calendar. Over a 39-day campaign, We Care encouraged supporters to use their General Election campaign materials to get their message across. The campaign secured cross-party support from Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, and a Labour Party policy commitment, but most importantly it gave the voices of unpaid carers a platform.
In her acceptance speech at the Awards, Katy reflected that the success of the campaign was due to it being responsive, reactive, and true to values. By consistently showing up online to support carers to take action, the campaign empowered carers and their allies to constructively challenge their future MPs, presented the evidence of the need for a national carers strategy, and clearly set out what was required to improve the wellbeing of carers. This award is a fantastic recognition of not just the great work that We Care is doing, but also of all the unpaid carers who have taken their own valuable time to campaign online.