A few years ago, about seven years ago, I found myself hiding in a festival toilet, a music festival toilet, and if anyone's been to a music festival, yeah, you'll know that by the third day, it's pretty nasty. I was standing in the toilet because I couldn't even sit down, because the toilet roll had run out, there was mud everywhere, and it smelled pretty bad. And I stood there thinking, "What am I doing? I don't even need the toilet."
Pre otprilike sedam godina zatekla sam se u situaciji gde sam se krila u toaletu na festivalu, u toaletu na muzičkom festivalu, a ako ste ikada bili na muzičkom festivalu, znate da do trećeg dana unutra postane prilično gadno. Stajala sam u toaletu zato što nisam mogla ni da sednem jer nije bilo toaletnog papira; svuda je bilo blata i mirisalo je užasno. Stajala sam tamo razmišljajući: „Šta ja radim ovde? Čak ni ne moram u toalet.”
But the reason I went was because I was volunteering for a large charity on climate justice, and it was seven years ago, when lots of people didn't believe in climate change, people were very cynical about activism, and my role, with all of my teammates, was to get people to sign petitions on climate justice and educate them a bit more about the issue. And I cared deeply about climate change and lots of inequality, so I'd go and I'd talk to lots of people, which made me nervous and drained me of energy, but I did it because I cared, but I would hide in the toilets, because I'd be exhausted, and I didn't want my teammates doubting my commitment to the cause, thinking that I was slacking. And we'd go and meet at the end of our shift, and we'd count how many petitions had been signed, and often I'd win the amount of petitions signed even though I had my little breaks in the toilet.
Ali otišla sam jer sam volontirala za veliku organizaciju koja se bavi klimatskim promenama, a to je bilo pre sedam godina, kada mnogo ljudi nije verovalo u klimatske promene; ljudi su bili veoma cinični kada je u pitanju aktivizam. Uloga mene i članova moga tima bila je da nagovorimo ljude da potpišu peticiju o klimatskoj pravdi, kao i da ih malo više edukujemo o ovom problemu. Zaista mi je bilo stalo do klimatskih promena i društvenih nejednakosti, te sam išla da razgovaram sa mnogo ljudi, zbog čega sam se osećala nervoznom i ispijenom. Ipak, radila sam to jer sam marila. Na kraju bih završila skrivajući se po toaletima zato što bih bila iscrpljena, a nisam želela da drugi sumnjaju u moju posvećenost cilju, kao ni da misle da zabušavam. Na kraju naše smene bismo se sastali i prebrojali ko je koliko potpisa skupio i ja bih često pobedila u broju sakupljenih potpisa iako sam imala male pauze u toaletu.
But I was always very jealous of the other activists, because either they had the same amount of energy as they had when they began the shift of getting people to sign petitions, or often they had more energy, and they'd be really excited about going to watch the bands in the evening and having a dance. And even if I loved the bands, all I wanted to do was to go back to my tent and have a sleep, because I'd just feel completely wiped out, and I was really jealous of people that had the energy to go and party hard at the festivals. But it also made me really angry, as well, inside. I thought, "This isn't fair, I'm an introvert, and all of the offline campaigning seems to be favoring extroverts." I would go on marches which drained me. That was the other option. Or I'd go and join campaigns outside embassies or shops. The only thing that was on offer was around lots of people, it was very loud activism, it always involved lots of people, it was performing. None of it was for introverts, and I not only thought that that wasn't fair, because a third to a half of the world's population are introverts, which isn't fair on them, because we burn out, or we'd be put off by activism and not do it, and everyone needs to be an activist in this world. And also, I didn't think it was particularly clever, but I could see that a lot of the activism that worked wasn't only extrovert activism. It wasn't only the loud stuff. It wasn't about people performing all the time. A lot of the work that was needed was in the background, was hidden, wasn't seen.
Ali sam uvek bila ljubomorna na druge volontere, zato što su imali ili istu količinu energije koju su imali na početku smene ili su još češće imali još više energije, te su bili veoma uzbuđeni zato što će uveče gledati nastupe bendova i igrati. Čak i kada su mi se sviđali bendovi, jedino što sam želela jeste da se vratim u šator i zaspim jer sam se osećala potpuno iscrpljeno, pa sam bila jako ljubomorna na one koji su imali snage da izađu i da se provode na festivalima. To me je činilo i izuzetno besnom iznutra. Pomislila bih: „Ovo nije fer. Ja sam introvert, a čini se da su sve ove oflajn kampanje pogodnije za esktroverte.” Išla sam na proteste koji bi me iscrpljivali. To je bila druga opcija. Ili sam se pridruživala protestima ispred ambasada ili prodavnica. Jedina stvar koja se nudila uključivala je mnoštvo ljudi, to je bio veoma glasan aktivizam, koji je uvek uključivao mnogo ljudi; to je bio nastup. Nijedan od njih nije bio za introverte i smatrala sam da to nije fer, jer introverti čine između trećine i polovine svetske populacije, što nije u redu prema nama, jer bismo pregoreli, ili bismo izgubili interesovanje za aktivizam, a svi treba da budu aktivisti na ovom svetu. Takođe nisam smatrala da je posebno pametno, ali sam mogla da primetim da dosta aktivizma nije bio samo aktivizam za ekstroverte. Nisu to bile samo glasne aktivnosti. Nije bila stvar u ljudima koji nastupaju sve vreme. Dosta posla koji je trebalo obaviti bilo je u pozadini, sakriveno, nevidljivo.
And when I ended up just being a campaigner, because it's the only job I can do, really -- I was campaigning at university, and for the last 10 years, I've been a professional campaigner for large charities, and now I'm a creative campaigner consultant for different charities as well as other work I do -- but I knew that there were other forms of activism that were needed. I started tinkering about seven years ago to see what quieter forms of activism I could engage with so I didn't burn out as an activist, but also to look at some of the issues I was concerned about in campaigning. I was very lucky that, when I worked for Oxfam and other big charities, I could read lots of big reports on what influenced politicians and businesses and the general public, what campaigns worked really well, which ones didn't. And I'm a bit of a geek, so I look at all of that stuff, and I wanted to tinker around to see how I could engage people in social change in a different way, because I think if we want the world to be more beautiful, kind and just, then our activism should be beautiful, kind and just, and often it's not. And today, I just want to talk about three ways that I think activism needs introverts. I think there's lot of other ways, but I'm just going to talk about three.
Kada sam postala član kampanje, jer je to jedini posao koji mogu raditi, bila sam deo fakultetskih kampanja, i tokom zadnjih 10 godina profesionalno se bavim kampanjama velikih dobrotvornih organizacija. Sada sam savetnik za kreativne kampanje različitih dobrotvornih organizacija, pored drugih poslova koje obavljam. Ipak, znala sam da postoje drugi oblici aktivizma koji su potrebni. Pre sedam godina počela sam da eksperimentišem da vidim kojim mirnijim oblicima aktivizma bih se mogla pridružiti, a da ne pregorim kao aktivista, ali i da se pozabavim problemima koji su me zabrinjavali u kampanjama. Imala sam sreće da sam, dok sam radila za Oksfam i druge organizacije, mogla da čitam mnogo izveštaja o tome šta utiče na političare i kompanije, kao i na samu javnost, te koje kampanje su prošle dobro, a koje nisu. Pomalo sam štreber, stoga sam ih sve pročitala i pokušala da smislim kako bih mogla uključiti ljude u društvene promene na drugačiji način, jer smatram da, ako želimo da svet bude lepši, bolji i pravedniji, onda bi naš aktivizam trebalo da bude lep, dobar i pravedan, što često nije. Danas želim da govorim o tri razloga zbog kojih mislim da su aktivizmu potrebni introverti. Mislim da ima mnogo više razloga, ali ću da govorim samo o ova tri.
And the first one is: activism is often very quick, and it's about doing, so extroverts, often their immediate response to injustice is, we've got to do stuff now, we've got to react really quickly -- and yes, we do need to react, but we need to be strategic in our campaigning, and if we just act on anger, often we do the wrong things. I use craft, like needlework -- like this guy behind me is doing -- as a way to not only slow down those extrovert doers, but also to bring in nervous, quiet introverts into activism. By doing repetitive actions, like handicraft, you can't do it fast, you have to do it slowly. And those repetitive stitches help you meditate on the big, complex, messy social change issues and figure out what we can do as a citizen, as a consumer, as a constituent, and all of those different things. It helps you think critically while you're stitching away, and it helps you be more mindful of what are your motives.
Prvi razlog je: aktivizam je često veoma brz i radi se o delovanju, a trenutni odgovor ekstroverata na nepravdu je da moramo odmah da reagujemo. Moramo brzo da reagujemo i da, zaista moramo da reagujemo, ali moramo da delujemo strateški u našoj kampanji, a ako reagujemo vođeni besom, često činimo pogrešne stvari. Ja koristim veštine, kao što je vezenje, što i ovaj dečko iza mene radi, kako bih ne samo usporila ove ekstroverte, već i uključila nervozne, tihe introverte u aktivizam. Radnje koje se ponavljaju, kao što je ručni rad, moraš da radiš polako; ne možeš da žuriš. A ponavljanje ove radnje ti pomaže da razmišljaš o velikim, kompleksnim, zamršenim problemima društvenih promena, kao i da smisliš šta možemo da uradimo kao građani, potrošači i glasači, kao i sve ostalo. Vezenje ti pomaže da razmišljaš kritički i da budeš svesniji svojih motiva.
Are you that Barbie aid worker that was mentioned before? Are you about joining people in solidarity, or do you want to be the savior, which often isn't very ethical? But doing needle work together, as well, extroverts and introverts and ambivert -- everyone's on the scale in different places -- because it's a quiet, slow form of activism, it really helps introverts be heard in other areas, where they are often not heard. It sounds odd, but while you're stitching, you don't need eye contact with people. So, for nervous introverts, it means that you can stitch away next to someone or a group of people and ask questions that you're thinking that often you don't get time to ask people, or you're too nervous to ask if you give them eye contact.
Da li si ti onaj ranijepomenuti volonter koji pokušava da izgleda savršeno? Da li želiš da se pridružiš ljudima iz solidarnosti ili želiš da budeš spasitelj, što često nije veoma etički? Ali, dok vezemo zajedno, ekstroverti, introverti i ambiverti - svi su na različitim mestima na istoj skali - zato što je to tih, spori oblik aktivizma koja zaista pomaže da se introverti čuju u oblastima u kojima inače ne bi. Zvuči čudno, ali dok vezete ne morate da gledate ljude u oči. Za nervozne introverte to znači da mogu da vezu pored neke osobe ili grupe ljudi i postave pitanja za koja često misle da nema vremena, ili su previše nervozni da pitaju direktno.
So you can get introverts, who are those big, deep thinkers, saying, "That's really interesting that you want to do that extrovert form of activism that's about shaming people or quickly going out somewhere, but who are you trying to target and how, and is that the best way to do it?" So it means you could have these discussions in a very slow way, which is great for the extrovert to slow down and think deeply, but it's really good for the introvert as well, to be heard and to feel part of that movement for change, in a good way.
Ovako introverti koji vole da duboko razmišljaju kažu: „Zaista je interesantno to što pokušavaš da uradiš, ta ekstrovertna forma aktivizma koja se bavi posramljivanjem ljudi ili brzom odlaženju nekuda, ali šta je tvoja ciljna grupa i da li je to najbolji način da se uradi?” Ovo znači da možete polako voditi ove diskusije, što je sjajno za ekstroverte jer uspore i bolje promisle, ali je i veoma dobro za introverte jer ih drugi čuju, pa se za promenu osećaju kao da su deo pokreta, u dobrom smislu.
Some ways we do it is stitch cards about what values we thread through our activism, and making sure that we don't just react in unethical ways. One, sometimes we work with art institutions where we will get over 150 people at the V&A who can come for hours, sit and stitch together on a particular issue, and then tweet what they're thinking or how it went, like this one.
Jedan od načina su vezene čestitke u kojima pišu vrednosti kojima je naš aktivizam prožet, kao i uveravanje da nećemo reagovati na neetični način. Ponekad radimo sa umetničkim institucijama gde dovedemo preko 150 ljudi u muzej Viktorije i Alberta na nekoliko sati, i gde oni sede, vezu i razmišljaju zajedno o određenom problemu, a onda tvituju o svom mišljenju ili o okupljanju, kao što je recimo ovo.
Also, I always think that activism needs introverts because we're really good at intimate activism. So we're good at slow activism, and we're really good at intimate activism, and if this year has told us anything, it's told us that we need to, when we're engaging power holders, we need to engage them by listening to people we disagree with, by building bridges not walls -- walls or wars -- and by being critical friends, not aggressive enemies.
Takođe smatram da aktivizmu uvek trebaju introverti zato što smo zaista dobri u intimnom aktivizmu. Dakle, dobri smo u sporom aktivizmu i stvarno smo dobri u intimnom aktivizmu, a ako nas je ova godina išta naučila, to je da, kada pričamo sa ljudima na moćnim pozicijama, moramo da razgovaramo tako što ćemo saslušati suprotno mišljenje, dok se povezujemo, a ne ograđujemo - ograđujemo ili započinjemo ratove - tako što smo kritični prijatelji, a ne agresivni neprijatelji.
And one example that I do a lot with introverts, but with lots of people, is make gifts for people in power, so not be outside screaming at them, but to give them something like a bespoke handkerchief saying, "Don't blow it. Use your power for good. We know you've got a difficult job in your position of power. How can we help you?" And what's great is, for the introverts, we can write letters while we're making these gifts, so for us, Marks and Spencer, we tried to campaign to get them to implement the living wage. So we made all the 14 board members bespoke handkerchiefs. We wrote them letters, we boxed them up, and we went to the AGM to hand-deliver our gifts and to have that form of intimate activism where we had discussions with them. And what was brilliant was that the chair of the board told us how amazing our campaign was, how heartfelt it was.
Na primer, sa mnogo introverata i mnogo ljudi pravim poklone za ljude na vlasti. Dakle, ne stojimo ispred vrata i vrištimo na njih, već im dajemo nešto, kao, na primer, maramicu koja poručuje: „Nemojte uprskati. Koristite moć da činite dobro. Mi znamo da ljudi na vašoj poziciji imaju težak zadatak. Kako možemo da vam pomognemo?” A ono što je sjajno za introverte je što mogu da pišu pisma dok pravimo ove poklone. Stoga smo pokušali da pokrenemo kampanju za „Marks i Spenser”, kako bismo ih naveli da plate dnevne zarade. Napravili smo maramice sa posvetom za svih 14 članova odbora. Napisali smo im pisma, spakovali ih i otišli na njihov godišnji sastanak da im predamo naše poklone i započnemo taj intimni oblik aktivizma gde možemo diskutovati sa njima. Bilo je sjajno to što nam je predsednik odbora rekao da je naša kampanja neverovatna i iskrena.
The board members, like Martha Lane Fox, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on Twitter, and highly influential in business, tweeted how impressed she was, and within 10 months, we'd had meetings with Marks and Spencer to say, "We know this is difficult to be a living wage employer, but if you can be one, the rest of the sector will look at it, and it's not right that some of your amazing workers are working full time and still can't pay their bills. And we love Marks and Spencer. How can you be the role model that we want you to be?"
Članovi odbora kao što je Marta Lejn Foks, koja ima stotine hiljada pratilaca na Tviteru i koja je veoma uticajna u poslovnom svetu, tvitovala je koliko je bila impresionirana, te smo u narednih 10 meseci imali sastanke sa „Marksom i Spenserom” gde smo rekli: „Znamo da je teško biti poslodavac koji daje pristojnu platu, ali ukoliko vi to možete, ostatak sektora će se ugledati na vas jer nije u redu da neki od vaših sjajnih radnika rade puno radno vreme, a da ne mogu plaćati račune. A mi volimo „Marks i Spenser”. Kako možete postati uzor kakav mi želimo da budete?”
So that was that intimate form of activism. We had lots of meetings with them. We then gave them Christmas cards and Valentine's cards to say, "We really want to encourage you to implement the living wage, and within 10 months, they'd announced to the media that they were going to pay the independent living wage, and now --
To je bio vid intimnog aktivizma. Imali smo mnogo sastanaka sa njima. Dali smo im božićne čestitke i čestitke za Dan zaljubljenih koje su poručivale: „Mi stvarno želimo da vas ohrabrimo da počnete davati pristojne plate” i u roku od 10 meseci objavili su novinarima da će početi da plaćaju dnevnice dovoljne za samostalan život, te sada -
(Applause)
(Aplauz)
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
And now we're trying to work with them to be accredited, which is really important, and we went back to the last AGM this June and we had these amazing one-to-one discussions with the board members, who told us how much they loved their hankies and how it really moved them, what we were doing, and they all told us that if we were standing outside screaming at them and not being gentle in our protest, they wouldn't have even listened to us, never mind had those discussions with us.
Sada radimo sa njima kako bi postali ovlašćeni, što je zaista bitno, te smo otišli na poslednji održani sastanak odbora u junu gde smo vodili sjajne diskusije u četiri oka sa članovima odbora, koji su rekli da su im se svidele maramice i da ih je zaista dirnulo to što radimo. Svi su nam rekli, da smo stajali ispred i vrištali na njih i da nismo bili ljubazni tokom našeg protesta, ne bi nas ni saslušali, a kamoli vodili diskusije sa nama.
And I think introverts are really good at intimate activism because we like to listen, we like one-to-ones, we don't like small talks, we like those big, juicy issues to discuss with people, we don't like conflict, so we avoid it at all costs, which is really important when we're trying to engage power holders, not to be conflicting with them all the time.
Mislim da su introverti stvarno dobri u intimnom aktivizmu jer volimo da saslušamo, volimo razgovore u četiri oka, ne volimo čavrljanja, volimo da razgovaramo o velikim, sočnim problemima, ne volimo konflikte, stoga ih izbegavamo po svaku cenu, što je zaista bitno kada pokušavate da razgovarate sa moćnim ljudima, da se ne sukobljavamo stalno sa njima.
The third way I think activists are really missing out if they don't engage introverts is that introverts, like I said, can be half of the world's population, and most of us won't say that we're introvert, or we get embarrassed by saying what overwhelms us. So for me, a few years ago, my mom used to send me texts in capital letters -- and she can now do emojis and everything, she's fine -- but as soon as I'd see this text, I'd wince and think, "Ooh, it's capital letters, it's too much." And I'd have to ignore it to read the lovely text she sent me. And that's a bit embarrassing, to tell people that capital letters overwhelm you, but we really need introverts to help us do intriguing activism that attracts them rather than puts them off. We're put off by big and brash giant posters and capital letters and explanation marks telling us what to do and vying for our attention.
Treći način zbog kojeg mislim da aktivisti gube ako ne angažuju introverte je zato što introverti, kao što sam rekla, čine polovinu svetske populacije, a većina nas neće ni reći da smo introverti ili ćemo se osećati osramoćeno kada kažemo šta nas opterećuje. Što se tiče mene, pre par godina, mama je znala da mi pošalje poruku napisanu velikim slovima - sada zna da koristi smajlije i ostalo i prilično je dobra - ali čim bih videla takvu poruku, žacnula bih se i pomislila: „Oh, napisana je velikim slovima; to mi je previše.” Morala bih ih zanemariti da pročitam poruku koju je poslala. Malo je neugodno reći ljudima da te velika slova opterećuju, ali nama zaista trebaju introverti da nam pomognu oko zanimljivih oblika aktivizma koji ih privlače, a ne odbijaju. Odbijaju nas veliki i napadni džinovski plakati i velika slova i uzvičnici koji nam govore šta da radimo i koji se nadmeću za našu pažnju.
So some of the things I do with people around the world who take part is make small bits of provocative street art which are hung off eye level, very small, and they're provocative messages. They're not preaching at people or telling them what to do. They're just getting people to engage in different ways, and think for themselves, because we don't like to be told what to do.
Jedna od stvari koje pravim sa ljudima širom sveta su mali komadići provokativne ulične umetnosti, koji su obešeni u visini očiju i koji su veoma mali i u obliku provokativnih poruka. Oni ne pridikuju ljudima niti im govore šta da rade. Oni samo podstiču ljude da se uključe i razmišljaju za sebe, jer niko ne voli da mu se govori šta da radi.
It might be wearing a green heart on your sleeve saying what you love and how climate change will affect it, and we'll wear it, and if people say, "Why are you wearing a green heart with the word 'chocolate' on?" and we can have those one-to-one intimate conversations and say, "I love chocolate. Climate change is going to affect it, and I think there's lot of other things that climate change will affect, and I really want to make sure I'm part of the solution, not the problem." And then we deflect, because we don't like to be the center of attention, and say, "What do you love and how will climate change affect it?"
Jedna od njih je nošenje zelenog srca na rukavu koje kazuje šta voliš i kako klimatske promene utiču na to. Mi ih nosimo, a ako ljudi pitaju: „Zašto nosiš zeleno srce na kome piše 'čokolada'?”, možemo da vodimo onaj intimni razgovor u četiri oka i kažemo: „Volim čokoladu. Klimatske promene će delovati na nju i smatram da ima puno drugih stvari na koje će klimatske promene da utiču, a ja stvarno želim da se pobrinem da budem deo rešenja, a ne problema.” I onda skrenemo pažnju na njih, jer mi ne volimo da budemo u centru pažnje i kažemo: „Šta ti voliš i kako će klimatske promene uticati na to?”
Or it might be shop-dropping instead of shop-lifting, where we'll make little mini-scrolls with lovely stories on about what's the story behind your clothes. Is it a joyful story of how it's made, or is it a torturous one? And we'll just drop them in little pockets in shops, all lowercase, all handwritten, with kisses and smiley faces in ribbon, and then people are excited that they found it. And we often drop them in unethical shops or in front pockets, and it's a way that we can do offline campaigning that engages us and doesn't burn us out, but also engages other people in an intriguing way online and offline.
Ili umesto krađe, možemo ostavljati stvari u prodavnicama. Pravimo malene svitke na kojima su napisane divne priče koje se kriju iza vaše odeće. Da li je to vesela ili okrutna priča? Samo ćemo ih ubaciti u džepiće odeće u prodavnicama. Svi su pisani rukom i malim slovima, sa poljupcima i smajlićima, sa vrpcom i onda su ljudi uzbuđeni jer su ih našli. Često ih ostavljamo u radnjama koje ne rade etički ili u prednje džepove i na taj način vršimo oflajn kampanje koje uključuju i nas, a ne ostavljaju nas iznemogle, a uključuju i druge ljude, kako onlajn, tako i oflajn.
So I've got two calls to action, for the introverts and for the extroverts. For the ambivert, you're involved in all of it. For the extroverts, I want to say that when you're planning a campaign, think about introverts. Think about how valuable our skills are, just as much as extroverts'. We're good at slowing down and thinking deeply, and the detail of issues, we're really good at bringing them out. We're good at intimate activism, so use us in that way. And we're good at intriguing people by doing strange little things that help create conversations and thought. Introverts, my call to action for you is, I know you like being on your own, I know you like being in your head, but activism needs you, so sometimes you've got to get out there. It doesn't mean that you've got to turn into an extrovert and burn out, because that's no use for anyone, but what it does mean is that you should value the skills and the traits that you have that activism needs. So for everyone in this room, whether you're an extrovert or an introvert or an ambivert, the world needs you now more than ever, and you've got no excuse not to get involved.
Stoga imam dva poziva na akciju, za introverte i za ekstroverte. Što se tiče ambiverta, vi ste uključeni u sve. Ekstrovertima želim reći da, kada planirate kampanju, razmislite i o introvertima. Setite se da naše veštine vrede isto koliko i veštine ekstrovertnih osoba. Mi smo dobri u usporavanju i dubljem razmišljanju, kao i iznošenju detalja problema. Dobri smo u intimnom aktivizmu, stoga nas koristite na taj način. Takođe smo dobri u privlačenju ljudi malim, čudnim stvarima koje pomažu da se započne razgovor ili razmišljanje. Introverti, moj poziv na akciju za vas je: znam da volite da budete sami, kao i da budete u svojoj glavi, ali ste potrebni aktivizmu, stoga ponekad morate da izađete. To ne znači da treba da se pretvorite u ekstroverta i pregorite, jer niko nema koristi od toga, nego to znači da treba da vrednujete veštine i osobine koje posedujete, a koje trebaju aktivizmu. Stoga svima prisutnima, bez obzira na to da li ste ekstrovert, introvert ili ambivert, svet vas treba, sada više nego ikada, i nemate izgovor da se ne uključite.
Thanks.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)