GET UP. SPEAK UP. DON’T GIVE UP. The world is waking up to the fact that society is arranged to benefit some more than others. There is much that needs changing. And you can be the one to do it. Anyone can make history, including a teenager launching a global campaign from their bedroom. And Amika will show you how, in this essential and inspirational step-by-step guide to being an activist. Are your favourite brands making little effort to be diverse? Are the people who’ve been hardest hit by COVID-19 not getting the support they need? Is the environment being overlooked in favour of driving profits? Amika George succeeded in campaigning to get the government to fund free period products in every school across England. Make It Happen is her guide to being an effective activist. With chapters on finding your crowd and creating allies, how to get those in positions of power and influence to listen, how to use social media effectively and how to look after your mental health while protesting. Amika will you show you how you can make real and lasting changes in your world. Featuring candid interviews with award-winning campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez , host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White , founder of the Gurls Talk network and podcast Adwoa Aboah , and founder of The Pink Protest Scarlett Curtis , Make It Happen is the go-to handbook for the changemaker in you.
زمانی اکتیویست بودن کاری پرهزینه و کمدرآمد بود. اکتیویستها باید لباس چریکیشان را به تن میکردند و دست به انتحار میزدند. حالا اما دوران طلایی اکتیویسم به حساب میآید. مثلا پتریس کالرز، اکتیویست مارکسیست و از بنیانگذاران بیالام، را در نظر بگیرید. این وسط حتی سر اکتیویستهایی هم که دستشان از دنیا کوتاه است بیکلاه نمیماند: نام ساختمانهای آکادمیک را عوض میکنند و میزنند به اسم یک اکتیویست کمونیست. طبیعی است که در این دوران طلایی بازار تقاضا برای اکتیویست شدن حسابی داغ است. پس تقاضا برای کتابهایی هم که به نوجوانان و جوانان علاقهمند نشان دهد از کجا و چه جوری شروع کنند وجود دارد. این کتاب یکی از همینها است. نویسنده خودش یک اکتیویست است که در 17 سالگی کمپینی به راه انداخت برای توزیع رایگان محصولات بهداشتی زنانه در مدارس انگلیس و خیلی زود هم دستمزدش را گرفت: تقدیر از طرف بنیاد بیل گیتس. از نظر نویسنده مهمتر از اصول عملی اکتیویسم، مثل بهرهگیری از هشتگهای استراتژیک، انتخاب شعار مناسب یا آمادگی برای تظاهرات، جهانبینیای است که یک اکتیویست باید در درونش بپرورد و آن نظریۀ انتقادی نژاد است. اکتیویست باید به هرجا که نگاه میکند، ساختارهایی اجتماعی را ببیند که نابرابری را تثبیت میکنند. به گفتۀ او کنترل این سیستم در اختیار گروه کوچکی از مردان سفیدپوستِ برخوردار از امتیاز است. حالا واکنش اکتیویست چه باید باشد؟ خشم. خشم موتور محرک اکتیویسم است. یکی از کمپینرهایی که نویسنده باهاش مصاحبه کرده میگوید همیشه در مورد اکثر مسایل به شدت عصبانی است. و از نظر نویسنده این خشم مفید است، چون به اکتیویست انگیزه میدهد. نویسنده مدام در مورد سرکوب و قربانیهای بیشمارش حرف میزند و اینطور القا میکند که اکتیویستها هم جزو همین گروهند. ولی هرگز اشارهای نمیکند به این که امروز قدرتمندترین نهادهای جوامع غربی جهانبینی اکتیویستی را ترویج میکنند: مدیا، شرکتهای بزرگ، مدارس، آکادمی، حکومتها و حتی دادگاههای عالی. البته افرادی که پیادهنظام اکتیویسم را تشکیل میدهند، زیر فشار زیادی از استرس و تروما قرار میگیرند؛ تا زمانی که از سلسلهمراتب بالا بروند و برای خودشان اسمی دست و پا کنند. این تا حدی توضیح میدهد که چرا جوانان لیبرالِ سفیدپوست، قشری که بیش از همه اسیر جهانبینی اکتیویستی میشوند، به میزان خیلی زیادتری با بیماریهای روانی دست و پنجه نرم میکنند. در انتها نویسنده به مخاطبانش اطمینان میدهد که با ورود به عرصۀ اکتیویسم، آیندۀ شغلیشان تا آخر تامین است. چون اکتیویسم هیچ وقت تمام نمیشود. همیشه میشود هدف جدیدی پیدا کرد و برایش جنگید
I thought this would be Amika's journey with the #PeriodPoverty campaign and some good old common sense but it was so much more. A really useful 'how to' filled with ideas, motivation, and inspiration. It filled me with hope and made me realise that you don't have to be a special kind of person to go out and change the world for the better. Anyone can do it.
“Activism is a demand for respect, equality, and autonomy.”
A very insightful guide to how to turn the spark inside you into something impactful on whatever level you’re aiming for. Thank you Amika for starting the fight against period poverty in the UK along with your community of #FreePeriods.
Alongside the whole “how to set up a campaign”, Amika offers bits of advice based on her own experiences. One of my favourite quotes she wrote is “Effecting change for the better is never a quick fix; it doesn’t happen overnight.” It’s something that’s transferable beyond fighting for something bigger than systems. Definitely something to keep in mind!
If you want to be an activist, what kind of activism, what kind of topic could be yours? How to get started? What to make out of it? Plenty of things you should mind, like intersectionality. I think this book is especially helpful if you want to start your own campaign and want to reach a lot of people.
But I guess it can also be helpful if you are not the person who starts a campaign. I do most of my activism for the topic I am burning for via comics. I never thought the chapters about how to give a radio interview would be helpful and I was about to skip them. Then I remembered how I said no to multiple podcasts, because of my fear to to it poorly - maybe I will participate the next time, because I found these chapters quite helpful.
Sometimes it's good to read motivational books like this. Activism, starting discussions, all that can be draining. This book reminded me of the fact that it's always worth to keep fighting in one or another way.
If there's one true benefit to Amika George's "Make It Happen: How to be an Activist," it's the enthusiasm with which George, the well-known U.K. based Free Periods movement, actually writes the engaging primer for the wannabe activist.
George was 17-years-old when she started the Free Periods movement in 2017 on behalf of every schoolgirl who couldn't afford tampons or sanitary towels. It was only three years later, in January 2020, that George's campaign was successful in ensuring that these products are available freely to every schoolgirl in England and funded by the government.
As George says over and over again - You're never too young. It's never too late. You're voice matters.
"Make It Happen" is part biography/memoir and part "how-to" on one's path to becoming activist. The book includes chapters on finding your crowd and creating allies, going public with your campaign, using social media effectively, taking care of one's own mental health throughout the campaign, handling social media and other bullies, and other fundamental aspects of becoming a successful activist.
"Make It Happen" is less for the experienced activist seeking additional tools and far more for the silent voice wanting to say something. George comes off as both engaging yet relentlessly persistent, both qualities that are essential in growing a grassroots campaign into a world-changing one. She includes other known voices here such as Caroline Criado-Perez, Deborah Frances-White, Adwoah Aboha, Nicola Mendelsohn, and Scarlett Curtis among others.
There are parts of "Make It Happen" that feel very specific to England itself, though many of the tips and lessons offered up here are universal in nature. Again, it is also the energy and enthusiasm with which George writes that is also so helpful as she shares her own journey in growing the Free Periods movement, surprisingly rapidly, and effecting change through both public opinion and legal challenges. She's quick to acknowledge the naysayers, though George keeps both the book and her campaign incredibly positive and seems to have become particularly skilled at taking the wind out of the sails of those who would dismiss her and her campaign.
"Make It Happen: How to be an Activist" is a relatively quick read, an engaging book that soars on the strength of Amika George's energy that sweeps you up into it. George not only tells you how to become an activist, she illustrates how these very steps worked for her and helped ensure the success of her campaign which has expanded and continues to this day.
Anyone can make history. With "Make It Happen: How to be an Actist," Amika George shows you how.
Very helpful, very cool! Great tool to have in the box if you’re an aspiring activist I’d say! Looking forward to creating the change I want to see in the world! 😃
In ihrem Buch „Du kannst etwas verändern!“ zeigt die Autorin Amika George anhand ihrer eigenen Kampagne #FreePeriods wie ein gewaltfreier und erfolgreicher Protest aussehen kann. Dabei widmet sie sich unteranderem Fragen, nach dem Schreiben von Petitionen, der Suche von Unterstützer*innen, dem Organisieren von Demonstrationen, aber auch wie es als Aktivist*in gelingt Grenzen zu ziehen und sich selbst zu schützen. Die Autorin teilt ihr mühsam erarbeitetes Wissen, das auf ihren eigenen Erfahrungen beruht und lässt auch andere erfolgreiche Aktivist*innen zu Wort, kommen, die ihre Geschichten teilen und ihre Expertise und hilfreiche Tipps weitergeben. Im ganzen, gut strukturierten, Buch wird gegendert und stets eine intersektionale Perspektive eingenommen, wobei Amika George auch ihren eigenen Aktivismus reflektiert und auf die fehlende Intersektionalität und Inklusivität zu Beginn ihrer Kampagne hinweist. Doch dies ist etwas, was mich an dem Buch so begeistern konnte: wir lernen von den Fehlern der Autorin und werden dazu angehalten, unseren eigenen Aktivismus antirassistisch, intersektional und inklusiv zu gestalten. Durch die zahlreichen Aktivist*innen, die vielfältige Perspektiven und Erfahrungen einbringen, habe ich zahlreiche inspirierende Persönlichkeiten und spannende Kampagnen kennengelernt. Da das Buch sich in erster Linie auf Strukturen in Großbritannien bezieht, lässt sich natürlich nicht alles auf Deutschland übertragen, doch durch etwas Recherche stößt mensch schnell auf die zuständigen Stellen in Deutschland. Ich habe größten Respekt vor Amika George und dem, was sie in so jungen Jahren erreicht hat. Für mich ist sie auf jeden Fall ein Vorbild, von dem und aus deren Buch ich viel lernen konnte, gerade für meinen eigenen Aktivismus und wie dieser in Zukunft vielleicht aussehen könnte. Wenn ihr selber aktivistisch unterwegs seid oder es gerne sein würdet, kann ich euch das Buch auf jeden Fall empfehlen.
Um den Einstieg in ihr Buch zu vereinfachen erklärt die Autorin, wie sie als 17-Jährige von der mangelnden Verfügbarkeit von Periodenartikel für Schülerinnen in Großbritannien erfährt, die aufgrund dessen die Schule schwänzen müssen. Daraufhin startet die Autorin ihre Kampagne "#FreePeriods" und schreibt einige Jahre später ihr Buch, in dem sie ihre Erfahrungen und Tipps mit dem Thema Aktivismus teilt. In dem Buch wird eine leicht verständliche und angenehmen Sprache verwendet, sodass man schnell durch den Text kommt. Mir hat besonders gut gefallen, wie das Buch aufgebaut ist, sodass man dem Inhalt wie einem roten Faden folgen kann. Außerdem werden viele verschiedene Aktivist*innen zitiert, sodass man immer genaue Quellenangaben bekommt. "Du kannst etwas verändern!" ist, meiner Ansicht nach, ein wirklich inspirierendes Buch, dass einen zum Nachdenken bewegt, jedoch wird in dem Buch alles leichter dargestellt, als es womöglich ist. Natürlich möchte man etwas verändern und etwas dazu beitragen, um etwas zu verändern, aber manchmal hat man nicht immer die nötigen Mittel. Trotzdem wird man dazu ermutigt, etwas zu unternehmen, da auch schon Kleinigkeiten helfen können, sodass jeder seinen Beitrag leisten kann. Außerdem hat es mir sehr gut gefallen, dass im Buch gegendert wurde und dass versucht wurde, das Thema für alle interessant zu gestalten. Ich fand, dass es insgesamt ein interessantes Buch war, egal, ob man sich für Aktivismus interessiert, oder nicht.
Amika George (and activists like her) is the reason why sanitary products are now tax-free in the UK and schools are now provided funds to combat period poverty. Period poverty is the connection between periods and deprivation. Far too many people are too poor or too embarrassed to have access to period products. I can talk about more than one time when I had to resort to stuffing toilet paper down my underwear because I didn't have a spare pad in my bag and I didn't have the change for a tampon. Unfortunately, a significant number of children miss school altogether because they are on their period. Missing a few days or even a week once a month leads to missing out on education so they are more likely to achieve low grades, settle for low-paying jobs and that is just one of many reasons why there is a gender pay gap. Make it Happen is George's in-depth description of how her grassroots petition affected real change you can see today. It is an honest, insightful and empowering look at the world of activism. And just because she changed the face of period poverty in the UK doesn't mean she's done yet. Global change is in her sights and period stigma doesn't stand a chance.
A brilliant and truly inspiring book for anyone who wants to fight for justice, equality, freedom, education, HUMANITY! Amika shares her own experiences from her #FreePeriods movement journey as well as some incredible advice and inspiration from other activists on how you can become part of shaping a better world for the present and the future generations. Too long the morons of power and greed have shaped how we should be living. The world is controlled by them. And we have to take it back. For HUMANITY. For our freedom. For our right to learn. For our right to eat. For our right to survive. For our right to be equal. For our right to education and learning. For our right to healthcare. For our future generations. This book will teach you how to use your voice.x
I want to be really clear, my review is based on the fact that the book is not pitched at me. Whilst I found Amika's journey inspirational, I felt like I was reading a reflection of a more successful version of myself as an activist.
This book is perfectly written and pitched at those seeking to begin their activism journey, and in that sense I really can't fault it.
I have read reviews where Amika is labelled as narcissistic, but I don't see this side and if anything, I found her to be far too humble about her successes.
Book recommended to anyone who would like to don their activism cape and get started on their campaign journey. The Lord knows we need you!
I have been aware of Amika George & supported her activism since the early stages of her work. It is lovely to see her entire journey documented here & to have the opportunity to gain insight into her experiences.
Her exploration of various social issues is intersectional, she recognises her own privilege & incorporates the voices of other activists throughout the book.
I think there are 2 ways to read this - as more of a memoir or as an activist guide & whilst I definitely did the former, I can recognise the merit of her advice for anyone looking to become an activist.
I do recommend, especially if you’re familiar with her work!
Another 'activist' who wants to become rich and famous off 'woke' topics such as period poverty, which affects less than 1% of the population in the UK.
She probably shares the same PR team as Meghan Markle, Emma Watson and other work public figures, who say one thing and do the other.
Inspiring and invigorating! Would recommend to any budding activists or anyone who wants to change the world. Lots of advice and interviews with famous and less-known activists. Accessible and personal. A must-read for this year!
This was brilliant, inspiring and drove home that there's no one ideal kind of activist, or type of work. It makes you feel like you can achieve your goals methodically - whether that's pestering the life out of your local MP or, you know, global change
Trite 'advice' from a privileged slacktavist who has benefitted from the work of others to advocate for a trivial law that was on its way to legalisation in the UK
She's probs a narcissist hitching a ride on an important social issue for attention and a MBE
love love love love i read this so fast it felt like watching a lecture inspired me to start participating in my community <3 between this book and project hail mary im very happy with the books my boyfriend has told me to read lmao
I keep trying to listen to this audio but I just cannot. I really admire Amika George and I remember hearing about her campaign back at school. Maybe I need to secure the print copy in order to connect.
Really good to touch up on what is important in activism and how to keep it up though it might seem impossible. Really liked the last chapter "prioritizing you"