Creating a Groundswell with Dr. Samantha Nutt
Dr Samantha Nutt, the founder of War Child Canada, gave a powerful and inspirational talk last night at Dalhousie University. She is considered one of Canada’s top 5 political activists and has over 13 years of experience working in war torn countries. Speaking from her own experience starting War Child Canada, she offered advice to young activists seeking social change.
‘The grander the vision, the longer the timeline.’
This may seem like common sense, but there is a lot of wisdom in that sentence. It’s important not to get discouraged for lack of progress, because difficult things take time. Also, if it’s hard, it’s because what you are doing is important.
‘For others to believe it, you must believe it more.’
For your idea or movement to succeed, you need to truly believe in the cause. To inspire others, you need passion and personal attachment for the issue. This attachment will also help you overcome the difficult struggles on your way.
‘Promote ownership through choice.’
You can only shame or guilt people so far into supporting your movement. People need to relate to your cause and know how it effects them before they care. The key is to show how their actions or inaction’s are part of the problem. A perfect example is War Child Canada’s recent campaign Help Child Soldiers, brilliant ad:
‘If no one is listening, don’t shout; change the message.’
It doesn’t matter how loud you shout, if people aren’t listening. When you notice that something isn’t working, change your angle. A great example is another brilliant War Child Canada campaign called Camp Okutta:
For more information about War Child Canada, their international work or their upcoming Heroes CD fundraiser, visit their website: http://www.warchild.ca