Changemaking conversations
The Mobalisation Lab developed out of Greenpeace International in 2011 and today is an independent organisation of around 7,000 advocacy campaigners, leaders, grassroots activists, academics, funders, policy makers, social entrepreneurs and technologists who represent a diversity of backgrounds and experience. The Mob Lab website publishes stories, lessons and reports about innovations in advocacy campaigning to provide the inspiration and know-how necessary to build more effective and collaborative campaigns and organisations.
Led by Ani Phoebe Hao, the editorial team are open to pitches for stories between 500-1,200 words, either by someone with first-hand experience of a particular campaign or organisation or by a knowledgeable observer. Hao notes that much writing about advocacy campaigning concentrates on five Ws: ‘Who, What, Where, When, and Why’. Conversely, Mob Lab wants stories that focus on the practical realities of ‘How’. That is ‘timely, accurate and practical information about the mechanics of changemaking that readers can use to inform their own work’.
A successful Mobilisation Lab story might be an interview with a campaigner explaining an innovative strategy behind a protest. It could address collaboration between individuals or organisations; explore issues around narrative, framing and storytelling to inspire people to want to make change; look at the tools, tech and tactics available to campaigners in a particular field; or consider aspects of safety and security when running an advocacy campaign. Recent stories include ‘#StopTheFlights: how we forced airlines to pull out of the Rwanda scheme’, a look at MetBo, ‘an example of refugee-led creative campaigning in the UK’ and ‘A4 and Authoritarianism’, an essay in solidarity with Chinese dissenters.
Send a one-paragraph pitch about why your story idea is relevant to Mob Lab’s readers and how it showcases transformative, people-centered or collaborative campaigning. Also include a short bio and any links to articles that you’ve written, to editor@mobilisationlab.org or ani@ mobilisationlab.org. Payment is between $250 -$500 US depending on the topic, word count and amount of reporting required. Full guidelines at https://mobilisationlab.org/about/work-with-us/ contributor-guidelines