Do Something: Activism for Everyone

by Kajal Odedra

People power works and is changing the world around us. This is a user's guide to activism by one of the UK's biggest names in grass-roots campaigning. Illustrated with lessons from the real world, it is a guide to creating change for anyone who has ever asked themselves 'why hasn't anyone done something about that?' We are taught to believe that only a small group of people in society have the ability to change laws and company policies. That's simply not true any longer - each of is capable of using our experiences to change the world. We just need to use that thing that makes us different, and learn how to channel it. Having worked as a campaigner for the last 11 years, Kajal Odedra of change.org - which is used by 15 million people in the UK - has learned the tricks of the trade that have traditionally been held in circles of power, and believes that everyone should know how to speak up and be heard. Her mission is to show people how to use their voice to make their community, politicians and CEOs take notice.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Activism, Social Justice

208 pages, Hardcover

Published August 8, 2019

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

«ich mues unbedingt ferie mache vu dem viele altivismus… ok cool liesi es buech drüber wieme aktivismus macht» lol. aber: guets buech. bestärchend und lieb. bin glaubs nöd zielgruppe und han trotzdem viel glernt.

[Danika Plowman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating is low not because the book was bad, it was just a little too simplistic focusing more on discussing examples of activists and campaigns the author knew than really diving into anything specific or new on campaign tactics and strategy. With that being said, potentially a great starting place for younger readers/teens just starting out on their organising journey

[Vivi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to activism and really inspiring, plus I got to learn about a lot of great people and further sources to use.
Definitly a book to re-read.

[Martina Corsini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positive, motivational reading.

[Kieran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super inspiring and energetic! I liked that it was approached from the perspective of the average person getting involved, but the examples are clearly a little biased towards internet/social media activism, as the author is affiliated with Change.org. The author does talk a lot about irl activism a lot in the strategy sections though. There's also a bit of success bias, a lot of "so they created a petition and got X signatures in a week!", but there's also a lot of acknowledgement that failure is a part of the process so I didn't mind that so much here.

[Jahdia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was great. I found the first 74 pages hard to read it was just boring and full of case studies .Then it started to pick up. Great advise on SMARTgoals messaging, power mapping, decision makers creating a community, interviews and social media. A good starter book to get juices flowing about different tactics you can use

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent practical guide with step by step tips and instructions on how to develop a campaign. Interspersed with incredible and inspiring stories of activism and some of Kajal's own experience. I'll definitely keep going back to this

[Sean Finn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple methods to encourage change. However, the pity parties were more than a little cringeworthy.

[Caroline Petruzzi McHale · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting perspective and motivational read on how to move from caring about a cause to bringing about the change you want to see.

[Eabhnat Ní Laighin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear, easy to read and practical guide to doing something about the things that you want to change. Easily accessible for teens and adults.

[Lynne Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, all-round introduction to trying to make a positive change in the world, full of good real-life examples and great, usable quotes.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish 16/17 year old Katie had had this book to help her on her foray into the world of Labour activism - probably would've made her a far more successful Youth Officer!

[Monika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simplistic and focused on very small change/one issue campaigns.

[Daksh Jindal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook. This was my first time trying an audiobook. So I found the narration a bit monotonous. The content of the book is really good though. It empowers you with the right tools to go and make a difference. It describes the ideology how every single person is powerful enough to bring a positive change. This book is for everyone who is looking to change something in their lives to changing the world.
The books gives some brilliant examples from real world on how people stood up for what is right and were supported by people with similar mindset.
For future activists, this book is a gem. Learning from the experience of the author and other examples in the book it will give you the right mindset to tackle an issue.
I would definitely go back to this book in future to recap all the tools later on in life.

[Sophie Drt-Pmllr · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and helpful refresher on campaigning 101. Some of the media and social media strategies felt light, perhaps because that's my background. Positive examples of regular people driving political or social  change throughout the books are encouraging and uplifting. It has a can do attitude I liked and makes campaigning feel accessible.