Activism from Within - Introduction

NGOs and non-profit organisations are constantly working to bring about lasting change in society. OKF also works towards social justice and participation on many levels in its numerous projects. However, organisations often lack an inward perspective. With this new series, we want to provide transparency: How do we make decisions? How do we distribute power? How do we shape collaboration?
‘Activism from Within’ addresses precisely these issues.

Over the next three weeks, we will give you an insight into our structures and share experiences, challenges and tools for implementing our social demands internally. In part 1, we show how we organise ourselves internally. We describe the structures we use to promote co-determination and distribute power. In part 2, we share instructions for an exercise we use to facilitate discussions about power structures in our organisation. And finally, in part 3, we share our first version of a conflict routine: instructions on how to proceed when you find yourself in a conflict.

Organisational development is never complete, and we still have a lot of room for improvement. But it’s worth sharing even unfinished, imperfect things in order to open up a conversation and grow together. We also want to encourage other associations, NGOs and activists to take a look inward and share their experiences.

Finally, you will also receive a PDF with our entire Activism from Within series. To accompany this, three of our employees share their experiences from our NGO. Follow us on our social media platforms: LinkedIn, Bluesky & Mastodon, and feel free to exchange ideas with us. The series is written by our organisational development specialist Sonja Fischbauer. Feel free to send an email to Sonja.