The basic idea

This would be the same project as Option 09: Skilling Up, with one crucial difference. It would focus on older activists and organisers, those over 50, who we would refer to as ‘Elders’.

There are many projects that focus on young people. The late, lamented Campaign Bootcamp focused on younger activists (both from established organisations and independent campaigners). It also ran some ‘Age Activism’ workshops for activists over 60 years old.

The justification for this focus for activist training would be that the backbone of the peace movement, and for many other movements, is older people, often retired people.

The Elders project would promote the idea that older folk can also develop and improve and increase the effectiveness of their campaigning – and also learn how to better pass on their experience and skills to younger generations.

We could still be using and spreading direct education, the powerful approach to training pioneered by Training for Change. We could still be adding a TfC-style of anti-oppression training – and also the anti-classism dimension pioneered by Class Action in the US.

It would just be that the focus for Peace News would be on older activists, the backbone of the peace movement.