What does working like a movement mean to you?
This post is part 4 of the Openness at Mozilla series. Read part 1, Building an Open Movement for Internet Health, part 2, What Does Openness Mean to You? And part 3 What Does Transparency Mean to You?
What does working like a movement mean to you?
In my day-to-day work, I am part of the internet health movement and my job is to support, grow and build collaborations with individuals and organisations, all fighting for, and believing in an open, free and healthy internet.
This question is part of an internal scan I, as part of a bigger team, am asking within Mozilla Foundation. We are running the scan to understand what this term means within our organisation and to our colleagues: what the movement is to them, and how they see the movement supporting their work, and how their work supports the movement.
Today, I am asking you to respond to this question from the perspective of any movement you are part of. Whether it’s #metoo, Black Lives Matter or Repeal the 8th, there are certain key values, principles and actions you are drawn towards in those movements, that ring true to you and call you to action. What are they? Why are they relevant? Can they be applied to other communities, countries and movements?
Why is this question important to me?
This is my favourite question from the list of 8 that we’re asking. As I can visualise members of the movement, the community who I have collaborated with at an event, or in a workshop. Those who email me to share ideas about projects, or every now and then we meet on zoom just for a chat about the work. These heroes don’t work for Mozilla, but certainly care about what we do. We swap ideas, like Seburo, a sumo contributor, who emails to remind me to include a friend in some work, and asking where he can help on a project. Or the Open News team, whom I am constantly learning so much from in their blog posts, or the Soko tech crew in Spain who are opening up their communities to help us design a local event. These are some of the faces of the internet health movement, and all emails, document edits, and zoom calls have real impact on the work. Real impact on how I work, make my work better and in turn support and grow the movement.
So when I ask this question, I am hoping it inspires others to reflect and assess their work, their allies, their communities and the values that keep these components reliant on each other.
How would I answer this question?
If you are in the UK, you know all about the Extinction Rebellion, a movement rallying people to act together, protest and create awareness of climate change to minimise the risk of human extinction and ecological collapse. It is pretty powerful to watch it play out, I got stuck in traffic on the first morning it started, where they turned Waterloo bridge in London into a garden, with singing, banners and information on what and why they were closing the bridge to traffic. Later in the week, I was around Oxford circus and I watched people dancing around a big pink boat blocking the two biggest shopping streets in the UK. In between the music, there was small huddles of people talking about why they were here. I saw all ages, all walks of life standing together sharing why the time is now to take action, what was at risk: our future, the place we call home and the next generation. I read the manifesto, their values online, and it rang so true with me. Yes, climate change is real, yes we need drastic new measures and initiatives on a global scale if the world as we know it is to survive.
But also I connected with the story, the values, the words they used and the how they brought people along with them. I am eager to join as I agree with them that we need to take action, we are killing our planet. I want to rally behind them, support them by showing up at the march, signing up for that newsletter and fight for our planet’s survival.
For me, working like a movement means that we work in unison towards a common goal, and that we see others as stakeholders for achieving that goal. I see working like a movement as inviting others into our decision making, so that we make better decisions, and so many voices can play a role and many voices can be represented. To borrow from Extinction Rebellion, I want us to “collectively do what is necessary to bring about change” for a healthier internet.
What does working like a movement mean to you?
Please join the discussion! How would you answer this question for Mozilla? For your community, organization, or project? For a healthier internet? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Have feedback, questions, or suggestions? Let us know at leadopen@mozillafoundation.org or @MozOpenLeaders. Learn more about the OLE team and our work here.
