10 Tactics in the Basque country, Spain

Last week 10 Tactics was used twice for NGO gatherings in Basque country. First the film was screened on October 7th to an audience of 20 at a public screening in Mondragon. Mondragon is the the town that began the the MONDRAGON Corporation, a federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque region of Spain in the 1950s. It is now one of the richest cooperative networks in the world, providing employment for 85,000 people working in 256 companies. After the screening, presented by Tactical Tech's Tanya Notley, the audience discussed how new technologies could be used to advance social justice in the region and fight for local causes.

The following day 10 Tactics was used as part of a half day workshop for 25 staff from ALBOAN and other NGOs on 'Info-Activism & Visualising Information for Social Change'. Part of the 10 Tactics film was shown as a way of demystifying the use of tactics in strategic campaign planning while activities from the 10 Tactics basics cards were used as part of strategic planning. This workshop was carried out in collaboration with Madrid-based information designer, Sergio Alvarez of Vizzuality.

These two events were organised by Marlen Eizaguirre who works with the Policy and Networking Team at ALBOAN, an international NGO who support education and social justice initiatives around the world. Talking about the 10 Tactics film screening she said, “I think it was something new to us to learn about the use of new and simple technologies as mobiles, facebook and others to mobilise people. We know more about "traditional" methods of mobilising people and I think it was very interesting to open our minds to other ways of mobilising, of linking people in different parts of the world and to be aware of security measures we can take when we do that.”

About the hands-on visualising workshop Marlen said: “I think that the workshop was a good introduction and invitation to learn more and recognise different strategies and experiences to mobilise people. The participants ended the workshop believing a little more in the possibilities of translating information to action.”

Top Photo: Marlen Eizaguirre presents some group strategic planning with 10 Tactics showing behind her. Bottom: group work during the Info-Activism workshop