Five Good Ideas about advocating for change

In this session, originally recorded on September 28, 2020, we asked Paul Taylor to share five good ideas about advocating for change.

Many of us are seeing the need to create a better world, one that is more just, equitable and sustainable. COVID-19 has caused us to ask a lot of questions about how we can build back better. It’s a moment that has the potential to be profoundly transformative. In this five good ideas session, Paul Taylor, Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto, talks about his own experience in advocating for change and presents his five good ideas for you to use in your own work.

Five Good Ideas

1. Your advocacy journey begins with what is most important to you.
2. Advocacy isn’t always about the big stuff (aka public policy).
3. Curiosity is key! Foster it in organizations and in organizing. Challenge assumptions + keep listening + recognize the box we’ve been convinced to think inside of.
4. Acknowledge the obstacles and consider they can be overcome.
5. Be bold! Dream in colour! Better is possible!

Related resource:

• It’s time for politicians to take food insecurity and poverty seriously. Op-ed by Paul Taylor, Toronto Star (August 15, 2018).
• Pandemic has exposed the rifts in our social fabric. Op-ed by Paul Taylor, Toronto Star (April 21, 2020).
• Podcast: AAPF and Kimberle Crenshaw Present: INTERSECTIONALITY MATTERS! The podcast that brings intersectionality to life.
• Book: The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex
• Website: Metro Vancouver Alliance

For the full transcript, visit https://maytree.com/five-good-ideas/five-good-ideas-about-advocating-for-change/

About Paul Taylor

Paul Taylor is the Executive Director of FoodShare Toronto, and a lifelong anti-poverty activist. Growing up materially poor in Toronto, Paul has used his experience to fuel a career focused not just on helping others, but dismantling the beliefs and systems that lead to poverty and food insecurity, including colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchal structures.

Each year, FoodShare provides a quarter million people with fresh produce, and fights for their right to have access to “good” food on their own terms, rather than charity on someone else’s. Paul’s experience includes Executive Director roles at Gordon Neighbourhood House and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House. He has also chaired the British Columbia Poverty Reduction Coalition, and served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and as Vice-Chair of Food Secure Canada.