Running An NVDA Workshop

You can't learn non-violent direct action from a website. The workshop below is a good place to start but there is no substitute for working with people who have some experience in this area. Greenpeace sometime run workshops so get in touch and see if there is one happening.

Start with a discussion asking the question 'What is non violence?' - There will be as many different views as there are people discussing this. Discuss the theory and practice of NVDA. The discussion will benefit from the participation of experienced activists who can add some anecdotes.

Body Language And Physical Control

Objective: To demonstrate the roles of body language and physical control in NVDA.

Before beginning the practical part of the workshop, it is important to stress to the group that the more seriously people approach the exercises, the more everyone will get out of the training. Remember: you are trying to simulate situations where there is tension, fear, discomfort, aggression etc.

Choose a large open space. Make sure people participating in the workshop wear loose and comfortable clothes, tie their hair back and remove all jewellery. This will prevent accidental injuries during the more vigorous part of the exercise.

Group activists into pairs, making sure people in pairs are roughly the same size as each other. Assign A's and B's.

Step 1. Person A sit down, hold your body as stiff as you can…Person B drag Person A for three metres. Reverse roles - Person A drag Person B.

Step 2. Now Person A, as Person B takes hold of you, let your body go completely limp - like water. Be the rock/sack of potatoes…low centre of gravity. Now Person B, try to drag A away. Feel the difference.

Emphasise that this won't prevent you being dragged away, but it makes it more difficult for those trying to remove you. It also lessens any chance of injury and conveys a less aggressive, more peaceful physical message.

Step 3. Repeat Step 1 but have people imagine themselves to be a heavy, immovable rock - firm but not stiff. Give them a couple of minutes to concentrate quietly and focus on having a low, heavy centre of gravity and being immovable. This shows the difficulty of moving someone who is calm and controlled, heavy yet limp.

Do it first in silence, then with speech. Let both sides explore the escalation of provocative speech. The mover tries to provoke a violent reaction which signals the loss of the rock's control. The rock tries to maintain self-control, focus, and an inner calm. The 'mover' should try to scale up their speech through gentle persuasion and sarcasm, to weaken, belittle, provoke and intimidate the rock. Have the rock answer or speak to the mover. Notice the effect on concentration.

In lengthy direct actions where people can be stuck for hours, knowing how to withdraw mentally from the discomfort, boredom or chaos can give a lot of inner calm and strength. Some people find that focusing on tree-like or rock-like qualities is very helpful, but it will not work for all. Encourage people to experiment and figure out what works for them.

If you are using equipment during an action (placard, shovel, boat hook etc.), you need to think through how this may be perceived if a tense situation arises. If workers or police confront you, drop or lower anything that you have in your hands. In the midst of a situation, seemingly innocent items can be perceived as being potentially dangerous weapons and you may unwittingly trigger a response accordingly.

The main point of these exercises is to get people thinking about their physical control and body language. Practice of these techniques can help calm tense situations and has the added benefit of depriving the media of images of struggling, violence or aggression. Ask people to consider their own limits. If an activist is stressed in an action and thinks he/she may respond violently/aggressively, then that person should remove themselves from the event.

Voice Control

As with body language, it is important to understand the effects your voice can have in a confrontational situation. During tense or chaotic moments, the tone and use of your voice can convey messages beyond the words that you use. Responding to a person with a tense, aggressive voice tends to escalate the situation and push it further toward violence and a loss of control.

Practice controlling your voice so that it is CALM, CLEAR, LOUD AND FIRM but NOT AGGRESSIVE.

Choose a statement such as 'stop it…you're hurting me' and experiment with saying it in different tones (e.g. angry, threatening, frightened, panicky, authoritatively).

Role Play

Divide your group into activists, police, security, workers, media and observers. Create a scenario such as 'activists are trying to chain themselves to a truck carrying nuclear fuel rods from a nuclear reactor compound'. The police/security have to stop the activists without necessarily knowing where they are going. Make the following points clear: cameras are on you at all times; the more people that get to the truck the better, but even one would be a success. If you can't get to the truck, try to work in your teams to ensure that as many people do as possible.

Ask activists to consciously road test the techniques of body and voice control. Finish when the objective has been achieved and your 'media' have interviewed some of the activists. The observers may not interfere but they should take note for discussion afterwards if they see activists moving away from the NVDA ethic during the role-play. Have someone video the whole thing if you can so that the group can see how they looked on screen.

It is important to leave some time for discussion and viewing of the footage after the role-play. Observers can feed in their thoughts on technique and NVDA based on what they saw. Remember that this is not about right and wrong - there are many grey areas in the practice of NVDA and we each have to work out our own values, limits and personal approach.

Also ask if there was anything the group noticed activists doing or not doing? Often people don't look out for their team. This can be crucial to the success of any action and the safety of participants so it is worth emphasising.

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