XR Chicago NVDA training: December 7

Nonviolent Direct Action (NVDA) is at the core of all Extinction Rebellion (XR) actions, and NVDA Introductory Trainings are an essential step in joining an XR chapter.

The NVDA Introductory Trainings for XR Chicago, which are held each month, provide a historical, conceptual, and practical overview of direct action as an evolving set of tactics for activist movements. At each training we work as a group to articulate goals and identify the possibilities of direct action for supporting long-term strategies to meet those goals.

The trainings bring together people who are new and curious, along with those who have been involved for years, to learn from one another and experiment with using NVDA in innovative ways.

What you will do in the NVDA Introductory Training:

• learn your rights and what to expect when arrested for NVDA
• acquire basic knowledge of and experience with the different kinds of NVDA
• learn the possibilities and limitations of NVDA
• understand the individual and collaborative skills it requires
• realize the personal commitments it entails
• experience how exhilarating direct action can be!

The training begins with an orientation to Extinction Rebellion and XR Chicago. Next an attorney from the National Lawyers Guild will lead a workshop on knowing your rights and what to expect when arrested for NVDA. Then our trainer will lead participants through a set of exercises that build to the planning and staging of a hypothetical direct action in which participants play a variety of roles. The session ends with 1. a discussion of affinity groups, a longstanding component of direct action events, and participants are encouraged to begin forming affinity groups; and 2. brief meetings of XR Chicago's Working Groups, so that all new trainees can begin identifying tasks on which they would like to work.

Breaks with snacks and beverages are provided.