13. How to Make a Difference


Workbook Page 40

Rules for How to Make a Real Difference

There are 2 rules for how to make your action count:
  1. Make sure you contact the person who can help make change happen
    • Is it the right level of government (the one with the program or rule you want to change)?
    • Is it the right program?
    • Is it the right person (your representative or the person in charge of the program)?
    If you contact the wrong government, program or person, you may waste your time.
  2. The more time and work your action takes, the more difference it makes.
It takes very little time to sign a petition, but a lot of time to work on a committee with government. We do not have to feel strongly about an issue to make the effort to sign a petition. Government people know this and do not take petitions very seriously, even if they have lots of signatures.

It takes only a little more time to sign and send a photocopied letter as part of a letter campaign. Thinking of what to write and sending your own letter takes more time and work, and gets more results.

The pictures at the right show actions you can take to have a say and make a difference with government. The ones near the bottom take less work than the ones near the top. The ones near the bottom also make a smaller difference on their own.

But they can make some difference.





Workbook Page 41

What Actions Have What Effects?

Different ways to speak up are good for different things.

Raise Awareness

To raise awareness of an issue
  • Start a petition
  • Hold a rally
  • Talk to the news media
From these actions, people will learn that there is a problem or issue. They will not find out much more because
  • A petition tells about the problem in just a sentence or two
  • Signs at a rally only hold a short saying
  • TV and radio stations only spend a minute or two on the issue and newspapers only have a few inches of print to tell your story.

Educate Others

To educate others about problems, choose an action that gives you more room to talk about what caused the problem or what the impact is on your life. These actions help others learn more:
  • Letter to the newspaper or other media with facts and ideas
  • Letter or e-mail to a government person
  • Government survey if it has space to put in more details
  • Meeting with a government person to tell your story
  • Speech to a government group, like caucus
  • Community consultation about government plans or programs

Get Action

To get government to make a commitment to fix a problem, you must have a real ongoing relationship with someone in government.
  • Meet with a government person. It helps you get to know each other
  • Partner with government on a committee or task force
When government people get to know you in meetings, they are more likely to care about you and your issues. They want to solve problems together.

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