Community Organising for local leadership

Civil society in Sweden is facing significant challenges. The public discourse is becoming increasingly polarized, resources are shrinking, and the space for organizing is narrowing – while unequal structures are simultaneously being reinforced. Yet, in the midst of all this, something else is growing: a strong sense of engagement, and people who want to create change, who see solutions, and who are ready to organize and build something better together.

The Community Organising course is an initiative by Digidem Lab and Nätverkstan, developed in close collaboration with international partners in the field of organizing. The programme is funded by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education and the Västra Götaland Region. It has also been shaped together with Save the Children, Svenska Kyrkan Göteborgs Stift, Folkets Hus och Parker, Frihamnsdagarna, Navet in Bergsjön, Saqmi, PAGE 28, Positiva Gruppen Göteborg, and Göthenburgo. The course content is grounded in the challenges these organizations face in their daily work, as well as their identified needs for collaboration and knowledge development.

Through a combination of theory and practice, participants engage with methods, tools, and real-life examples from organizers across Europe. These practitioners share their experiences, lessons learned, and insights from building movements and strengthening collective power. During the course, participants are introduced to community organizing as both a practice and a field of knowledge, with a focus on key concepts, theories, and strategies. They are also given the opportunity to work on concrete challenges from their own organization or context, such as member engagement, leadership development, power mapping, and building sustainable organizing over time.

The programme creates a shared space for reflection on the current role and future of civil society. Together, we explore how organizing can be strengthened through long-term strategies, broad alliances, and the development of new leaders and collective structures.

This course is aimed at those who are already active in civil society – for example within member-based organizations, social work, mobilization, advocacy, or event organizing. Whether you are working in a small grassroots initiative or a larger organization, or have been engaged in movements over a longer period of time, the course offers an opportunity to deepen and further develop your work.

The format is flexible and designed to be combined with work or other studies. You have a high degree of autonomy in planning your studies and can, in many parts of the course, focus on issues, projects, and contexts that are relevant to you.

For more information about the course, and how to apply, please visit the Community Organising course website.