Community Organising: A Critical Dialogue

Abstract

Mohan Dutta, Director of the Center for Culture-Centred Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) at Massey University talks with Sue Bradford, the centre’s first activist-in-residence in Aotearoa New Zealand. The conversation outlines the role of community organising in communication for social change, with both Mohan and Sue drawing on their work in grassroots organising at the margins. Mohan and Sue detail the role of voice infrastructures at the margins as a basis for structural transformation. They critically interrogate the tensions that emerge in the relationships among communities, activists, and academics, and discuss how these tensions can be addressed in creative ways. The conversation wraps up with the authors’ thoughts on the role of community organising in building socialist futures in the post-pandemic world.