SPEAK Links and SPEAK Groups

Most major UK cities have active SPEAK people seeking to do their thing. Here is a map of all the major places.  

SPEAK groups vary on action themes and how active they are in different seasons. In some seasons the SPEAK link will be very active on a specific theme when we have a clear campaign goal like when we were lobbying for new years resolutions on climate justice in January 2022 or when we looked and debt justice and cost of living crisis in December 2022 and January 2023. In 2023 we are hoping for more action around the September 2023 DSei arms fair. Even if people don’t feel able to come to events and do radical actions people try and support the campaign themes in various ways such as letter writing, emailing petitioning and other creative campaigns. Often the SPEAK links will spend time doing an awareness raising 10 minute talk or creative reflection in their community group, church or meditation on the arms trade. In that time they may give our information and give time for reflection to engage their community in our campaigns. For more about how link people engage their communities read here.

SPEAK groups have existed across the UK for over 2 decades (20 years). We have an inspirational collection of stories which can give windows and ideas of possibilities for people thinking of setting up action and prayer groups/ communities today. We have put these in our archive section: SPEAK Group Archive  if you want to contribute with stories or old photos from your SPEAK group in previous years we will be so pleased to hear from you!! Please email admin@speak.org.uk

The Last 5 years 

Over the last 5 years we have taken a more flexible approach of making it possible for SPEAK groups to take whatever form works for them locally but also for BeSpoke groups to link with SPEAK- that is groups under any or brand that want to link in with Journey of our network through sharing a significant number of our values. 

SPEAK and BeSpoke Groups

SPEAK groups and BeSpoke Groups are groups that collaborate, organise and work together for social justice locally and network together. Working together building community, mutual support, sharing resources there is so much more we can do together:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.

In African society, a person is first and foremost a member of the community and second an individual. A person’s life, therefore, is to be focused on the well-being of the community. This is summed up in one of the most significant African proverbs: ‘I am because we are; we are because I am.‘ “— Joseph G. Healey in Once Upon a Time in Africa

Bespoke groups Transitional system catalysts 

Over the last 20 years some people have been involved in their local communities and have been aware that there are countless social justice groups and community groups with parallel values to SPEAK. Some people have become increasingly aware how they have capacity to get those groups working together, (that is not just capacity to start their own groups but the amount they can do when they co-network together). We have also been aware over the years of the work of transition https://transitionnetwork.org/about-the-movement/ towns transitioning to different economic models and looking at sustainability.

We are also inspired by groups like enough in Scotland supporting what they call communing pods, https://www.enough.scot/commoning-pods/   expressing something of similar values to our parallel bespoke groups. We blogged about this and the mutual aid groups that many Bespoke linked with during the pandemic.

BeSpoke Groups Mutual Sharing 

People in BeSpoke groups seek to network together for mutual support rather than the top-down direction from an organisation. We are intending to have together quality and intentional conversations together, reflecting on how we can catalyse the shift to more socially just models of economy locally. We also seek to reflect on how people can influence different spheres locally like health, education and local trading with alternative models and being a positive influence to what is. We encourage dialogue on what a more socially justice health and education system may look like compared to what we have at the moment. 

We are now seeking to explore how we can catalyse local system change as well as campaign for changes in policy. Producing content written audio and visual that supports this process. 

“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

We are so much more powerful than we think we are. We are trained to think of ourselves as isolated individuals just working on our individual ‘careers’ inside the existing economic framework. But if each of us spent a few hours or weeks organising and gathering like minded groups and individuals locally to us (or groups with shared interests trans-locally) the amount that group could do together to remodel the economic system and work for justice locally is MASSIVE. We don’t even know how big that potential is yet! 

People with a network community mindset realise that it’s not just about what we can do as individuals, but what groups of us can do together! The discussions and actions that we all have the capacity to catalyse are massive. 

Sharing Windows of Your Journey For Inspiration For Others

If you are part of a BeSpoke group and want to blog about what action you are taking or share ideas we also welcome blogs that can inspire like-minded groups- don’t be shy email admin@speak.org.uk. It can be as simple as going for coffee together after your local farmers market to share permaculture ideas and what you are doing to keep your plants alive on a balcony in your local city, (this was the last theme of the Holla-Away Holloway Road Bespoke group in London most recent November 2022 meeting) – 

Currently BeSpoke groups connect together mainly through online meet ups and through group chats. If you want to link with other BeSpoke groups and share resources and ideas please email admin@speak.org.uk historically we did have more in person meet up points gatherings and training sessions for SPEAK groups as we re-grow our resources and volunteer capacity we want to look into re-initiating those when the time is right. 

Gathering At Protests & Actions

There are other chances for the SPEAK community to gather in person at existing events. At most major national protests or campaign actions SPEAK people will try and gather 30 mins before to pray and connect. Here is a video about that 

Come to a national protest with SPEAK 

Networking Groups

SPEAK also makes ways for people to form subnetworks around values that interest them like arts music and campaigns. There have been chances to participate in our participatory structures (aka petals) at different points throughout our journey (see link). Keep watching our Facebook page  www.facebook.com/thespeaknetwork and network emails for call outs of different support needed for working groups.

Balancing Individual and Collective Journeys

Supporting each other practically and creatively, and spiritually without it eating up all our time is the balance we are trying to strike! Also its about supporting each other in physical spiritual and emotional healing and working towards longevity my taking ourselves out of the processed food system (inspired by our Journey with the seeding change campaign). 

Fullness of Life!!!

Campaigning for fullness of life for others and supporting each other to live fullness of life ourselves too! Being life affirming not life sucking is an aspiration of SPEAK groups and BeSpoke groups !!!! We aren’t just campaign machines or about building branded campaign machines we are about life in its multi-dimensional fullness!!!! 

Intentional Community & Busy Lives

Many of us can find ourselves in this economic framework that demands a lot of time and energy from us just to survive. There are other ways of doing the wonderful thing called LIFE, but these ways are a narrow path and they are not easy to find that’s why we need collective solidarity. We also need to be intentionally building community. 

SPEAK was talking about intentional community building years before all the marketeers coined it as a phrase to sell branded products. We have reacted to this by going less branded community building over the last 5 years.. but on balance we are also aware of following quote:

“Those who love peace must learn to organize as effectively as those who love war.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

So now we are aware that we do need to regain the balance in intentionality and organisation in how we do our community life. We hope to learn from our past challenges:

“Grace is the light or electricity or juice or breeze that takes you from that isolated place and puts you with others who are as startled and embarrassed and eventually grateful as you are to be there.”— Anne Lamott in Traveling Mercies