History and Track record

This part of the SPEAK website is divided into a few different sections of SPEAK history.

Please click on the relevant link to get that aspect of our history

1.     Campaigns History

2.     Events History

3.     Resources History- Including campaign resources

4.     History of the Journey

5. SPEAK Groups History

** At the time of writing (December 2024) we are still collating and archiving and expect these links to be updated in the next round of web edits in 2025.

Our aims are twofold: discussing and addressing a critique of the current system, while asking for specific changes NOW. We say the changes we have brought to date are not the end of the matter; we want to ‘demand more change’ but its the start. We aim to be integrated and holistic in our critique of the current situation and our work for something better.

SPEAK has had an amazing history since it was founded in 1998. We have been hosting our own gatherings since 2000, had a presence at major Christian events such as Soul Survivor, Spring Harvest, and Greenbelt since 1999, and have had a campaign presence at major music festivals since 2002. Over the years, the numbers of SPEAK groups have fluctuated between 35 and 60 and over 100 people have acted as links to churches. Between 50-175 people pass through our gatherings and training events each year, meaning that we have had thousands of people passing through SPEAK events since 1998. This means that when we do a parliamentary lobby, over 35 MPs can turn up. But we are often also radical in what we ask for. SPEAK has also been at the forefront of creative campaigns. For example, in the Big Dress campaign, where we had a tent made of squares of petitions about injustice in the garment industry. This, with art installations and performances, led us to advocate for accountability for TNCs (Transnational Companies) and working conditions in FTZs (Free Trade Zones).

This is a unique position: a unique standpoint in which to contribute to the future of the campaigns in the UK and international forums. SPEAK’s future plans, together with NEST (which works broader than Christian circles) are to build skill share hubs in communities in the UK and to partner with other international SPEAK networks and partners to interconnect the network together for more impact in the future. There is an organisation that supports the Network Called the SPEAK Network Event Support Team (SPEAK NEST). This is the organisation side, along with wider participatory structures and working groups. So, the grassroots and official organization structures work together- SPEAK being relatively unique in opting for this model.

Below is the beginning of an attempt at how we arrived at where we are. This doesn’t do the story justice, so we are working on collating stories and accounts to be collated and a photo book we are hoping to give to our supporters to say thank you. Any support with this is massively appreciated.

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SPEAK: OUR HISTORY

These pages are collated to celebrate the history, strength, and achievements of the SPEAK Network over the past 25 years. This looks at the many ways SPEAK has grown and evolved as an organisation and celebrates its many campaign successes and influences.

In the Beginning…

The SPEAK Network was founded in 1998, by a 20-year-old Development Studies student called Louise-Rachel at UEA Norwich. SPEAK began as a small network of students and young adults who regularly prayed and campaigned on issues of global injustice. We started meeting in 1998. 

The early team included Louise R Donkin, Ben Gilchrist, and Jen Mance (all 3 who were on the first core team) and Ellen Baldwin, who joined the Core team the second year and also started working with the SPEAK Network support team in 2000. Another key person included Joanne Frew who started as an intern in 2001 and stayed for 10 years until 2011 in the Network Support Team. There are more photos of the early team in the section below. From this small band of committed individuals actively praying and campaigning – and whose first offices were in a small disused toilet!! The past 20+ years have seen The 

SPEAK Network has grown impressively. At its height around 3000 people received regular SPEAK mailings, through a network of link people. There have been 19 Regional SPEAK groups, and several International SPEAK Groups in Kenya, Nigeria, Hong Kong, and Brazil! 

“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

Alongside the many Campaign victories SPEAK has achieved (see below), SPEAK has grown and evolved vastly as a Community of Campaigners over the past 18 years and now offers its members, the following opportunities to get involved in Campaign work, empowering young and old alike to make a difference! See below for some of the great work SPEAK has and is achieving year on year, and what some prominent figures have to say about SPEAK:

“I think the genius, and the creativity of the activism, that SPEAK constantly creates is wonderful”

~ Steve Chalke (Founder of Oasis Trust)

“I want to speak on behalf of SPEAK, this is an organisation that has been around for quite a while and it’s unique as an Activist group that is working for Social Justice and trying to restructure the institutions of Society, the Banking system, the way in which the Government functions, the way in which the Stock Market functions, and they are concerned about issues such as the Environment. Most of all they are committed to eliminating Poverty.

The reason I have been attracted to SPEAK over the years is that they combine their activism with a deep commitment to Spirituality. They are into great spiritual leaders in history such as St Francis and St John of the Cross. They are very much into seeing the power of prayer incorporated into their vocal efforts to change the social order. SPEAK is an organisation that is spiritually trying to connect with people as Jesus did”

 – Tony Campolo (Founder of EAPE and Red Letter Christians)

 “I am very grateful for those who have courageously drawn attention to the scandal of this situation, and to the wider question of the way governments support and subsidize the arms trade.”

– Former Archbishop Rowan Williams made a statement on SPEAK’s Campaign to stop the Arms Trade and Arm’s Fair in London.

Anita Roddick – Founder of The Body Shop, who contributed this patchwork square to SPEAK’s Big Dress Campaign in 2005 

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“The fine folks of SPEAK are some of my favorite holy troublemakers. They are gentle prophets. Their joy is contagious and disarming. Their imagination provokes us, stirs us, and invites us to refuse to settle for the world as it is now and to dream of the world as it could be. SPEAK’s revolution exposes injustice and interrupts death… but their revolution also knows how to dance, and laugh — and therein lies its power. They are not just protesting — they are protestifying… they don’t just tell you what’s wrong with the world, they invite you to imagine how it could be made right again. So if you haven’t already jumped on SPEAK’s freedom train… jump on. Plot goodness with them. Dive into their holy mischief. Join them as they join God in storming the gates of hell and bringing heaven down to earth.”

Shane Claiborne author and activist
www.thesimpleway.org
Facebook: @ShaneClaiborne

Empowerment

SPEAK is all about Empowerment. It exists to support and empower our mainly young network members to achieve confidence in campaigning and being part of the change they wish to see in the world. SPEAK is about Grassroots engagement, working through a Network of SPEAK groups nationwide and internationally, who in turn reach their own communities with Campaign messages.

SPEAK’s ministry has 2 main positive effects:

It transforms the people who come into contact and get involved with the movement. Some people are starting to refer to SPEAK as their main Christian community, so SPEAK groups and Gatherings can also have a pastoral, spiritual development, and cohesive community role, as well as the campaign side.

It also has a positive bearing globally on those who are suffering the effects of injustice. Our campaigns aim to make a significant difference for the poor and vulnerable in all areas of the world, whether that be via policy change, materially or both – For some fantastic examples of this please see our campaign successes!

Faith and Spirituality

SPEAK began as a group of young students meeting, praying, and acting on Social Justice issues, and SPEAK continues to stay true to its roots by incorporating prayer and theology into all of its Campaigns and looking to God for support and guidance. There are many times when SPEAK members can testify to God performing small miracles – especially during campaigns!

Whilst SPEAK is openly a Christian organisation, it is fully welcoming to everyone from a variety of different Christian backgrounds, those from other faith backgrounds, and those who do not ascribe to having a Faith.

SPEAK Groups

Central to the SPEAK Network are the many different Regional SPEAK Groups that meet across the UK to pray and take action on Campaigns. From a small band of students in Norwich, the SPEAK Network has now grown to 19 SPEAK Groups nationwide, with around 6 people involved in each group. SPEAK at one point had International SPEAK Groups in Hong Kong, Kenya, Nigeria, and Brazil.   We are still in touch with SPEAK IN BRAZIL and believe link people still using the virtual Pray and Posts in each of these locations though they sometimes have to adapt them to be context-specific and lobby their own decision-makers if the UK campaign is UK-focused.                                                                         

SPEAK groups exist to encourage each other in our faith/spirituality and spur each other on to take action for justice. They aim to be an expression of community in the campaign scene and seek to share their faith in a God who passionately cares about justice and vulnerable people. SPEAK groups actively organise their own campaigns and do their own outreach sessions, with support from the SPEAK Network Team when required. They are an expression of diversity, campaigning in ways they feel are appropriate for their locality, but come together to meet with other groups at Annual Gatherings such as Soundcheck and Vocal Training. In more recent years these groups have come together in online gatherings and to pray for peace over Zoom between 2018-2024, (in-person gatherings were from 2000-2017).

It is difficult to quantify the total sphere of influence that each individual group has. However, we estimate that each group on average reaches about 100 people per year with its Campaign work. This means that the total sphere of influence through SPEAK groups totals around 1900 people per year in the UK alone.

Campaigns

SPEAK Campaigns always strive to contain certain themes:

• We aim to have a focal justice issue in which we push for a specific policy change.
• We always strive to have our faith firmly rooted in the message and our responses to the campaigning issues.
• We aim for our campaigns to also have a level of advocacy and awareness-raising.

It is difficult to quantify the level of reach that we have had through our campaigns but we would estimate that it has been: Around 300 people per year through SPEAK Campaign ‘Days of Action’, 5630 people receiving ‘Pray and Post Cards’ through link people and 3000 as individuals.

Pray and Post

For the past 18 years since September 1998, The SPEAK Network has regularly produced “Pray and Post Campaigns” between 3-5 times per year. There have been around 60 campaigns led and produced by the SPEAK Network about various issues relating to Global Justice- from Climate Change and Food Security to the Arms Trade, Trade Justice, and Debt Alleviation, to Anti Modern-Slavery campaigns. Around 3000 individuals and a network of people are regularly receiving ‘Pray and Post Cards’. Through Pray and Post alongside other Campaign actions, SPEAK has had some fantastic campaign successes. Over the years the SPEAK Network has delivered around 150,000 prayer/petition campaign leaflets.

Volumize

As well as Pray and Post, the SPEAK Network has produced Volumize- a campaign magazine sent out to network members 3 times a year, to help inform members on social justice issues, give news of the various SPEAK Network Groups, and information on upcoming events. Our electronic mailing goes out to 3000 people. These are then rolled out to 5630 people in total. Many of these people are members of Churches or ‘Small Groups’ where they will reflect and pray on the issues raised in the mailings. Volumize went out physically from 1999-2017 and now goes out online via blogs and emails, though we may at some point look for resources to re-launch the physical copies for some requesting and giving regular standing orders. 

Partnering with other mainstream Charities and Organisations: SPEAK’s Campaign work has led it to work in close partnership with many other major organisations, such as Christian Aid, Oxfam, and Traidcraft, and has been recognised by other charities as being an interconnected and valuable partner in Campaigns. For example, SPEAK was campaigning alongside other ‘Anti-War’ Groups in Parliament Square against the invasion of Iraq.

Annual SPEAK Network Gatherings

Since 2000, SPEAK has arranged, organised, and hosted several SPEAK Gatherings each year, bringing the SPEAK Network together for training and information on Campaigns, empowering members to reach their local communities, and encouraging the Arts and creativity to flourish as part of SPEAK Campaigns. Around 175-350 different people attend the main gatherings (Soundcheck, Vocal Training, Flower Model Gatherings) in total throughout the year. In addition, around another 50 people attend other smaller events run by the SPEAK Network each year.

Soundcheck – Since the year 2000, SPEAK has been running an annual gathering called ‘Soundcheck’. It has an average attendance of between 175- 250 people (over the past 3 years), and up to 400 people when SPEAK has been able to organise transport for students. Soundcheck exists every Feb to bring the Network together to be informed on particular issues, hear talks from famous speakers, and meet others with a similar passion for social justice issues.

Flower Model Gatherings – Since 2002…. Flower Model Gatherings has created a participatory forum with dedicated bi-annual meetings, where SPEAK members could explore their gifts and how they could participate within the Network, and help shape SPEAK’s future. We still attempt to gather SPEAK working groups every 6 months, though we act as gardeners and have seasons of pruning back and seasons of blossoming.

In more recent years these groups have come together in online gatherings and to pray for peace over zoom between 2018-2025, (in-person gatherings were from 2000-2017).

Vocal Training

Since 2002, SPEAK’s Vocal Training annual training weekend in September is where we strive to equip and empower the next generation of change-makers to bring about global justice. An average of 50 people attend Vocal Training to be trained to become leaders in their local areas on Social justice issues. Over the years we have put on 13 vocal trainings.

In more recent years these groups have come together in online gatherings and to pray for peace over Zoom between 2018-2025, (in-person gatherings were from 2000-2017).

Speak – On Tour!

The past 18 years have also seen the SPEAK Network produce several large-scale tours of our very own campaign installations and accompanying Edu-tainment such as ‘The Big Dress’, which toured London, Oxford, Leeds, Cambridge, and Sheffield – The world’s biggest dress which serves as a Walk in Petition Marquee tent made up of over 3000 petition squares. It helped campaign for social justice in the Garment Industry.

Festivals

Each year SPEAK attends Soul Survivor B, Soul Survivor C, Momentum, and Greenbelt.

At these events, we manage to reach around 200 people per festival with SPEAK Campaign information, and we’ve observed that we have a quality interaction with around 40 people per festival, leading to further contact with these individuals.

Overall, SPEAK attending festivals can reach a further 800 people a year, with information about the organisation and its campaigns, and has a quality interaction with 160 people per year, usually leading to further contact in some way.

At some festivals, we are given the opportunity to run a festival ‘session’, for example, in 2013 at Greenbelt, SPEAK led a ‘Student Activist Academy’. Running a session such as this will give us an audience of a further 100 people.

We often also do extra events on top of the four mentioned above- these events change each year. For example, in 2013 we attended the “IF Campaign Event” in Hyde Park, running a stall and creative area. For these larger Campaign events, we usually interact with 200 people per year.

In total SPEAK reaches around 1100 different people through stalls and presence at Festivals and major Campaign events.

Music SPEAKs

Music SPEAKs is SPEAK’s own music initiative, launched in 2009. It brings together artists from SPEAK and others connected to the Network to promote campaigns and use their art forms as a way to communicate issues of justice. It has given us a platform to promote some of the amazing talents of individuals in the Network, as well as an interface with other audiences, such as the festival scene, conscious party scene, and gig venues. It has been a brilliant way to connect to this wider group with our values and campaigns. Music SPEAKS now also works in collaboration with Break The Code collective.

SPEAK Links

There are presently 119 ‘SPEAK Links’. These are individuals who are more involved with the Network and who can feedback to their SPEAK group or community about various Campaigns and events. Through their very nature, SPEAK Links influence and activate other individuals. If you would like to be a SPEAK Link for your area, please do get in touch!

Fundraising events

SPEAK fundraising events always try to have the following aims:

• We aim to have a fun and understandable fundraising feat or event
• We also always strive to have our faith firmly rooted in the message of the fundraising activity.
• We aim for our fundraising to also have a level of advocacy and awareness-raising.

A good example of where these three threads are brought together can be seen in the Bardic Bike tour in 2013. The whole activity was faith-focused, and used to promote the action of cycling as well as ends in an action for justice at the finish destination.

Around 25 people do a sponsored activity per year for SPEAK. On average, these people will influence 10 other people with their fundraising feats, which totals a reach of 250 people.

SPEAK in the Media

Due to SPEAK’s dynamic voice for justice and its ability to communicate freely, we have been given many opportunities to speak out about our campaigns in the media. This has involved television opportunities and a range of different magazine, newspaper, and website articles. It is difficult to quantify the level of reach that we have had through our campaigns in the media, but we would estimate that it has been around 300 people per year.

Social Media and Website

SPEAK regularly informs people of its Campaigns and events via Social Media, as well as its own website. Our main platforms are our Facebook and Twitter profiles and the website, which is updated regularly and features a blog. SPEAK is also in the process of developing a system where we can text the Network with Campaign and Event information.

• SPEAK has around 1000 followers on Twitter
• SPEAK has over 1000 followers on Facebook

Alternative University

In 2015, SPEAK started developing its own Education platform, to further help train and equip its Network members on Campaigns and being a peaceful Social Justice Activist in their community. The Alternative University will involve Webinars, Meetings, and YouTube videos on Social Justice topics and Campaigning. It will involve more senior Network members sharing their experiences, as well as well known Christian speakers such as Ruth Valerio.

SPEAK aims to further its Network training by:

• Workshops at Gatherings, Training events, and Festivals.
• Talks on request to churches and conferences on justice issues and/ or theology.
• On-site training to SPEAK groups which we aim to deliver every two years by designated regional speaker.
• Webinars- online Skype webinars on a variety of training topics
• SPEAK Internships, which involve direct training and mentoring to young people in specific areas.
• Dedicated online courses for SPEAK staff and NEST volunteers, including online reading materials, online video materials, online essays and exercises, mentoring, and tuition by a support worker

For more information please see: https://www.speak.org.uk/resources/alternative-university