New Citizen Friday branding and website, a Sussex hub and a magazine on the way
New #CitizenFriday website, open-source brand assets and a resource Commons now live!
In less than ten days, our tiny team (mostly working for free at this stage) has given Citizen Friday a whole new look, vibe and home.
New Citizen Friday website
Andy designed our simple but useful website.
Courtney, our brilliant logo and branding designer, created our new look. The most important part of our brief was to make the logo easy to replicate: something Citizens can draw, paint, print however they like, and make it something that can become a symbol of the Citizen Friday weekly ritual. We think she NAILED IT!
Download CitizenFriday assets
Jamie Prow has volunteered time to build the Citizen Friday Commons, a space full of documents, assets and good stuff to help you plan and host your own gathering.
Spot someone Citizening? Tell them
On the train this week, Olivia spotted a stranger reading Nick Hayes’ The Book of Trespass, a book she’d read and loved and has inspired much of her work around collective intelligence and Citizening in general.
She took it as a sign he’d get the ideas behind Citizen Friday, so as she got off, she handed him a flyer. Watching him head off to read it, and wondering if he might feel inspired, made her feel joyful.
Plenty of people are already Citizening without knowing it: the neighbour who brings dinner to the door when someone close to them passes away, or fixes things for others; the friend who litter-picks the school route; the stranger reading a book about crossing the lines that divide us. There’s real power in telling someone you see them, and exceptional power in giving them a shared language for what they’re already doing.
So this week, keep an eye out. When you spot someone Citizening, tell them, and pass on Citizen Friday - you can download and print some stickers or flyers here
How to get involved this week
> Share a simple activity someone else could try for #CitizenFriday As part of creating the #CitizenFriday magazine, we’re collecting 52 easy ways to get started, one for every week of the year. Nothing that needs special skills or much effort, just small, welcoming ways into the idea of share, repair and fresh air. Please share your ideas here.
Gain clarity around the complex issue of permission in just 60 minutes? Join Sorted Collaborations Insight Loop call on Wed 28th 1-2 pm to explore: How we stop waiting for permission and start doing? Two members of the Citizen Friday team, Olivia Stamop and Gavin Fernie-Jones, are coming together for Sorted Collaboration’s next Insight Loop titled "How we stop waiting for permission and start doing?" As a group, we'll explore what stops people from taking small actions, and why joking about the end of the world feels easier than inviting a neighbour for tea, as well as #CitizenFriday. Sign up here. Insight Loop brings strangers together in small breakout rooms, with AI synthesis connecting ideas across the groups. And it's normally really fun!
Run the #CitizenFriday Instagram? Even though one of our core team members has made a living using social media for the last 20 years, we'd love a fresh, enthusiastic pair of hands to help with our Instagram content. If you fancy helping out, let Tamasine know; she might just offer to hug you!
Spread the word visually! We now have lots of lovely bits you can use for #CitizenFriday - Download stickers, posters and brand assets to promote Citizen Friday and your own event.
#CitizenFriday highlights: gatherings on 27 November
Skill share at The Greenhouse in Cheltenham Got a skill to share, something that needs repairing, or find others who want to get outdoors? Drop in for a cuppa, a biscuit and a friendly chat about the citizen-led regeneration happening in our town, from Repair Cafés to community gardening and nature projects. To find out more, email Raecheal Kelly.
Street Wisdom Walkshop (Berlin) A creative walking practice that blends mindfulness, neuroscience, and imagination to help you unblock your thinking and find your way through life’s twists and turns. Find out more and register here.
A mini Ferment Fest with Anusha Iyer and Pickled - Cambridge Bring your lunch to The Reading Room in Cambridge, 12-3 pm on Nov 27th, for a screening of The Cost of Growth, featuring Greta Thunberg, a stark look at the hidden damage of the growth agenda and how communities can push back. Afterwards, there’ll be time to reflect and an introduction to Pickled’s Principles: rethinking success, critical thinking, and kindness. Book a free spot here
Add your own gathering to the map to inspire others and show people everywhere that citizen can be a verb and is a simple, fun and addictive way to build community.
As always, I'd love to know what you're thinking, plotting and feeling, so do drop me a message - you can normally find me hanging around on LinkedIn
Tamasine (and Gav and Olivia)
#CitizenFriday is the day formerly known as Black Friday, reimagined as a ritual that celebrates connection, not commerce.
On Friday 27 November, ACTionism invites everyone who sees things differently to join in together: in fields, in homes, around tables, in workshops, on walks, or online. After that, it carries on as a weekly ritual. Not a campaign, just a small act each Friday. A chance to be a bit more human.
We think of it as share, repair or get some fresh air, but there really are no rules:
Repair – a jumper, a relationship, or even the soil by planting some bulbs.
Share – a tool, a skill, an hour, a lift, a meal, or some time making art together.
Get some fresh air – even if it's just ten minutes and a bit of a nosy at the sky, or a walk round the block.
