Labour organiser Jane McAlevey described organising, activism, and mobilisation as three related and overlapping (but not identical) activities. Activism can be individual or collective and means raising awareness of an issue through public actions, art, media, writing, and teaching. Mobilisation moves activism into the collective sphere by getting a large number of people to do a work of activism together — signing a letter, contacting a politician, or showing up at a protest, for example. Organising is a community effort to build collective power through “base-building.” This means that rather than attempt to rally those who already largely agree with you to do an action, you are consistently working on growing the community, or base, of people who understand and will advocate on behalf of your issue. Organising is required for long-term actions that apply pressure to those in power — such as bus boycotts during segregation, worker strikes over dangerous conditions, or setting up a community-based food programme.

Resources: Organizing for Power, Center for Third World Organizing