Start your own campaign

What's the problem?

Think about what annoys you about the situation and think about whether this is a problem for lots of people or just for you.

Keep the focus

When deciding upon what you want to change, you need to be as specific as possible- and remember you can’t change the world over night!

Find a solution

So you’ve identified the problem, what would you like to see as the solution? Think about what needs to happen to fix the problem and work backwards.

Set clear and realistic goals to hit along the way

Remember, you can't change the world over night so think about some realistic goals for your campaign that you can measure along the way.

Who do you need?

Think about who ultimately can fix the problem you've identified or who can help you reach your solution. Whoever it is, they're called an influencer and are very important to campaigning success.

Is your campaign big or small?

There are lots of influencers in the world of campaigning but not every influencer is right for every campaign.

So if your campaign is about something you want to change at school you'd be best contacting your school council or headteacher or the board of governors.

If your campaign is about something you want to change in your local area though, then you'd be best speaking to the business owner or the local council or your local MP.

And if your campaign is about something you want to change nationally then you're going to have to think big! You'd be getting in touch with organisations that can help or the government or even the Prime Minister!

Think carefully about who the right influencer for your campaign is.

Show there's a problem

You need to gather evidence that proves there's a problem that needs to be fixed. You can do this in lots of ways like surveying people, finding reports that other people have written on the problem and even taking pictures that show the problem. You need to make sure it's strong evidence and that your proposed solution will work, if you get enough support.

Spread the word!

Get people involved in your campaign to get support. This can range from your friends and family, people at school, people in the local area to even people on social media. What's important is that you show that people care about the issue- just like you do!

Go straight to the top!

Now you've got the evidence and the support- you need to start contacting influencers to make the change happen. 

You might want to meet them in person or write a letter or an e-mail. It might take more than one letter to get a response from someone but don't let this put you off! When you're a campaigner, you need to try, try and try again!

Essential tools to campaigning

To succeed in each of these stages, think about what kind of tools you might use.

So to gather evidence you might use online research, face-to-face interviews with people experiencing the same problem and a petition to prove there's a problem.

To spread the word you might start up a blog or social media page, you might organise an event to tell people about your campaign and you might get in touch with your local newspaper and radio station.

To contact influencers you might write a letter directly to your local MP or you might choose to organise a meeting with them directly.