Just starting out?

Explore ideas and ways to start making a difference.

Does this sound like you:

I read the news and get overwhelmed by the state of the world.

I’m worried about the world but don’t know how I can start making it different.

I want to feel like I’m making a difference in my community.

If so, you’re not alone. We have organised a range of resources that might be helpful for thinking about how to get started. These include stories and podcasts of unlikely changemakers, as well as practical tools that can help you reflect on the experiences that have shaped you as a way to help rethink how and why making a difference matters.

In the resources below you’ll find…

Podcasts

The myth that we need some kind of big superhero to make a difference can leave us feeling small. In celebrating the power that each of us has, take a listen to some self-described reluctant changemakers sharing how they came to make a difference:

We also have a ChangeMaker Chat that demonstrates the potential of small tribes – like Parents & Citizens groups – and what groups like this did during the ICE crackdown in Minnesota in January 2026.

Tools

If making a difference starts with us then knowing what we care about and why helps us begin. We have a guide to writing a political autobiography to help you reflect on the important experiences in your life and how they connect to why you want to make a difference.

Over the coming months we will be developing more tools, videos and resources for getting started. Get in touch if you have suggestions – we are keen to know what might be useful for you.

Stories

In Chapter 3 of Conscious Tribes, Issara Saeyim shares how she began her own tribe – Lotus Kitchen – in the northern suburbs of Geelong during the COVID pandemic. Here we have a collection of stories, including hers, to help paint clearer a picture of some of the many different ways that any of us can begin to make a difference.

Next Steps

Making a difference is a team sport – that means you will need to work with others. Your next step is to find a tribe.

But don’t be daunted, because it’s quite possible that you already have one. While tribes can look like big NGOs or unions, they can also be smaller groups like mothers groups, workplace committees or even a strata committee. The thing that sets a tribe apart is that it is a group held together and bounded by a sense of sameness that includes a desire to have an impact on public life. Tribes are explored in the next section – In a Tribe or Campaign.