PhD powers grassroots activism
James Whelan was following his passion for social and environmental justice movements when he decided to embark upon a PhD. After 18 months of searching for the right university and interviewing many potential supervisors, he chose Griffith University.
“The people I met at Griffith were the most passionate and enthusiastic, so I decided to undertake my research studies at the Griffith School of Environment,” Whelan said.
“My research training helped me to explore my mission in life.” His research investigated how community members participated in environmental activism and how they learnt to exercise political power. “I used to live near Shoalwater Bay, where a sandmining project was proposed. The project would have destroyed the natural habitat of the area so I joined the activist movement in protest.
“The movement was successful and fortunately the sandmining was prevented, which made me realise that communities have the power to prevent disasters.” This experience helped to define his attraction towards social activism and it coincided with his childhood interest in the
environment.
Whelan said his PhD found community members often lacked the opportunity to learn how to make a difference through social movements and informal community-based education had potential to dramatically increase their political influence.
“It is essential for grassroots community programs to teach people how to become effective activists and to champion the causes they believe in,” he said. “When I submitted my thesis, one of the examiners commented that my research suggested several concrete ways to address this need in the community.”
After completion of his PhD in 2002, Whelan founded the Change Agency, a not-for-profit organisation which provides education, training and action research support for social change groups throughout Australia and the Pacific.
The Change Agency works with more than 1000 grassroots community organisers each year and facilitated the first national summit of climate movement groups in 2009. More than 20,000 people visit the agency’s website each month.
As a researcher and lecturer, Dr Whelan has worked for several Australian universities. He publishes widely and speaks at national and international conferences.