Press Conference Organizing – A Toolkit with Aaron Lakoff
A press conference can be an efficient tool to mobilize the media and get your message out to the masses. Organized well, it can get you wall-to-wall coverage, energize your membership, and get tons of people to turn out for an event. Organized poorly, and you’re sitting in an empty room with no one to talk to. Don’t let that happen to you! In this workshop, we’ll walk you through a checklist of some key considerations for organizing a successful, creative and inspiring press conference. We’ll go over ideas for speakers, locations, props in the lead up, and then how to manage the event on the big day. Aaron will present examples from press conferences that were flops, some that were big hits, and some in between, drawing lessons from each.
Well… That Didn’t Work with Anna Jover
Ever hit “post” and immediately regret everything? This workshop is for that moment. We’re collecting the campaigns that didn’t land, the ideas that backfired, and the “how did this happen?” comms stories. Because behind every flop is a lesson worth sharing. No blame, no shame. Just honest, practical takeaways (and probably a few laughs).
From the Doors to the Headlines: Media Relations for Organizers with Chelsea Connor
Winning a campaign requires more than just a strong ground game; it requires controlling the narrative before someone else does. This workshop is designed specifically for organizers to bridge the gap between field work and the press conference. We will move beyond the press plan to explore how to identify “newsworthy” moments on the fly and leverage local media to build maximum pressure on employers. A central focus will be on media training for workers: you’ll learn how to identify the right member-spokespeople and prep them to be fearless storytellers who can stay on message under pressure. Participants will leave with practical tactics for turning organizing wins into headline news that centers worker voices and moves the needle.
From Moments to Movements: Visual Storytelling for Unions with Felipe Noriega
This workshop is designed to help union organizers use photography as a powerful tool for storytelling, engagement, and mobilization. Participants will learn how to capture authentic, impactful images using simple tools like smartphones or basic cameras—no technical background required.
Through real-world examples and hands-on exercises, this session focuses on how to document workers’ stories with respect, intention, and clarity.
Video Storytelling: Building Stories for Social Impact with Felipe Noriega
Based on Felipe’s experience directing Endless Shifts and developing Care Without Borders, this workshop explores how to create powerful, human-centred video stories within unions and community organizations.
Participants will learn how to identify meaningful stories, structure them effectively, and capture compelling footage—even with minimal equipment.
WordPress: The Web Democratized with Jason Alward
For the past 20 years, WordPress has been helping people around the world build a place online. In this workshop we’ll discuss WordPress’ beginnings, its tools and ecosystems and how it’s evolving to make it easier to get your ideas online.
This workshop will have an in-class, page-building activity so a laptop will be needed to participate in this portion.
Steal this Idea: Campaign Planning in Fight to Win with Matthew Brett
Too often, union communicators and activists keep their best ideas secret: we want to be the first to launch a new idea or action. This participatory workshop invites participants to flip the script, be vulnerable, and share campaign dos and don’ts as we chart the course for the fight ahead. In an age of neoliberal austerity that fragments us, let’s do some campaign planning in our shared fight to win.
The Ins and Outs of Podcasting with Nora Loreto
Nora Loreto is CALM’s editor. She is also the co-host of the popular podcast Sandy and Nora Talk Politics and The Daily News. In this workshop, Nora will show participants how to edit sound and put together a podcast — all with budget and time in mind. She will show minimum inputs for maximum impact.
Fake it Till You Make It – How to fake enthusiasm, pump up a crowd and give a compelling speech with Nora Loreto
How do you speak publicly in such a way that makes people grab onto what you’re saying? From a rally speech to a presentation, there is an art to speaking with passion and excitement that is sure to make sure your crowd pays attention. Sometimes you have to fake it, most times though, you can find a way to fit your own style that people will love. In this workshop, Nora Loreto will give you ideas for how to deliver compelling words, regardless of what those words are for, and how much you’re enthusiastic about them yourself.
Film to Win: Practical Video Skills with Rafsan Jugol
This session will focus on video production as a way to reach low-information voters. It could include a presentation component and a hands-on workshop where we create content. We’ll cover practical skills like sound recording, lighting, framing, gimbal use and basic editing.
Powering AI: What It Really Costs with Simon Enoch
Behind every chatbot response, image generation, and AI-powered search lies a data centre consuming energy, water and land. Join Simon on Advanced Communicators Day for a deep dive into AI and the data centres that power it.