What We Really Mean by “Making Engagement Easier”
When we at Aktivismo say we want to make engagement easier, it can sound at first like a line you could put anywhere and yet it is almost never meant in the way we mean it. We keep noticing that this “easier” raises questions because it quickly sounds like simplification at any price or like taking a shortcut you are not really allowed to take. For us it means something else, something more careful, that has more to do with everyday life, overwhelm and genuine responsibility than with speed or convenience.
Easier does not mean less serious
We often carry too much and too little at the same time. Too much, because the problems are big and rarely keep to our calendars. Too little, because time, money, attention and energy are limited. When we say “easier”, we do not mean that engagement should become shallow or that complexity should disappear just because it is uncomfortable. We mean it must be possible to remain able to act in the middle of complexity without losing yourself. Easier is, for us, an invitation to shape the first step so it does not have to decide everything already, but can simply hold for now.
Easier means moving from thought to action without stumbling
In many conversations we meet the same moment. There is an idea, sometimes only a sentence, sometimes a whole inner monologue, and it has warmth and direction. And then comes the break, because everything that would be needed afterwards feels like a wall: finding the right words, sorting the next steps, approaching people, clarifying responsibility, considering risks. We know this from our own experience, within the team too, even with things that matter to us. Easier means making that transition less fragile, so that the impulse does not turn into guilt, but into a beginning that stays doable.
Easier means structure as relief, not as a corset
Structure has a bad reputation for many people because it smells of bureaucracy or of the feeling that you constantly have to justify yourself. Yet structure can also be something gentle, if it does not dominate but supports. We want a structure that asks the questions that are in the air anyway, and arranges them in a way that lets you breathe again. In the Campaign Creator we feel exactly this point: a draft is not the truth, but it can open the space in which we can think clearly again. It is not about a machine telling us what is right, but about getting a hold that helps us decide more consciously ourselves.
Easier means responsibility stays with us
I, Johann, notice again and again while developing how quickly you are tempted to build a tool that seems to take decisions off your hands because it looks so efficient. At the same time I can feel how wrong that would be, especially in a political and social context. We do not want a shortcut for conviction, we do not want an excuse you can put forward when things get uncomfortable. Easier means, for us, that we do not avoid the hard questions, but that we ask them at a point where we can actually answer them. And it means reminding ourselves that responsibility must not be delegated to features, however helpful they may be.
Easier also means more human, slower, sometimes imperfect
We meet so many people who only dare when everything is watertight, and so many who then feel ashamed afterwards that it was not perfect. Both can be paralysing. Easier means creating spaces where you are allowed to try things without it immediately turning into a judgement. Madeleina often brings in the perspective that things have to feel not only logical but also human, otherwise they stay cold and distant. Easier then is not only a technical question, but a question of tone, trust and the feeling of being welcome, even with half formed thoughts.
In conclusion: a light beginning that does not deny what is heavy
Sometimes I think our “easier” sounds most like this: we do not have to carry everything at once, but we do not have to push it away either. We may start small without thinking small. We may accept help without wriggling out of responsibility. When we at Aktivismo believe in a friendly, open platform, it is also because we believe engagement should not fail because the entry is too high. Making it easier means lowering the threshold so more people can put their hand on the door handle, and so we can go through that door together, attentive, honest and as good as we can be.
