The Action circle helps rebels to organize their own actions, coordinates with other circles for bigger national actions (like during a Rebellion) and works on preparing for potential future actions.

When rebels get arrested, fined or even brought to court, they should be able to rely on the support of the movement. The legal circle fights to ensure the legal security of those that take personal risks for our movement and our future. Anyone interested in protest law in the Netherlands is welcome in the Legal circle, with or without a legal background.

Court support

A group of rebels from the Legal circle specifically focuses on supporting rebels who are brought to court.

Creators and artists all over the country help improve the visual representation of XR actions, posts, flyers and more. The national Arts in Action circle helps coordinate local arts activities and puts creators and artists in touch with one another so that they can work together. The Arts circle also virtually designs logo’s and supports campaigns for big, country-wide actions.

This circle consists of five sub-circles.

Press
When our actions hit the news, we want people to read and hear the whole story, including our demands and intentions. The Press sub-circle contacts journalists and shares press releases so that complete and accurate information about the movement is on the news.

Social media
Reaching people while they are comfortable, through social media, is a good way to get them involved in the movement. The social media sub-circle is responsible for multiple platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Spokespeople
In major actions and in contact with the press, people must be available who can clearly explain Extinction Rebellion’s demands and intentions.

Newsletter
Both rebels and people outside the movement want to stay informed. This can be done, for example, by receiving the monthly newsletter.

Broadcast
The broadcast is used to inform Rebels about what’s going inside the movement and to update them on (big) actions to come.

To fight for the health of our planet, we must also take care of the health of our movement. Awareness of the climate crisis is mentally draining. What does it mean when we say that our current system is toxic, how can we reflect on it and learn from it, and what kind of progress do we want to make? The Regenerative Culture Circle works to develop a culture within our movement that does not destroy, but renews, that is resilient and supportive rather than competitive. That way we can build community care and connection with ourselves, each other and the world, promote a safe environment and prevent rebels from exhausting themselves.

Inclusion and power
Oppression and inequality are core issues deeply linked to the climate crisis. There are still barriers for minorities to join our movement and we want to change that. Inclusion & Power works to raise awareness of both the ways discrimination persists within our movement and ways we can stand together against injustice. To do this, it is necessary that we learn to de-colonize our own thoughts and actions.

Demand 0
A good example of how our grassroots movement develops from the ground up is the initiative to add a requirement to our existing requirements (Be Honest, Do What Is Necessary, Let Citizens Decide). The additional requirement would be for Climate Justice For All, and would be seen as a Requirement 0 instead of Requirement 4, because climate justice is at the root of our three existing demands. In order for this demand to be adopted as XR NL, it must first be adopted by local groups. A workshop has been set up to help local groups start the conversation about it. This sub-circle tries to help local groups with that.

We can grow in numbers and scope by creating strong connections with other activist organizations. The Collaboration circle allows XR to collaborate with movements that, just like us, stand up for human rights and social or climate justice. This way we are creating connections of mutual support.

International link

XR groups around the world want to be in touch with each other. These connections are currently fairly weak and unstructured. The international link can help form international connections and enable global cooperation and solidarity.

When new rebels join the movement, there are integrators across the country to contact, welcome, inform and support them. The Integration Circle supports the integrators in our movement, helps groups to be more welcoming and supportive of new Rebels, and functions as the main point of contact through which new Rebels are connected with integrators who help them join the movement.

For new and experienced rebels, information about the movement can be a great help to allow them to contribute. Outreach and Training has two responsibilities. Reaching as many people as possible, either individuals or whole communities, and giving both new and experienced rebels access to training, workshops and lectures on various topics to help them improve their knowledge and skills.

Self-Organizing Systems (SOS)
It can sometimes be difficult for a group of rebels to manage their discussions and agreements without the hierarchy many of us are used to. The SOS sub-circle helps rebels work with other forms of structure to make decisions based on respect and consent.

NVDA training structure
It is crucial that rebels are well prepared before joining an action, especially if it is a high-risk action (with a high chance of arrest). Rebels learn about Non-Violent Direct Action (Non-Violent Direct Action) in action training, but if the action training differs from each other, some rebels miss information they would have received in other training. Therefore, the NVDA training structure sub-circle is working on creating a clear training structure so that all rebels will be well prepared before joining an action.

Heading for Extinction (HfX)
The Road to Extinction speech is meant to inspire, motivate and encourage people to join our movement and get active. It is important that the speech can be changed depending on the audience, because different people are motivated by different things. The On the Way to Extinction sub-circle is working on making a speech that can be easily modified to be more relevant and appropriate for different situations.

This circle is a part of the thematic group “Support”.

A large number of individuals and organizations support Extinction Rebellion by donating money. The Finance Circle ensures that this money is accessible and used by national and local groups across the country in ways that best support our mission by enabling rebels to take action. This circle needs rebels with a background or interest in finance so that the circle can better support the movement by using the available money in the most effective way.

OvO working group
This working group has a strong connection to the Finance circle, but also needs the insight of other circles and parts of the movement to make just decisions.

Some necessary roles within the movement take so much time and energy that they can’t be done by volunteers who also have to hold a day job. In such cases, if there is no other solution, an OvO (Agreement of Assignment, formerly known as VVL or VLE: Volunteer Living Expenses or Voluntary Living Expenses) scheme can be set up and one rebel can have their supplies paid for by XR for a short time to make the movement strong enough to continue volunteering.

The OvO working group makes decisions about when an OvO scheme will be offered. To help this working group, it is important to have experience within the movement to provide an inside perspective.

Long-term Strategy Working Group
The strategy we use to get our movement where we want to go needs to be rethought once in a while. The strategy circle facilitates this conversation through the movement to make sure we are more or less on the same page throughout the movement.

Because this circle and sub-circle regularly discuss Dutch politics, it helps if rebels speak Dutch.

Political representation
If we can get politicians (somewhat) on our side, we have a better chance of making a change. The Political Representation circle monitors national political developments, approaches politicians and tries to get our demands on the agenda. Because this circle discusses a lot of Dutch politics, it is crucial for rebels to have an understanding of the Dutch language and be prepared to read about motions, reports and politicians.

Expertise Group Citizen’s Assembly.
Our third demand is for governments to create a citizen’s assembly on climate and ecological justice. The purpose of a citizens’ assembly is to give more political power to citizens who represent the residents of the country where the citizens’ assembly is formed.

This circle is part of the thematic group “Support”.

Tech is the ICT department of XR NL, but much more. Tech is crucial to our global, national and local movement. As activists, we need a safe, understandable and secure digital environment to collaborate with each other. Being part of the Tech circle means supporting a good base for fellow rebels to organize.