COORDINATION TEAM
Protest actions always require coordination. Concentrating leadership in a single person creates serious risks: one arrest, one absence, one moment of burnout can paralyse the whole action. Distributing responsibilities across a team makes the action more resilient, prevents any person from becoming a target whose removal disables the group, and ensures that diverse perspectives shape decisions.
- Convenor: Oversees overall planning and execution, ensuring the protest meets its objectives. They will also be required to engage with local authorities when needed.
- Deputy convenor: Supports the convenor and coordinates teams as needed.
- Chief marshall: Manages on-the-ground logistics, including crowd movement, order and participant safety.
- Communications lead: Handles messaging, media engagement and participant updates before, during and after the protest.
- Safety team lead: Ensures participants’ safety and well-being, including first aid, conflict de-escalation and psychosocial support.
- Legal observer: Monitors the protest for rights violations, documents arrests or use of force and maintains communication with lawyers on standby.
- Documentation lead: Safely photographs or films the protest, preserving evidence of any abuses and ensuring footage is backed up securely and in real time.
In restricted or high-risk environments, it may be safer not to publicise these roles or the identities of those holding them. This helps protect people from harassment, targeting, intimidation or arrest. Consider using code names or role titles rather than personal names in communications, and store contact details only in secure, encrypted formats.
Tool spotlight: Secure communication tools
Psiphon: tool for users in countries with filtered or restricted internet access
Briar: peer-to-peer secure messaging that works without internet
ProtonVPN: free VPN for privacy and access to blocked content
Tor Browser: anonymous browsing and access to blocked websites
Signal: encrypted messaging, calls, and file transfer