From April-June 2026, Open Briefing is hosting a series of free, 60-minute wellbeing webinars for activists, journalists, organisers, and civil society groups in the US. Each session introduces a practical resilience approach alongside facilitated peer discussion.
The context
People and movements in the US challenging unaccountable power are facing unprecedented holistic security challenges.
Disinformation, constant pressure on press freedom, defamation and smear campaigns, and criminalisation of protest create a context where activists face heightened wellbeing risks. This particularly affects journalists, reproductive rights activists, racialised people, LGBTQIA+ and Indigenous communities in the US. Turbocharged physical and digital threats from government officials such as ICE, including surveillance, physical attacks, tear gas, and lethal and non-lethal shootings, contribute to a climate of fear and desperation. Increasing attacks on the rule of law and other authoritarian practices further deepen a sense of uncertainty and hopelessness.
Although these threats are new to the US in their reach and intensity, many countries have weathered similar authoritarian crackdowns. Open Briefing draws on its international experience to share concrete resilience strategies that help anchor movements in hope and joy instead of fear and despair.
Exploring hope as a practice
In this ‘Hope for resistance’ wellbeing webinar series, we will creatively engage participants to experience wellbeing as a tool to reimagine social justice. We will explore hope as both a shield and a path. Hope is crucial in times of uncertainty and in responding to adversity.
Across four sessions, we enter the space of hope from multiple perspectives. We begin by creating space to grieve the loss of a past ecosystem for social justice movements in the US. We then explore the narratives that shape how we understand possibility and limitation. From there, we focus on hope as lived action, including how it can be generated and sustained in our bodies and nervous systems. Finally, we explore collective rituals that can sustain hope within movements over time.
About the series
The Hope for resistance webinar series explores wellbeing as a core component of sustainable activism. Together, we will explore how hope can function both as a shield against burnout and as a pathway to sustained collective action.
Participants can expect:
- Practical wellbeing and resilience strategies
- Facilitated peer discussion in a supportive environment
- Space for reflection and grounding
- Approaches to sustaining activism over time
They are facilitated by psychologists and counsellors from Open Briefing’s wellbeing and resilience team, with experience supporting human rights and social justice movements. Discussions follow the Chatham House Rule.
Webinar schedule
All sessions take place on Thursdays at 10:00 AM Eastern Time and last one hour. Participants are welcome to attend one session or the full series.
23 April – Understanding grief in movement work
Exploring the five stages of grief and how they show up in activism, including burnout, infighting, and emotional fatigue
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ conception of the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) can be applied to activists and others working in social justice contexts to understand how losses, setbacks and large scale injustices are processed. Although the stages are often not met in a linear manner, they provide a useful framework through which we can see how individuals, organisations and movements deal with the emotional impact of ongoing, often collective, trauma.
In this session we will explore each of the five stages of grief in turn, looking at examples of how they might manifest for social justice defenders in the current climate. We will consider how awareness can draw our attention to less healthy and constructive reactions, and think about how normal and natural responses to grief can be managed in ways that minimise the risk of issues such as burnout, infighting and depression.
30 April – Narratives that hold us back
Identifying internal and collective stories that sustain stress, guilt, and over-responsibility, and exploring ways to release them
To help participants identify internal and movement-level narratives that keep individuals and communities stuck in cycles of stress, guilt, and over-responsibility – and explore practices for gently releasing them to support resilience and collective healing.
21 May – Somatic approaches to healing
Gentle grounding and body-based practices to support regulation, relate tension, and reconnect with safety.
Through somatic experiencing – like noticing our breath, feeling the ground beneath us, or placing a hand on the heart – we give the body permission to soften. These small moments of presence help release tension the nervous system has been carrying. In this session, we will be inviting our mind to reconnect with the body, explore the experiences such as pain which the body has been carrying and bring back the body to feel safe.
Please wear comfortable clothes and bring a water bottle. We will be practicing gentle movement and breath work to help you regulate your nervous system and feel refreshed.
11 June – Rituals for grief and hope
Exploring collective rituals that acknowledge loss, restore connection, and support sustainable activism.
Activists can carry collective grief – for lives lost, dreams deferred, communities harmed, and justice delayed. Too often, this grief remains unspoken, leading to burnout, fragmentation, and despair. This webinar explores the role of intentional ritual in acknowledging loss, honoring resilience, and restoring hope within movements. Drawing from trauma-informed practice and collective healing traditions, participants will share and learn simple, adaptable rituals that help transform grief into connection, dignity, and renewed purpose.