Across the Network we are engaging and employing local residents as Community Organisers. Community Organising is the work of bringing people together to take action around their common concerns and overcome social injustice.

Community organisers reach out and listen, connect and motivate people to build their collective power. When people are organised, communities get heard and power begins to shift creating real change for good.

Octopus is an affiliated, quality assured member of the National Academy of Community Organising, the training arm of Community Organisers.

Our trainers provide Community Organising training, including an Introduction to Community Organising, Listening Skills for Community Organising and Planning for Change through Community Organising.

Interested in training for your team or community? Get in touch!

Being a Virtual Social Action Hubs means we…

• Promote the values, principles and methods of community organising.

• Use a community organising approach to help people listen, be powerful, and take action.

• Support networks of people who are involved in taking action for change.

• Build relationships nationally and locally.

On the 9th April 2026, those working or interested in local youth safety came together with the Whittington Park Community Centre Youth Club to understand, discuss, and take action to create a safer Islington for young people.

The Summit was a culmination of a six month workshop programme, facilitated by Octopus Community Network, taking local young people through a process using recognised anthropological methods to explore what home means to them, what makes them feel safe, and what they would change in their local area. Throughout the process, a short film was created to explore these topics, telling the stories of local estates and the changes the young people want to see.

Find out more about what was discussed here.

Across Islington, an estimated £120 million of benefits are currently unclaimed, affecting 34,000 households.

Islington’s VCS is campaigning to ensure residents are supported to access the benefits they are entitled to, ensuring they are no longer missing out on vital support that could make a real difference to their quality of life.

Network Member Community Centres are proactively sharing information with their neighbours and members, and signposting them to relevant support services.

Download the shareable resources.

On Tuesday 27th January Octopus Community Network, the Islington Climate Centre and Islington Food Partnership facilitated Islington’s first Food Assembly.

The Assembly brought 70 people from across the borough together to shape the future of food in Islington. We discussed what works, what needs to change, and what we can build together.

Since the Assembly, we’ve been busy compiling suggestions and actions, creating a resource list of those activities already taking place in the borough.

In 2024, Octopus worked with four Network members to facilitate food conversations with residents. These explored the food system; how it works now, and what we think needs to change.

The Food, Farming and Countryside Commission worked with community organisations from across the UK to host conversations to explore the food system, and feed into upcoming policy changes.

Conversations that took place in Islington are part of the UK’s ever conversation about food, and will feed into policy recommendations for change.

You can read more about the conversations in Islington here.

Arsenal and Adidas’ No More Red charity partners.

No More Red launched in January 2022, in response to increased youth violence in London. Local young people are able to earn an exclusive No More Red white shirt by volunteering with one of the ten charity partners.

We have worked with young people from the Hornsey Lane, New Orleans and Elthorne Estates using anthropological methods to explore ideas of home and safety. All those taking part have been supported to present their stories and ideas for change to local power holders, and earned a No More Red t-shirt for the hard work and dedication.

Read about our 2023 gamechangers here.

Community Organisers have had a huge impact at The Peel over the past few years. They’ve worked with residents to set up new activities, run events, and learn more about local needs.

Find out more about the Organisers and their roles here.

As part of the Local Wellbeing Networks project we recruited 10 Islington community members who committed to six-months of training and dedication to become Community Change-Makers.

Our Change-Makers have explored the fundamentals of community organising, how to actively listen to build relationships, understanding power dynamics in a community and how to access power in order to influence social change.

Read their profiles and hear what they thought of the programme here.

Keep up to date with all of the latest news and events from our Social Action Hub Programme here.