An introduction to advocacy and campaigning

An introduction to advocacy and campaigning

Why? What is it? How to implement it?

Let’s play!• 4 groups• Each group chooses circle or square according to the following

rules:

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• 4 rounds, 2 minutes of negotiations per round!

Let’s play!

• Results– Group A =– Group B =– Group C =– Group D =

Let’s play!

• Discussion– Which strategy have you followed inside your

group?– Which problems have you faced?– Which has been your strategy as a group?– How have you faced the negotiations?

Let’s play

• Best result feasible:

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“Identity and violence: the

illusion of destiny”

Amartya Sen

Every human being have a lot of identities;

it is our decision to see just one or try to

get the general perspective

Objective

• The goal of this workshop is to frame the role of advocacy in the society. Why we do advocacy, to what are we referring when talking about advocacy, tools to implement it and some examples will be given in order to have a wide scope about the topic.

• Active participation is not recommended but compulsory!

What is advocacy?

• “American debate”:Some examples will be given and you must decide whether this is advocacy or not, placing yourself accordingly. There is no middle term at the beggining.

An opposition to a Nuclear Power Plant next to my home

What is advocacy?

The plan and activitiesof the national government to fight climate change actively

What is advocacy?

A media campaign of an NGO that works for Human Rights to find shareholders and partners to sustain its activity

What is advocacy?

The campaign of several neighbours to rebuild the church of the town and disclose its cultural and historical rellevance

What is advocacy?

• Key words:

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is a political process by an individual or group which aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions.

Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research (…), etc.

…anything missing /extra?

Campaigning in advocacy

• A campaign provides a framework in which processes of advocacy can be easily developed and enclosed.

• The design of a campaign let the advocacy action meet other activities and dimensions that go beyond the specific objective of the advocacy.

Problem Analysis

Finding the solution / alternative

Objective

Strategy

Defining results and activities

Actions

Assessment,impacts

Conjuction / situation analysis

Parties

Message elaboration

“World view” definition

ResearchContext

First approach

Awareness raising

Research

Training

SocialMobilisation

Lobbying

Dimensions of a campaign

Awareness raising• It is intended to make the problem to be addressed known by the general public• Requires a systematization of the information available it is a training for the campaign developers• It is usually seen as the first step of advocacy, therefore groups engage into it at the beggining of the process• There are many ways to implement it:

• Public talks and conferences• Seminars on the topic• Street perfomances• Broadcasting of flyers and other printed materials• Viral mails / videos• Actions in social networks (facebook, twitter, …)

Awareness raising

Research

• The other dimensions are based on this one, since it provides the necessary knowledge to take action• Many different stakeholders are involved here for the complexity of the topics usually chosen:

• Academics researchers• Partnerships with universities• Field data and interviews• …

• It is also important to create the movement’s own narrative.

Research

Training

• It is a process focused to a clear and specific target

• It further develops the contents, but also the scope and the vision

• It runs in a mid – term and long – term scenario to get in-depth into the topic

• It completes the cycle information – understanding - action

Social Mobilisation

• Used by grassroots – based social movements, but also as a tool for elites and the state itself.

• Involves a lot of different groups: civic organisations, religious, particulars, members of institutions, … gathered for a short period of time for a common purpose.

• Mass meetings, processions and demostrations are very usual in social (or also mass) mobilisation.

Social MobilisationThe Arab Spring• Wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on

18 December 2010;• Rulers have been forced from power in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen;• Civil uprisings have erupted in Bahrain and Syria;• Major protests have broken out in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, and

Oman;• Other protests have occurred in Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and

Western Sahara.

Social Mobilisation

• Attempt to get shale gas in the town of Riudaura (North of Catalunya) usinghydraulic fracturing• The whole town opposes the project.• Development of networks at local, regional and international levels• First victories reached so far.

Lobbying

• Act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the

government.

• Intensive and time – demanding unaffordable for most

grassroots – based movements.

• Very effective since it points directly to the legislator and

regulatory agencies.

• Very low democratisation impact.

• An estimated 3.000 lobbying entities have an office in

Brussels and target European institutions.

+1:Networking

• Often the objective of the advocacy process goes beyond the capacities and scope of the promoting organizations; it becomes necessary to build networks with allies with the same or similar goals.

1.884.790 signatures in 25 countries

Official channels

• Opportunity to be legitimated by the system • No need of huge inventions / creativity

• High dependence of potencially non-interested parties

• Lower engagement of civil society

• Judicial actions

Official channels

The “McLibel case" was an English lawsuit for libel filed by McDonald's Corporation against two environmental activists over a pamphlet critical of the company. Each of two hearings in English courts found some of the leaflet's contested claims to be libellous and others to be true. The partial nature of the victory, the David-and-Goliath nature of the case, and the drawn-out litigation embarrassed McDonald's.

• The Ombudsman– Exists at very different levels but not everywhere– It has the capacity to access to public

documentation, as well as to pressure the public institutions

– Results not assured, not so power given to him– Requires patience and perseverance

Official channels

• The Human Rights Protection System– There is a human right protection system at

international level consisting in multiple organisms, some of which work to prevent violations (eg United Nations Human Rights Committe) and some of which judge the violations done (eg International Criminal Court).

– There is no organism to judge corporate violatons at international level.

Official channels

• Referendums and public consultations

Official channels

Non violent direct action

Non violent direct action• Civil Disobedience– Ghandi’s campaigns for independence– Singing revolution in Baltic countries– Strikes– Wikileaks and Snowden’s leaks

Non violent direct action• Boycott– 1790’s: to slave produced sugar in the US– 1905-1915: Indian boycott to British goods– 1980’s: disinvestment in South Africa due to Apartheid– Currently: Boycott, Divestmente and Sanctions against

Israel

Non violent direct action

• Popular Tribunals– Intended to judge crimes that the establishment do not

want to be judged.– Although not legally binding, they give recognition to the

victims and raise awareness

Non violent direct action

• Public repudiation

The role of communication and language in advocacy

The Spanish 15-M movement:

Partly inspired by the Arab Spring - and partly inspirated the Occupy

Movement in the US and the “YoSoy132” social movement in Mexico

Claim for a more democratic system (“Real Democracy Now”) and a trial

to politics and bankers responsibles of the economic crisi, among others.

The eviction of Catalunya Square in Barcelona

• 12 days after the beggining of the protests (and 5 days after the local elections),

the government decided to evacuate the square alleging security reasons;

• About 400 people stayed inside the square (they slept there) and many others

came to support them and to stop the eviction;

• The riot police left 8 hours later, taking with them all the current objects

and computers; the square was then “reoccupied”.

• The whole mobilisation of that day was broadly recorded by the media.

The eviction of Catalunya Square in Barcelona

Make 5 groups. Read the newspaper provided and see the video of the eviction.

After that, answer together the following questions for both the newspaper

and the video:

• To who is the new talking to (target public)?

• How is the information provided / structured?

• Which are the 3 main ideas that you get by reading / viewing the new?

• Who is the main character?

• Who has chosen the way the new is published?

• Is there any relevant information highlighted?

• What else do you think is noticeable?

http://www.libertaddigital.com/nacional/2011-05-27/desalojan-a-los-indignados-que-acampan-en-barcelona-por-motivos-de-higiene-1276424690/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDFdwUY2Oks

The role of communication and language in advocacy

Available at: http://occupytampa.org/files/tristan/fem/books/George_Lakoff,_Howard_Dean,_Don_Hazen-Don_t_Thin-Bookos.org-.pdf

If the facts don’t fit the frames,

they are just rejected.

Designing a campaign of advocacy

Let’s try to put all these things together and design a campaign of advocacy

World Cafe :

• There will be 4 tables.

• In each table a different campaign will be developed.

• Per groups (4) you will design all the stages of each campaign.

• When you change from one table to another, the facilitator will give you

background of the current design of the campaign and how to follow-up.

• In the end all the groups will have contributed to all the campaigns.

Sum-up and questions