Building National Campaigns: Activists, Alliances, and How Change Happens
description
Transcript of Building National Campaigns: Activists, Alliances, and How Change Happens
Building National CampaignsActivists, Alliances, and How Change Happens
The slides:• present the contents of the
book• show how it can be useful• encourage you to add your
own experiences to the content
This presentation introduces a new book from Oxfam.
Paperback, 216 x 138mm, 104pp,
£10.95, ISBN 978-085598-574-5
Book contents
Introduction1. Contexts2. Building an alliance3. Developing a strategy4. Incorporating gender equality5. Using the media6. Developing policyConclusionNotesAppendixResourcesIndex
Introduction
Draws general lessons about setting up, co-ordinating, and delivering campaigns in alliances, on any issue
Looks in detail at experiences from campaigns on labour standards in five countries
Describes how international NGOs can work with local partners
Has case studies from Colombia, Morocco, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and the USA
Q: What can our organisation contribute to the experience in this book?
Q: What campaign stories do we want to share?
Chapter 1: Contexts
Colombia Raises awareness of harmful effects of labour-law reform and impact on women
Morocco Lobbies the government to implement a new national labour law
Nicaragua Lobbies for new legislation on occupational health; trains women in campaigning activities
Sri Lanka Carries out research, training, and awareness-raising in the garment industry
USA Campaigns for union recognition for male migrant workers
Different countries: different activities
Q: Which activities have we used/do we plan to use in our programme?
Chapter 2: Building an alliance
Strong alliances create good campaigns
Choose your allies carefully Be ready to make
compromises Be aware of local attitudes
and beliefs Record and share action
points Account for funds in a
transparent way
Learning from the start
Q: Who do we work with in alliances? How did we choose our allies?
Chapter 3: Developing a strategy
Your strategy must include a vision of how people’s lives will change as a result of your activity
Choose strategies that will build people’s capacity
Establish goals that are ‘winnable’ as well as aiming for more long-term changes
Understand your allies’ strengths and weaknesses
Allocate work appropriately
Learning while planning
Q: What are our ‘winnable’ goals?
Chapter 3: Developing a strategy (2)
‘Why do we need a strategy?’ Because without one you will be reacting to events. You need to be in charge! A strategy should provide answers:
• What is the problem?
• What is our preferred solution?
• Who are our allies?
• What skills/contacts/expertise do our allies bring?
• Who and what are our targets and audiences?
• What actions should we take, led by whom, and when?
Q: Can we answer all the questions? What else can we add?
Chapter 4: Incorporating gender equality
Incorporate gender equality in campaign aims, messages, and actions
Challenge gender stereotypes, even among your allies
Value the contribution of women and men
Encourage dialogue between alliance member organisations
‘Just because a campaign concerns women’s rights…does not necessarily mean that it addresses gender inequality’
Q: How do we incorporate gender equality in our campaign work?
Chapter 4: Incorporating gender equality (2)
Including a gender perspective in all aspects of a campaign can produce tensions
How do we keep a focus on the main campaign theme and on gender issues?
There may need to be external campaigning on gender issues at the same time as internal lobbying of allies/partners to keep gender issues central to the campaign
Gender-mainstreaming work can raise questions about different levels of commitment of allies to gender issues
Gender mainstreaming
Q: How far are gender issues and approaches embedded in our activities?
Chapter 5: Using the media
Effective media work can be very influential
Carry out a power analysis of all media
Personal testimonies are very powerful
Ensure you target your media message at the right people
Make sure you choose the right medium to reach those people
Q: Are we engaging with the media effectively?
Chapter 5: Using the media (2)
has a strategy has clear agreed messages that can be adapted by
alliance members for different situations and audiences responds to media expectations: press releases, press
conferences, photo opportunities, etc. cultivates friendly journalists creates opportunities for media coverage reacts to opportunities within an agreed plan identifies stories for audiences matches audiences with specific media types and
channnels
Effective media work:
Q: What else can we add to this list?
Chapter 6: Developing policy
Move beyond identifying problems to proposing alternatives
Explain your policy analysis Clarify what alliance
members are willing to campaign for
Consider international research and global backing
Q: Do we have good policy suggestions based on thorough research?
Conclusion and resources
The stories in Building National Campaigns describe the ups and downs, the steps forward and the setbacks of campaigning organisations just like yours!
It is important to remember that the ideals of justice and development are well worth all the hard work of campaigning.
For further information, take a look at:
• the Resources Section at the end of the book