PHM-Exch> Food for making a thought compelling

[Claudio Schuftan]

*IT WILL ONLY BE THROUGH THE VIGILANCE AND MOBILIZATION OF THOUSANDS OF
CITIZENS-WHO-CARE THAT WE WILL EVER WREST FROM OUR GOVERNMENT(S) ANY DECENT
HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY OR ACTION.  *



Rare are those occasions when those with their hands on the levers of power
do the right thing without a great deal of determined advocacy.


In development work, ‘advocacy’ is a word in everybody’s lips. But what is
it really?



Advocacy can be defined differently depending on the context it is being
used-in. One of the most relevant definitions of advocacy is by the World
Health Organization which defines it as a combination of social actions
designed to gain political commitment, policy support, social acceptance
and systems support for a particular goal or program.



Advocacy in human rights work is a process that has different stages and
each step requires different strategies. Some of the key steps that are
involved in putting together an effective and well conceived
advocacy/demanding campaign are:

·      identifying an issue and understanding it in the proper local
political context;

·      building an evidence base and engaging others by building partner
coalitions;

·      elaborating a strategic plan; communicating its key message(s) and
implementing its plans sequentially; and

    being accountable for all actions in the plan and monitoring/evaluating
it as results of the advocacy campaign are shared.

To read the full Reader, go to

http://wp.me/plAxa-1xU

Claudio
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