The concrete topics of the second module were the following:

• issues and objectives and elements of an advocacy campaign;
• stakeholder analysis;
• developing a message;
• strategic communications, including negotiations and lobbying;
• building of networks and coalitions and community mobilization;
• implementation plan;
• monitoring and evaluation and future steps.

Through intensive practical and group work, the participants were able to develop their initiatives and proposal for advocating into real and original advocacy campaigns. By the end of the training, the participants received Certificates for successfully attending and completing the training on trainers.

The Advocacy Center will continue to have direct and open cooperation with all of the civil society organizations whose members were attending the training, through advices and mentorship, in order to actively take part and assist them in the realization of the developed advocacy campaigns. All of the information regarding the actual campaigns, their course, activities and successfulness, will be followed and published through the Advocacy Center.

This module was composed of three sessions which were concentrated on:

• session on planning and conducting successful trainings, training methods, preparation of presentations and presentation skills, as well as channels for delivering message;
• session on Web 2.0 – social media and creating contents on the Internet;
• session on the definitions and the meaning of the concept of advocacy.

The participants at this training were members from civil society organizations, and the organizations that took part are the following:

• Association for Creative Tactics
• National scouting organization of Macedonia
• Community Development Institute – Tetovo
• National council of women of the Republic of Macedonia  - UWOM
• Youth forum – Bitola
• Association of special education workers and professional associates “PODAJ RAKA”
• Youth council – Prilep
• Women`s organization of the municipality of Sveti Nikole
• Center for international cooperation, development an implementation “CEKOR +”.

The first module of the training was a combination of theory and practice in the form of mini lectures, including group work of the participants through role plays, mutual experience exchange regarding the conducting of advocacy campaigns, and practical assignments for implementation of the acquired knowledge from this first module, which will be presented during the second module of the training.

The second module of the training will be held on 5^th, 6^th and 7^th of July 2010 in Skopje, during which the participants will be able to develop their future ideas for advocacy campaigns through practical advice and mentorship by the trainers.

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The Metamorphosis Foundation, supported by a great number of civil society organizations and citizens, directed a call to the Parliament to withdraw the Draft-Law amending the Law on Electronic Communications, with the explanation that “the amendments are violating the basic postulates of the Constitution of RM (articles 17 and 25) that guarantee inviolability of all forms of communication and protection of privacy and dignity ”.

The adoption of the amendments by the Parliament also echoed on international level through the post of Cory Doctorow (prominent journalist and writer) published on Boing boing, one of the most popular blogs in the world.

In the meantime, the Helsinki Committee for human rights of R. of Macedonia, published an analysis on the issue.

Do you agree with the adopted amendments or you have a different opinion? Here is an opportunity, write about it…..

And here you can see how others perceive the amendments:

- Filip Stojanovski (razvigor.blog.mk): Amendment 1984 of the Constitution of Republic of Macedonia

-  Alfa TV: The Ministry of Interior will eavesdrop without court order

- Sitel TV: The Parliament passed the Law on Electronic Communications

- Kirilica: The Law on Electronic Communications

- Damjan: What is lawful intercept and how it will hurt us all

- Komunikacii.net: When Grujo became Larry, Sergei, Eric and Marc all together

The Advocacy Centers’ team believes that the citizens’ organizations and the citizens are the only ones who truly know the real conditions in society and that they are the key factor which should participate in the policy creation and decision making processes. That`s why, the Center supports their ideas and initiatives through advocating for them and speaks up for their efforts to reach their goals. We believe that the best results are achieved by learning through new joint experiences and exchange of good practices, and by investing in citizens and their skills, knowledge and power.

The goal of the Advocacy Center is to contribute towards more informed and active citizens and towards sustained community participation in the policy creation and decision making processes.

WHAT DO WE OFFER?

• Research and analysis of the current situations and procedures and possible aspects for conducting advocacy campaigns
• Giving consultations and mentorship in conducting advocacy campaigns
• Conducting trainings and sharing knowledge and tools in the area of advocacy
• Support in preparation and conducting of advocacy campaigns
• Development of campaigns with the use of suitable tools and advices for their successful implementation (from A to Z)
• Sharing of good practices in order to reach the advocacy goals
• Monitoring of current advocacy campaigns on national and on local level
• Measuring, analyzing and preparing reports on the successfulness of the campaigns
• Promotion of successful stories in public from the area of advocacy as well as public relations

WHAT WE HAVE AT OUR DISPOSAL?

• Data base and information on the situation and procedures in Republic of Macedonia
• Professional team composed of experts with vast experience in conducting campaigns, trained in different advocacy areas
• On-line action center on our web page for monitoring of the dynamics on conducting advocacy campaigns on national and on local level
• Developed network of supporters from more than 20 partner organizations on the territory of the whole country
• Close and open cooperation with other professionals from the advocacy area

We await you to advocate change together!

Developing and implementation of advocacy campaigns
which will be conducted in two modules(on 24^th and 25^th of June,
and on 5^th,6^th and 7^th of July 2010) in Skopje

The goal of the training is to contribute towards improvement of the knowledge and skills of the selected representatives from the CSOs in RM to conduct advocacy campaigns using different methods, tools and techniques.

The focus of the training will be set on:

• definition of the concept of advocacy and its` elements;
• introduction of the advocacy process and the steps for organizing and conducting an advocacy campaign;
• tools for realization of each of the steps with special accent on lobbying as one of the tools for advocacy implementation;
• special highlight on conducting advocacy campaigns through social networks and new media;
• enhancement of presentation skills;
• public relations and relations with stakeholders.

At the end of the training, the participants will gain expanded knowledge of the whole process of organizing and conducting advocacy campaigns and will receive Certificates for successfully attending and completing the training. The Advocacy Center will continue to serve the participants with advices and mentorship regarding all of their future initiatives and advocacy campaigns.

You can find more information here or you can contact us on +389 2 30 60 091 and contact@advocacy.org.mk.

Interested candidates should send their motivation letters, in which they will state their previous experience and plans for work in the area of the training, as well as CVs, not later than 21^st of June, 2010 and not later than 16:00 o`clock, on e-mail: marijana@advocacy.org.mk.

As an advocate who speaks in favor of achieving a certain goal, you will often find yourself being a subject to obstacles and problems during the whole process. You will frequently face the challenge to go round your determined path, to misuse given opportunities, for your own interests. In those moments, you should always have in mind that the goal of the advocacy effort is not and it can not be a tool through which you will realize your own interests or somebody else’s interests. The good, experienced and honest advocate will never allow the professional interests and goals be replaced by his own interests.

Therefore, among the many mistakes you should never make as an advocate, are the following:

• Advocating should always be used for promotion of an idea, value or rights. Your attention should always be focused on the subject of the advocacy effort, on what is happening with the subject and regarding the subject, and not exclusively on you and what you have achieved, what you have accomplished and reached and on how you contributed in the achievement of the results. Undoubtedly you are the link without which the whole process could not even be set in motion, but the continuous emphasizing of your importance will only make you look showily, arrogant and it will alienate you from your audience. Always have in mind that you advocate in the name of the citizens, for the citizens and with the help of the citizens.

• The goal of the advocacy effort should never be used for fund-raising for other causes. Not only you will lose the trust you enjoy with the donors and the citizens, at the same time you are committing a direct attack on your own credibility and respect that you enjoy with the public, and you`ve been working hard to achieve that. Besides, you will violate the basic ethical principles of accountable and responsible working. The funds that are acquired for certain purposes should  only be used for those particular purposes.

• The goal of the advocacy effort should never be sacrificed in order to achieve other or bigger goals. The idea that you advocate for should never become a subject of bargaining in order to achieve other (at first sight with bigger priority) goals, or to achieve bigger (for you) goals. Consistence in the realization of the determined assignments and loyalty towards what you believe in and work for, should be the ultimate goals for every professional advocate.

Undoubtedly these are only a part of the mass of wrong moves which, if they are made, demolish the whole idea of the advocating as a tool to achieve goals, ideals and values for the common good, for the well-being of the society and the citizens and at the same time, as a tool to correct the failures and the mistakes of the legislature and of the executive government. Anyone who wishes to initiate an advocating process, and at the same time unscrupulously uses it to achieve goals in his own interest and for his own benefit by damaging a larger group of citizens, will never gain the support and justification for his actions and deeds in the eyes of the public.

Are these the most imperative mistakes you should always be careful not to make during the advocating process? What do you think?

• improvement of presentation skills;
• enhancement and improvement of discussion skills;
• techniques and methods for conducting negotiations through negotiations simulation;
• conducting and practicing a lobby meeting through lobby meeting simulation;
• methods and techniques of training design.

All of the participants after the ending of the training received   Certificates for successful completion of the training and for successful realization of the foreseen practical assignments. As a part of the training, all of the participants are supposed to conduct trainings on advocacy and lobbying in their own countries. The details regarding these trainings and the conditions for participation at these trainings, you will be able to receive through the Advocacy Center.

Myth number 1: Advocacy is the same as lobbying

Fact: The most common misconception about advocacy. Advocacy is a process of active promotion of a specific idea, cause, principle, value in order to influence policy in frames of political, economical or social systems and institutions. Lobbying is an activity strictly aimed to impact on the decisions of the legislative and executive power, on national or local level, i.e. influencing the officials in power to take a certain position or to vote in a specific way for the benefit of the lobbying issue. Advocacy is a much broader concept than lobbying and it can include lobbying as one of the tools to accomplish the campaigns` goal.

Myth number 2: Advocate = attorney

Fact: An advocate is a person who publicly supports certain idea, cause, principle or value, because he/she deeply believes in it, or in the name of those who can not do it for themselves. An attorney, on the other hand, is a person with public authorization to give legal advice and assistance and who represents clients in courts and other state authorities. Although in both cases the idea is to speak in someone else’s name, the advocate is doing it in order to influence certain policy or practice and thus, to contribute towards change in that policy or practice so that a larger group of people can benefit from it. The attorney acts exclusively upon request of his client, as a result of violation or exercising of certain rights.

Myth number 3: Advocacy i.e. lobbying means manipulation

Fact: The first thing to cross lots of people`s minds is that advocating i.e. lobbying is another name for corruption or something exclusively regarding connections, contacts and alliances. Widely spread misconception is that advocates i.e. lobbyists are using different and mainly illegal ways to influence the legislative and especially the executive power, in order to alter their regulations and decisions according to the economic needs of the rich and powerful elites. But, it really is far away from the truth about what advocating actually means. In the heart of the advocacy lies the idea of social justice, equality and change for better. Advocacy and lobbying as its tool, does not mean just bear influence, but above all, problem analysis, determining the causes for that problems` existence and finding a proper solution.

Myth number 4: Anybody can advocate for themselves

Fact: “If the role of the advocate is to simply speak in my name, than, I can do that for myself”. Sounds familiar? The work of the professional advocate is far more complicated than it seems to be. First of all, he/she has the required knowledge, expertise and experience to efficiently accomplish the goal. Then, the advocate has the support from the colleagues and associates, but also has contacts with other professionals. The advocate is always updated with the newest information, studies the situations and the procedures, analyses them and based on the real opportunities, he/she determines the most adequate way to accomplish the goal i.e. to resolve the problem. And yes, anybody really can represent themselves and their interests, but they would have to prepare themselves for a rocky road filled with bunch of obstacles and enemies, because the reality of the situation never is as it seems at first glance, and who can do it better than a trained professional?

Myth number 5: As soon as the process begins, changes happen very fast

Fact: The advocacy fundamentally is aimed to influence the outcomes that directly affect the lives of the citizens. That is not a small feat. To achieve progress it takes persistence, and to make change it takes time. The advocacy efforts are always aimed towards change of specific policies and practices with gradual and incremental steps towards much bigger goal. It is a strategy which makes the effort to change cultural beliefs, attitudes and mentality which are created and built in a long and systematic process of extrusion of the common people from the policy creation and decision making processes. And not always is the desired outcome reached, but the power of the advocacy lies exactly in the strength, persistence and perseverance of the devoted ones to common good.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. ” – Abraham Lincoln

Have you heard of any other myths about advocacy? Let`s bust them together.

Advocacy is a dynamic process consisted of several elements which (more or less) should have a specific order. They are inter-related, but it does not mean that you have to use them in that particular order. You can adjust them to your needs and you can use them in the most useful way for you.

What is the core of the problem? What are the reasons for it`s existence? Who is mostly concerned by the problem? Has anyone already been working on the problems` resolving? Who can solve the problem?

What should be achieved with the solving of the problem? How will the desired level of change be achieved? What results will be received with the solution of the problem? Are the objectives specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART)?

Who is the target audience? Who has power and authorization to solve the problem (stakeholders)? What are their opinions and views of the problem? Which are the supporters, the neutrals and the opponents? What level of influence do they have to solve or not the problem?

What message should the advocacy campaign promote? Who should be touched by it? Is the message clear and precisely defined? Is the message sent to the targeted audience in an appropriate form? Is it sent in the right time and in the right way?

Are there supporters for the solving of the problem? Are they really capable to contribute towards resolving of the problem and in which way? Can they be integrated as partners in the advocacy campaign and how? Should the support be found in building network or in a coalition?

Is there a precisely prepared plan for the activities? When should particular activities be undertaken in order to achieve the objectives? Who will act, when and how? Which are the means for verification of the time, the methods and the successfulness of the planned activities (LogFrame – approach)?

Have the planned activities been realized? Were they undertaken as planned? Have the defined objectives of the advocacy campaign been achieved? Has the desired policy change or change of practice been  achieved?

Detailed explanations for all of these questions, will be set in the Advocacy Manual, which is being created by the Advocacy center, and will be published shortly.