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.

The second module of the regional training on: Advocacy and lobbying within the Project TACSO financed by the European Union, was held on the 25th and 26th of May 2010, in Becici, Montenegro. The participants in this second module of the training were also representatives from 8 countries, including a representative from the Advocacy Center.

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.

We have written about what is advocacy and we have shared some tips on how to be a good or a better advocate. Now, in a summarized way, we would like to make a short review on the elements that the advocacy process should cover.

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.