Active Citizens & Civic Activism: Innovative forms of Advocacy and Participation
This course is designed for those who do not want to uncomplainingly obey rules invented and written by others. The course is for activists who believe that our lives can be of higher quality and more meaningful if more people are involved in the preparation of the rules that regulate our common life.
The course is aimed at civic activists, opinion leaders, influencers, moderators and managers in the fields of education, civil society, public policies, media, etc.
METHODOLOGY
The course relies on experiential learning. Through various interactive role-playing and simulation games, deliberative discussions and fun tasks, the course develops key skills necessary for organizing and conducting successful civic advocacy, fundraising and information campaigns. The course is based on the process philosophy of Alfred Whitehead and aims to develop the potential of participants and transform their personal experience into structured knowledge and competencies for creatively addressing the challenges of advocacy and activism in a dynamic and controversial media and political environment.
During the course, participants develop the skills to identify significant social problems and better understand the roots of these problems. Through various role-playing games, the different perspectives of the parties involved are explored and skills for understanding and accepting differences, for leading a dialogue, for negotiating and reaching compromises are developed. Working in pairs and small groups contributes to the development of teamwork skills, for building and maintaining networks, for preparing and sending clear and understandable messages to specific target groups. The creative workshops included in the course contribute to the development of key competencies for organizing and managing volunteers, working with traditional media and social networks, conducting fundraising campaigns, advocating and participating in the implementation of public policies at the local, regional, national and European levels.
The training modules are organized on a thematic principle and include three distinct stages in the spirit of Alfred Whitehead's process philosophy of education. Each session aims to build on the experience and knowledge of the participants, to develop and consolidate practical skills for dealing with tasks and to open new spaces for manifestations of creativity and heuristics in the field of advocacy and civic activism. The course is organized in organic blocks of 90-minute sessions (usually two or three per day), channeling the participants' experience into practical and applied skills for full participation in drawing up the rules of the game that we all play together in the social world.
TRAINING OUTCOMES
Participants who have completed the course:
- will be able to identify significant social problems and their causes;
- will be able to conduct advocacy and other civic campaigns based on data and evidence;
- will be able to accumulate and channel civic energy through volunteer campaigns, fundraising events, media appearances, participation in decision-making processes at local, regional, European and national levels;
- will increase their skills in building and maintaining networks and coalitions;
- will increase their capacity for negotiating, defending positions, reaching compromises;
- will be able to better plan and carry out ongoing monitoring and final evaluation of their civic and advocacy initiatives.
LANGUAGE
The course can be conducted in Bulgarian and/or English.
REGISTRATION
Please register here or contact a representative of the foundation. A minimum of 10 participants is required for the course to run.
PROGRAM
The program can vary between one and seven days (a detailed version for our international partners is presented below). The sessions include an introductory online meeting and 7 days of face-to-face training (in Sofia, at the host organization/institution or elsewhere in Bulgaria or abroad), with two 90-minute sessions per day.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Day 0
Arrival and accommodation of participants and facilitators, orientation meeting.
Day 1
Introductory day to introduce participants, their experiences, challenges and opportunities through group games.
Day 2
Civil society, civic activism, lobbying and advocacy – challenges in the modern world (role-playing on topics chosen by the course participants).
Day 3
Individual and political liberties, private and public space (simulation games for a better understanding of the challenges and responsibilities of public policies in the modern world).
Day 4
Seeking support, building networks and coalitions: creative games for preparing messages and exercises for “translating” civic messages for different target groups into the “languages” of the interview, podcast, photovoice, public speech, etc.
Day 5
Conducting volunteer and fundraising campaigns for civic causes: simulation games in groups, sharing experiences and good practices.
Day 6
Advocacy based on reliable data and verifiable evidence – what arguments do decision-makers hear and how (creative games).
Day 7
Feedback and evaluation of the training. Presentation and discussion of the plans for civic and advocacy campaigns developed during the course.