After two webinars on advocacy in 2018, the first giving an overview of what advocacy means for our organisation and the second providing information on how to go about an advocacy campaign, it was time for the SIE Advocacy Team to meet with the newly appointed Union Advocacy Coordinators in order to brainstorm how to implement more advocacy actions and projects in our unions. SIE President Renata’s slogan “We Stand Up for Women” encourages us to become more visible with our claims. Consequently, she had asked the Union Presidents to designate Advocacy Coordinators who were invited to come for a training to Athens in February.
A wonderful group of Soroptimists from all over our Federation had the chance to meet and discuss. Questions treated were, for example: Why do we need advocacy? What does SIE Advocacy encompass? Are there possible pitfalls? How about communication? How to plan advocacy activities? Which advocacy projects have already been accomplished in the unions?
As this was the very first advocacy training, a pioneering spirit was felt among all involved. In the end, there was a great outcome on one hand, and an insight on the other.
The outcome was the decision by all Advocacy Coordinators from a European Union Member State to prompt a campaign in their unions motivating young women to vote at the European elections in May. The Polish Union had done such a campaign recently in their country and gave permission to use and adapt their beautiful flyer.
The insight was rather organisational: how can the Programme Director and the Advocacy Coordinator work together? We realised that projects that are just as much advocacy as they are programme have the biggest effect. Combining grassroots work with advocacy is rather unique for NGOs. Our organisation has the means to put this into practice. And we should do it for visibility and impact. Thus, programme and advocacy aren’t two independent pillars of Soroptimist activities, but should be closely intertwined. This is the new challenge we all need to tackle.
Bettina Hahne
SIE representative to the Council of Europe and member of the SIE advocacy team