1. Communication as
Advocacy and empowerment
CWM Assembly Workshop 2012
Presented by Rev. Dr Karin Achtelstetter
World Association for Christian Communication (WACC)
2. Workshop Goals
• Understand advocacy
• Steps to developing an advocacy plan
• Communication and advocacy
• Strategies and tactics
• Communication
World Association for Christian Communication
3. Advocacy
• Systematic and strategic effort to advance an
issue or cause that is important to an
organization or group
• A set of specific and targeted actions aimed at
influencing change (at an institutional
organizational, community or individual level)
• Note: Advocacy is a process that needs many
types of resources. It entails long term
commitment, mobilization and engagement.
World Association for Christian Communication
4. Steps: Try some Ws
• What: Identify the objective of your advocacy.
• Why: Why this issue and why now?
– Research - what data can be used to back the
particular position you are advocating for?
– Know your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats (SWOT analysis)
• Who: who is the target of your advocacy?
Decision makers, the media, the public?
• Who: who else can join you to advocate on this
issue? Coalition building and mobilization. There
is power in numbers.
World Association for Christian Communication
5. Step: Some Hs
• How: How do you communicate your
objectives. Different communication tactics
for different audiences.
• How: How and where will you get resources to
fund your advocacy?
• How: Feedback and evaluation. How will you
determine if your advocacy is successful?
World Association for Christian Communication
6. Communication and Advocacy
• Effective advocacy
– must clearly identify its goals and strategically and
consistently communicate this
– Raise awareness through information and
education.
– mobilize support
– engage those you seek to influence.
World Association for Christian Communication
7. Communication and Advocacy
Some Strategies
• Information, education and communication
• Specific - Know your goals, audience and story
• Clear
• Convincing and believable (backed by facts)
• Use the right media
• Messaging should be news worthy (use press releases,
social media, interviews)
• Contain an advocacy message
• Photos
• Visuals have impact
World Association for Christian Communication
8. The Global Media Monitoring Project
The Global Media Monitoring Project GMMP is the largest and longest media
monitoring research project on gender representation in the news around the
world. It is also the largest advocacy initiative in the world on changing the
representation of women in the media.
World Association for Christian Communication
10. The Global Media Monitoring Project
(GMMP) & Advocacy
GOALS
• Inform media house policies
• Transform media practice
• Cultivate active media audiences
• Build community – solidarity within and beyond borders
• Catalyze self-reflection in media practitioners
• Build critical media consumers
World Association for Christian Communication
11. GOAL TARGET AUDIENCE
• Inform media house policies (gender • Media organizations,
ethical reporting) (national, international),
• Transform media practice
reporters and journalists
• Catalyze self-reflection in media
practitioners
• Cultivate active media audiences Public – media audience
• Build critical media consumers
• Build community – solidarity GMMP network partners,
within and beyond borders
media organizations
World Association for Christian Communication
12. GMMP & Advocacy
Strategies and Tactics
• Research – GMMP conducted every 5 years since 1995.
• Production and launch of global, regional and national GMMP
reports – Educate and raise awareness
• Mobilization – GMMP network, national networks, international
organizations (UNIFEM, IFJ)
• Country specific advocacy initiatives
• Media engagement – International Federation of Journalists,
national networks of journalists.
• Strategic communications – Gender and Media Monitor, GMMP
website, GMMP on Facebook.
World Association for Christian Communication
Editor's Notes
The Global Media Monitoring Project GMMP is the largest and longest media monitoring research project on gender representation in the news around the world. It is also the largest advocacy initiative in the world on changing the representation of women in the media.In 1994, WACC (the World Association for Christian Communication) along with two other partners organised the ‘Women Empowering Communication’ conference in Bangkok. That conference played a large part in galvanising support for official recognition of issues related to women and the media in the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Section J of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action contains two strategic goals: J.1 Increase the participation and access of women to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.J.2 Promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portray of women in the media. It was at the Bangkok conference that the idea for a one-day study of the representation and portrayal of women in the media was first conceived. The idea was inspired by the concern of women to bring media accountability to the forefront of debate on gender inequalities. The report of the first global day of media monitoring was launched at the Women’s NGO Forum in Beijing in September 1995. Five years on in 2000, WACC coordinated the second Global Media Monitoring Project in 2000 and the third one in 2005. The fourth GMMP will take place in November this year. I will come back to that.
What would the world’s news look like if it were gender responsive and characterized by gender equality? Not only would we no longer see blatant gender based stereotyping, but perhaps even more importantly we would see a massive increase in representation of women’s actions, knowledge and expertise, concerns, opinions and viewpoints.
