campaigning and advocacy: an introduction

Yemeni Archive Campaign Guide | Campaigning and Advocacy 1

Campaigning and Advocacy: An Introduction


What is campaigning? What is advocacy?

Campaigns are actions we take to support a change we want to see in the world.

Advocacy is building support for an idea or plan or a change we want to see in the world.


Campaigning for Journalists


The first questions on your mind may be:

Should journalists engage in campaigning and advocacy?

Would campaigning affect journalists’ independence and their credibility?

Does campaigning and advocacy violate journalist ethics?


Journalists certainly need to strike a balance when they campaign and advocate for certain causes. Investigative journalists may be staking their credibility, and sometimes even their security, when they expose stories of public interest. Engaging in campaigns and advocacy may open them up to criticism and accusations of bias.


However, there will come a time for all journalists when they might need to campaign or advocate for a certain cause or an idea or decision that needs to be taken.

Here are some examples.


Journalists may advocate for better working conditions for themselves and their colleagues.


Journalists are constantly struggling for protection from rights violations. Solidarity campaigns may be critical to their protection.


Journalists may create content to campaign and advocate for change on stories they have investigated and exposed, for example around governmental corruption, judicial misconduct, corporate abuses and much, much more.


“Journalists are activists.”• Maria Ressa, Journalist and

Co-founder of of Rappler

• Ressa was arrested in 2019 by Filipino authorities for “cyberlibel” and found guilty in 2020.


Campaigning for individuals and

organisations


Weighing the risks

• Like with journalists, individuals and organisations must

weigh their own risks before embarking on the campaign.

• If you are a human rights organisation working on

documentation, you may find that a public campaign may

impact on the perception of the independence of your

research. If you can’t fully articulate the messages that are

needed for the campaign, or if they’re too political, consider

lending your resources to campaigners who are not under

the same pressure.

• Understand that in many cases, if you campaign properly,

you will make people angry, and you will come under attack.

Misinformation and disinformation will be used against you.

Make sure you’re prepared!


The question of voice and identity

Before you begin, remember that the identity of the individual

and organisation running a campaign is crucial.

Consider the issue of ownership and voice.

Are you someone directly affected?

Are you an ally standing in solidarity? If so, make that clear, and

make sure you are not speaking for others.

Are your demands rooted in the demands of those affected?

Do people directly affected have the opportunity to shape the

course of the campaign and make their voices heard?


Be conscious of the power dynamics within a campaign.

Examining where ownership and the voice of the campaign is

coming from is particularly important in campaigning around

human rights violations. A campaign can be empowering and

a huge source of comfort for people who have survived human

rights abuses, for example, giving them a platform to share

their story and change behaviours. But it can also be a source

of stress, and aggravate trauma, if they feel powerless. This can

be the case especially after the campaign finds success, gaining

attention and resources and therefore power.

There is no easy way to manage these dynamics, but make

sure you are considering them in your campaign. A feminist

approach - which would involve rooting your campaign in

people’s experiences, asking them directly what their needs and

their demands are, and basing your work around that - would

be a good starting point.


In most cases, those directly affected, or the “owners of the cause”, will also give the campaign its power and its emotional weight.


The families of the disappeared in Lebanon’s civil war campaign to pass a law for their “right to know”.


Developing your campaign strategy


Every campaign should have a strategy with the following elements.

• Vision: What will the world look like when I have

achieved my goal?

• Theory of Change: How do we get our target to go

from point A to B?

• Tactics: What are the tactics that will help me

achieve my theory of change?


Setting A Vision


Set your vision.

• What will the world look like when I have achieved my vision?

• Write in a simple, and specific statement. A strong vision statement will

help guide you and your friends when you have disagreements, and

will help you keep your focus.

• It is okay, and encouraged, to be ambitious. Don’t set your vision to

be a step of the journey, but the destination. For example, if you want

an end to child marriage in Aden, make that the vision - not a public

commitment from a Minister. Those may be crucial steps, but don’t

necessarily deliver the change you want to see.

• It may help to make your vision statement geographically specific,

particularly if you have limited resources.

• While it’s important to be ambitious, it’s equally important to choose

something possible.


Examples of vision statements.

• The criminalisation of honour crimes in Yemen.

• The abolishment of the Kafala System in Lebanon.

• A ban on plastic bags in Jordan.

• Alaa Abdelfattah released from prison in Egypt.

• Notice in the last statement, that the vision statement is not to free all

political prisoners in Egypt. Although it is good to be ambitious, it is

important to also be realistic.

• In the case of Lebanon, we can’t “end racism”, but we can remove a

racist system in the law.

• Attacks on medical facilities in Yemen are ceased.


Theory Of Change


A useful tool to help you develop your theory of change is a “power map”.

• Who is the ultimate decision-maker that will help

you meet your vision? Place them in the cetnre.

• Who influences that decision-maker? And then

who influences this influencer? And then who

influences the influencer who influences the

decision-maker?

• It doesn’t need to be people. It can be institutions,

the media, money, particular interests, such as

passing a business deal, or even considerations of

public image.

• Draw about 3 or 4 nodes in the power map. You

may think you already have the power relations

clear in your mind, but do the map anyway! It’s an

excellent brainstorming tool.


• Sometimes, the decision-maker at the centre of the

power map may be unmoved by public pressure.

This could be dictators, or particularly powerful

states or individuals, whose interests aren’t harmed

by campaigns. That’s why it’s important to figure

out who influences them and see how you can get

them to play a part.

• It is okay to target “good guys”, for example the UN

or international development agencies. Sometimes

they’re the only ones who can influence the party

that you would like to influence.

• The power map will also help you think about your

target and what they care about. This is important

to creating influence.


An example of a power map: The Abolishment of Kafala in Lebanon


Write your theory of change (TOC) in one sentence. You can use one of the formats below.

“In order to achieve… we will…”

“In order to get X to make this decision, we will do Y”

“If we do X, we will do Z”

Timing is key to your TOC. A newly appointed

decision-maker, for example a minister, could really

help shape your TOC.

Oftentimes a theory of change will rely on “mobilising

public opinion” or “shaming and exposing”.


Examples of theory of change statements.

• In order to stop attacks on medical facilities in

Yemen, we will pressure the UK government to stop

arms sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• Once you have a theory of change statement, it

becomes easier to brainstorm tactics. How do we

pressure the UK? Is it a visual demonstration outside

parliament? A lawsuit? Running an ad shaming a

certain minister? It will also help you think of the

allies you need. Who can help you pressure the

government? Are there established, well-respected

UK NGOs who can support you?


• If we lobby the Lebanese Minister of Labour

personally, we will abolish the Kafala System.

• Again, this helps you think about tactics. Always

ask yourself, what does my target care about?

Golf? Let’s take out a billboard right outside his

golf course!

• In order to get a ban on plastic bags in Jordan,

we will run a positive social media and media

campaign targeting the new Minister of

Environment.

• You can start thinking about your approach.

Maybe you don’t have to go “negative” here, but

portray the Minister as a potential “environmental

champion”.


Some things to consider with your theory of change...

When do you go international? Sometimes, when

you’ve exhausted all of your options to change an

issue domestically, particularly on issues of human

rights if you live somewhere with a non-democratic

government, you might want to seek solidarity and

pressure from outside your country. Do not take this

decision lightly. Sometimes, getting support from

international organisations or governments can help

you elevate your cause.


Sometimes, particularly in wars where violence

and human rights abuses are rife, you don’t have

a choice. However, allies who may seek to support

you may dilute your demands or alter your message

or use the power they have gained by association

from you to act in a way that does not represent

your cause. State actors often use international

connections to discredit activists for having “foreign

agendas”. International networks are very powerful

for campaigns - but make sure you’ve weighed the

pros and cons before seeking support.


• Do not underestimate solidarity! Campaigners

and activists may sometimes feel helpless about

creating change, and see solidarity statements as

empty or ineffective. However people impacted

by a cause may find some relief in knowing they

are being seen and heard. Frustration and pain

by those facing repression or other human rights

violations may be reduced by knowing they are

not alone.

• Sometimes, when thinking about you TOC, you

may find you need more than a campaign - you

need a movement. Fighting for the abolishment

of an engrained racist system that has existed for

decades for example, may take years and years

and require a consistent and patient “movement”

rather than a campaign. Movement-building is

difficult, painstaking work - but a powerful way to

create change.


Tactics


Tactics

! Tip: Check out the film guide in this week’s

session. The documentary “How to Survive a

Plague” has tons and tons of tactics from US

activist group Act Up.

There are hundreds of campaign tactics… It all

depends on your TOC.

For example, if your TOC is that if you shame and

expose a target they will make a change, your main

tactic would be an investigation.

If you want to get a human rights defender from

prison, you might nominatethem for awards and

get public statements from prominent actors for her

release.

This is the really fun part of your campaigning. Bring

in your friends and ask them to brainstorm with you.


• Open letters

• Visual action

• Demonstration

• Petition

• Letter-writing campaign

• Explainer video

• Storytelling

• Statistics

• Reports

• A legal case

• Strike

• Opinion piece

• Advertisement in newspaper or billboard

Ideas of tactics - but don’t limit yourself!

• Mailing list updates

• Publish a book

• Nominate someone for an award

• Sharing stories under a hashtag

• Change profile pictures

• Photography series

• Company or organisational walkout

• A song / music video

• A moment of silence

• A competition for creative work


Change profile pictures


What made the #BlueforSudan campaign powerful?

• It was a simple tactic - all people needed to do was

change their profile pic on social media

• But the tactic had a strong TOC behind it, which

was communicated powerfully to its audience,

in a straightforward way (think about how you

communicate your TOC!!): If you keep your eyes on

us, we won’t get massacred by our government

• It was visually powerful, people were scrolling

through their timelines and seeing blue

everywhere. Even celebrities got involved!


But just because it worked for Sudan doesn’t mean it will always work

In June 2020, a campaign tactic to support the Black

Lives Movement in the United States by changing

profile pictures to black squares, and posting the

hashtag #BlackoutTuesday, was criticised by activists

in the movement. In this case, the black squares

helped draw attention away from the constant

reporting of what was happening on the ground in

the protest movement.


Lawsuits are a powerful tactic for change. In 2019,

the Syrian Archive, which works toward justice and

accountability in Syria, successfully sued a Belgian

for exporting chemicals that could be used in the

production of the deadly nerve agent Sarin to Syria.

This tactic helps discourage complicity with human

rights violations. It’s also a good example of teaming

up with others to pool resources together and

execute an ambitious piece of work.


In Washington, campaigners from

Amnesty International put up a

fake street sign renaming the street

with the Saudi Arabian embassy

as “Khashoggi Street”. They were

protesting the killing of journalist

Jamal Khashoggi.


In Lebanon, journalists set up the

“Alternative Journalists Union”

to campaign for their rights,

particularly around freedom of

expression and their independence.

The Union often holds protests in

solidarity with colleagues


What made the #MeToo movement so powerful?

• It was mostly organic - a lot of the best

campaign tactics are. Sometimes you can plan

something for months and months, invest heavy

resources, and still not get the same results as a

spontaneous hashtag

• It revealed a powerful message around the scale

of sexual violence and harassment -- by looking

at your feed, you could see that almost every

woman you know, and some men, are survivors

of this violence


An example of a… not so powerful campaign. Why?

• This was a campaign to stop the violence in Syria

• This is why ownership and voice is so important.

The identity of these individuals in this campaign

presents them as powerless victims, waiting for a

response - however they are powerful heads of

UN agencies and even the entire United Nations

• The messaging isn’t clear - what is the campaign,

what are they demanding?

• Why are the images black and white?


The campaign to stop UK Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia

• The image isn’t particularly powerful - but the

victory is. Organisations working together to sue

the UK government gained an impressive victory.

They made it illegal for the UK to sell arms to

Saudi Arabia because of war crimes committed

against civilians using these arms.

• This powerful tactic helped reduce arms sales to

Saudi Arabia, and helped draw attention to the

world’s complicity in the war on Yemen.

• It would have been even more powerful to

have Yemeni spokespeople at the forefront of

the news cycles on this, discussing the impact

on civilians and explaining why other countries

should follow suit.


Action For Sama


Action for Sama is a campaign built around a documentary - a powerful tactic

to mobilise action once people have understood a story. The documentary

tells the story of attacks on hospitals in Syria. At every screening she attends,

the director then calls on people to join the Action for Sama. The primary

call-to-action is a donation to medics working in Syria under the bombs to

continue their work.

Consider collaborating with artists telling stories related to their cause.

Perhaps you can collaborate on photo exhibitions, film screenings or concerts

to raise awareness of your cause.


The documentary film Erased,__Ascent of the

Invisible, tells the story of forced disappearance in

Lebanon. At screenings of the film, the families of

Lebanon’s disappeared are invited to speak and build

support for their campaign for laws and action by the

government to meet families’ demands for the right

to know where their loved ones are.


What do the organisers of powerful campaigns have in common?

• Create an open and accepting space for creativity.

If people worry about sharing their ideas because

they’ll be attacked and dismissed - they won’t!

Accept people’s ideas with enthusiasm - you can

save the conversation for what moves forward

and what doesn’t after, don’t spend too much

time discussing each individual idea.

• They ask for feedback. Campaigns and advocacy

depend so much on perception. Ask a diverse

group of people what they think about a tactic

before you release it. It will also help you prevent

a backlash, in case your tactic may inadvertently

contain something offensive or “tone-deaf”.


The next section is A Film Guide to Campaigning and Advocacy

campaigning and advocacy: an introduction

Documents