Churches and Advocacy

The project was implemented in the following way, in accordance with the initially submitted activity plan:

Activity 1: Preparatory activities (December 2008 – February 2009)

consisted of the following sub-activities:

• Setting up the project team. The team consisted of the project coordinator and a trainer. The team prepared a detailed project plan with a list of all activities, resources needed, responsibilities and time schedule.

• At the EHO management board meeting, in February 2009, the project was presented to the board members (delegates of the EHO member Churches). After that, letters and emails were sent to the members Churches, inviting them to nominate young church leaders/activists who will take part in the project. After a weak response of the EHO member churches, the invitation was sent to other religious communities (Serbian Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church and others). After that, 15 project participants were selected.  53% or 8 participants  were coming from the EHO member churches, 2 from the Serbian Orthodox Church and its charitable fund (Philantrophy), 1 from the Roman Catholic Church and 4 participants from the Evangelical Church  (two of them are students of the Protestant Theol. Faculty).

• Selecting readings for the training course and preparing the training program, training design and handouts. In total 32 handouts & exercises (more than 100 pages, 50 pages translated from English to  Serbian) were prepared for the 3 training modules. The participants received both the hard copies and electronic versions of the training materials, which enabled them to create their own Advocacy handbook.

Activity 2: Training course – Module 1 held from March 14th -15th, 2009.

The first module dealt with the following issues: Why advocacy? The purpose of advocacy and its definition; The Biblical basis of advocacy; The advocacy cycle; Issue identification; Research and analysis; Case study analysis. Most of the work during the training was done in small groups .

Activity 3: Learning by doing after Module 1:

Practical assignment / Homework.

The project participants had two tasks which they had to fulfil until April 20th:
To identify  potential advocacy issues in their (church) community and select one which they would like to work on, as well as to describe the methods they had been using during research, identification and issue analysis.
To find and present good examples of advocacy.

In their homework, participants have identified a lot of advocacy issues and the following issues they would like to work on: the promotion of a sanctuary in Ruski Krstur, the problem of neglected children in Vojvodinian villages and in the SOS children’s village in Sremski Karlovci, new sources of funding for NGOs in Serbia, reproductive health of young people in Serbia, poverty in rural areas in Vojvodina etc.

Activity 4: Training course – Module 2 held from April 23-25, 2009.

The second module dealt with the following topics: Presentation and analysis of assignments; Developing goals and objectives; Developing advocacy messages; Importance of communication in advocacy; Advocacy methods & activities; Strategy and planning of advocacy.

Activity 5:  Learning by doing after Module 2:

Practical assignment / Homework.

During the summer, participants began implementing their advocacy activities designed at the second module. During this activity, the trainers were often consulted by mail, phone or visits to EHO office. After consultation with the trainers, participants with similar topics or ideas, decided to form small groups and to develop and implement their advocacy action as a team. Three teams were established and they have developed  and implemented the following 3 strategies/advocacy actions aimed to:

• Reduce the number of children with behavioural disorders in Belo Blato
• Improve the reproductive health of young people in Serbia
• Promote the sanctuary in Ruski Krstur

Activity 6: Training course – Module 3 held from September 25 – 26, 2009.

The third module dealt with the following topics: Reporting on the assignments-the implemented advocacy campaigns; Monitoring and evaluating advocacy work; Fundraising  for advocacy; How to involve the stakeholders in advocacy.

Activity 7:  Learning by doing after Module 3:

Practical assignment / Homework.

Participants submitted their own final reports on their advocacy actions and on the whole process. After the third module and finished final reports on the implemented actions, 13 participants got (in the last week of November) a certificate of attendance and achievement during this training course.