TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction

Leaders Guide Five Advocating for Young People and Influencing Policies

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction This session will help you and your organization to: Understand the overall context for a policy and identify the decision- makers to reach in advocating for a greater focus on young people in PRSP or other national policies; Tailor your advocacy messages to various audiences by effectively presenting supporting evidence for your case; Consider the elements and characteristics of an effective communication strategy or public information campaign; Look at examples of successful campaigns to generate ideas and explore possibilities for your own organization or TPT network’s public advocacy work.

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction What makes advocacy effective? STRATEGIC – Effective advocacy is researched and planned carefully. A SERIES OF ACTIONS - Advocacy is not simply one phone call, one petition, or one march but a set of coordinated activities. DESIGNED TO PERSUADE – Good advocacy presents arguments and solutions that convince people that the desired change is important. TARGETED – effective advocacy efforts are directed at people who have influence to affect change. INVOLVES ALLIANCES – often advocacy campaigns work with many stakeholders to increase the impact of the effort. RESULTS IN CHANGE - Advocacy results in positive change in the lives of the people affected by the problem.

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction Guide Five is organized around four steps that can be used in your organization’s advocacy efforts to increase the focus on young people in national policies, such as your country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy paper. Step 1: Understanding the overall policy context

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction Step 2: Identify the stakeholders and decision- makers in the policy process Step 3: Tailor advocacy message and supporting evidence to the target audience

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction Step 4: Outline an effective communications campaign

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction Dialogue Questions Does anyone in your group know of a really good campaign that has been use to mobilize action and sway decision-makers around an issue? If so, briefly describe the advocacy effort and share some of the characteristics that made it effective. How well does the group think it understands the overall context surrounding your country’s PRSP or similar policy? How could you validate your understanding or seek to clarify or improve it, if needed? From where could you gather more information? Take any one of the steps outline in a typical policy process (consultation; situation or poverty assessment; policy formulation and prioritization/ decision-making; implementation and monitoring & evaluation). Who do you think are the actors involved in your chosen step? How could you outreach to them? What kinds of messages and evidence would you use?

TACKLING POVERTY TOGETHER Youth Contributing to Poverty Reduction (Template slide – to be used to add additional material as needed).