Friday, August 24, 2012

What is people-centred advocacy?

                                           


John Samuel
We have not made a single gain in civil rights

without determined legal and non violent pressure…

Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;

it must be demanded by the oppressed.



Martin Luther King


Be the Change you want.



Mahatma Gandhi

Advocacy means amplifying the voice, but the

fundamental question facing activists is whose voice and

for what purpose. Across the world large numbers of

people are marginalised and unheard in the corridors of

power. Advocacy can work to amplify their voices,

however, this aspect of advocacy is often less understood

or put into practice. Advocacy is more often perceived as

a systematic process of influencing public policies. Yet,

while policy change is

necessary, it is not sufficient to

transform the structures, attitudes, and values that are at

the root of societal inequities and injustice. Instead a more

people-centred approach focused on social transformation

is needed.


Characteristics of people-centred

advocacy


People-centred advocacy is a set of organised actions

aimed at influencing public policies, societal attitudes, and

socio-political processes that enable and empower the

marginalised to speak for themselves. Its purpose is social

transformation through the realisation of human rights:

civil, political, economic, social, and cultural. Peoplecentred

advocacy is by the people, of the people, and for

the people. Hence, it is the spirit of democracy that drives

the very idea of people-centred advocacy.

A ‘people-centred’ approach acknowledges the critical

role of citizens. However, it seeks to go beyond the

framework of a ‘State-Citizen’ axis to the arena of the

people that include both citizens as well as

disenfranchised people not recognised by the state as

citizens. That is why the term people-centred, instead of

citizen-centred is preferred. As Mikhail Bakumin pointed

out ‘No state, however democratic… is capable of giving

the people what they need: the free organisation of their

own interest from below upward, without any

interference, tutelage or coercion from above. …no

state… in essence represents anything but government…

by an educated, and thereby privileged minority which

supposedly understand the real interest of the people

better than people themselves.’

1 Hence, people-centred

advocacy is about mobilising

the politics of the people to

ensure that the

politics of the state is accountable,

transparent, ethical, and democratic. It is a mode of social

and political action.


Ethical choices


In people-centred advocacy

being is as important as

becoming.



• Unless one believes in a cause, one cannot advocate for

that particular cause. Integrity and legitimacy of

advocates are what provide moral force to advocacy.

Hence, it seeks to bridge the gap between the words

and the deeds; theory and practice; rhetoric and real

life experience. It stresses that unless you challenge and

change yourself, you cannot change others.

• People-centred advocacy stresses the

compatibility of

means and ends


. Unjust means can never be used for a

just end. In this sense, people-centred advocacy seeks

to change unjust power relations through non-violent

direct action.


Rights-based approach


People-centred advocacy encompasses a rights-based

approach to social change and transformation.

• People are not passive beneficiaries or charity seekers

of the state or government. The state’s political and

moral responsibility is to guarantee all human rights to

all human beings; particularly the right to live with

dignity. Hence people have a right to demand that the

state ensures equitable social change and distributive

justice.

• Citizens are the owners of the state. Hence, the state

should be transparent and accountable to citizens and

defend human rights. People-centred advocacy


1

M. Bakumin (1873) Statism and Anarchy, translated and edited by

Marshel S. Shatz, Cambridge University Press, 1990. p. 24.


Citation: Samuel, J. (2002)

What is people-centred advocacy? PLA Notes, 43: 9-12

xxx

mobilises people and civil society against societal

violations of human rights.

• It seeks to bridge the gap between micro-level activism

and macro-level policy change. It stresses a bottom-up

approach to social change rather than a top-down

approach through macro-level policy change. It seeks to

strengthen people’s participation in the process of

policy making and implementation.


Political perspective


• People-centred advocacy seeks to go beyond the idea

of

advocating on behalf of the marginalised to the

practice of enabling and empowering the

marginalised

to speak for themselves


.

• A value-driven process, it works to challenge and

change unjust and unequal power relations, e.g.

patriarchy at every level of society; from private to

public, from family to governance. Values of social

justice and human rights are at its core.

• It seeks to go beyond a state-centred approach to

social change and politics to one shaped and led by the

people. Grounded in the right to democratic dissent, it

also includes the responsibility to work for just and

viable political and policy alternatives.


Integrating principles


The three integrating principles of people-centred

approaches are:

participation, communication and

legitimacy


. They integrate its politics and ethics as well as

the various arenas of advocacy.


Participation



Participation is not a mere strategy to manufacture

consent, manipulate consensus or extract cheap labour.

Participation is a principle based on an

inclusive moral

choice; participation means sharing power, legitimacy,

freedom, responsibilities, and accountability. Participation

is both a principle and means to include as many people

as possible in the process of social change. Built on a deep

respect for plurality, tolerance, and dissent, it also involves

an ability to understand and appreciate differences.

Transparency is a pre-requisite for true participation. In

people-centred advocacy, participation is a crucial means

to initiate, inform, and inspire change in all arenas of

advocacy.

A deep sense of participation and communication help

promote solidarity. Strong social movements sprout from a

cause and identity common to large numbers of people

sharing a vision and passion for change.


Communication



Advocacy is a communicative act and a set of actions that

involves communications designed to promote social

action. Community, collectivism, and communication are

closely interwoven. The process of advocacy involves

different elements. These include:

Communicate to

Convince; Convince to Change; Change to Commit; and

Commit to Convert to the cause.



Communication is not merely the use of language. It is an

attitude – a willingness to share; to learn; to reach out;

and to speak. The clarity of the message is as important

as the choice of medium. An effective communication

strategy involves the creative use of symbols, language,

information, knowledge, poetry, prose, and politics. The

commitment of the communicator is as important as the

message. Such a process involves learning from people,

sharing with them, and inspiring and being inspired by

them. Advocacy communication needs to be consistent,

continuous, creative, compelling, and convincing.


Legitimacy



Legitimacy is not merely about legality; it is both about

ethics and politics. Legitimacy is not something one

assumes, but something one acquires. Connected to the

perception of power, legitimacy is derived over a period of

time through a series of actions. It is the sense of deep

commitment, accountability, communicability, and action

that help to derive legitimacy. It is both relative and

dynamic, and fosters credibility. Each arena of advocacy

demands a particular type of legitimacy.


Arenas of people-centred advocacy


Defining the arenas of people-centred advocacy helps

clarify the roles and strategies of different set of actors in

bringing about social change. As Figure I shows, there are

four arenas of people-centred advocacy – a) People b)

Public c) Network/Alliance, and d) Decision-makers – that

are linked to each other and overlap at certain points.


People


Key to the process is the arena of

people:

• those who are directly affected by an issue;

• those with whom an organisation or movement is

directly working; and,

• those who identify with a particular cause or issue.

Advocacy work in this arena involves educating people on

an issue, mobilising people around an issue, and

organising a particular group or community for long-term

social transformation. Mobilisation is a continuous process

of interaction, learning, critical awareness, and collective

action. It needs to educate, enable, and empower the

people. Such a process needs a clear political perspective

and a long-term strategy for communication and

participation.


Public


‘The Public’ is one of the most used yet least understood

terms. People-centred advocacy defines the public

principally as the middle class, opinion makers,

intellectuals, and media. Whether as perpetuators or


PEOPLE



a) Affected

b) Directly working with

C) Who identify with the cause


Citation: Samuel, J. (2002)

What is people-centred advocacy? PLA Notes, 43: 9-12

xxx

challengers of the status quo, they play a substantial role

in shaping the political agenda and have the means to

amplify the voice of the voiceless. To be effective,

advocacy needs to tap a critical mass of the public.

Media Advocacy is the strategic use of communication

and mass media to bring an issue into the public arena

and the political discourse. It has two aspects:

• creating news through building collective action; and,

• articulating views through the media (see Box 1).

Knowledge-based activism is an important factor that

influences the public. In the information age, it is not only

the emotional appeal of an issue that matters, but the

overall rationale based on a knowledge-based argument

that makes a decisive impact.


Networking and alliance


The arena of networking and alliance is important for

sharing resources, coordinating multiple strategies, and

involving a large number of actors in advocacy.

Networking widens the outreach and helps to build up a

multiplier effect in terms of impact and public discourse.

Advocacy seeks to integrate power of knowledge and the

power of networking. Advocacy is also a process of

negotiating with various institutions, including institutions

of governance. Such a process requires long-term

commitment and optimal institutional and financial

resources. Networking is an important means to synergise

the strengths of both institutions and individuals that

identify with the advocacy cause. Clarity of goals,

compatibility of perspective, and convergence of interest

are crucial for any sustainable networking. It seeks to

bridge the gap between micro-level activism and macrolevel

policy initiative, developing multiple voices and

diverse efforts in favour of the advocacy cause.


Box 1



Both

poetry and politics c a n play a role in developing

communication strategies. In a campaign against a Hydro e l e c t r i c

p roject in Silent Va l l e y, a virgin forest in Kerala India, our

experience validates the power of poetry in influencing the public.

The Silent Valley campaign (1978-83) was basically meant to

p rotect bio-diversity and to raise critical questions about the

n a t u re of development. No community was to be displaced by the

p roject. The entire media, political establishment, and trade

unions were for the hydroelectric project. Yet over a period of time

four poets and five poems changed the public mood and political

context. The poems caught the imagination of the young people,

and many were mobilised through the People’s Science

Movement. Media could not aff o rd to ignore the concerns of

such a large number of middle class youth nor the opinion of

poets, writers, and intellectuals. This created one of the first public

discourses on the environment and sustainable development in

India during the late seventies and early eighties. Advocacy

strategies focused on the public arena can influence all other

a renas substantially.


Figure 1 Arenas of people-centred advocacy


NETWORK /

ALLIANCE



(Social Justice and

Human Rights)


Legitimacy

PUBLIC



Middle class, Media, Opinion

Makers, Writers,

Intellectuals etc.


DECISION MAKERS



Government, Socio-cultural

Institutions, Local Self

Government, Corporators,

Religion etc.


PERSONAL

VALUES



Citation: Samuel, J. (2002)

What is people-centred advocacy? PLA Notes, 43: 9-12

xxx


Decision makers


The decision makers are those who have authority to

make decisions and influence power relationships. This

includes not only state policies, but also those who have

the power to make decision in socio-cultural institutions,

corporations, religious institutions, etc. There are multiple

arenas of power and institutions that influence public

policies and social attitudes. For instance, many of the

religious institutions and practices perpetuate

discrimination on the basis of gender and cast.

Lobbying is a strategic process of convincing those in the

corridors of power to make decisions or to exert their

influence in favour of an advocacy cause. It is a rational

process of making a convincing argument, using

information and knowledge. However, the real bargaining

power of a lobbyist comes from people, the public, as well

as the process of networking. A people-centred

perspective insists that lobbyists should be grounded in

real life experience, and have an organic relationship with

grassroots movements and the credibility and legitimacy

that comes from that relationship.


Power, politics, and policy


Public policy is a function of the dominant politics. Politics

is a dominant set of power relationships, so there is a

need to understand the link between public policies and

political process on the one hand; and political process

and power relationship within the society on the other

hand. An issue needs to be framed the way people feel

and perceive it. An issue is a social, economic or political

concern or phenomenon, which affects a large number of

people over a long period of time. It needs to be

understood in terms of power relationships within the

society, politics of the state, and policy priorities.

One of the key problems in most of the countries in the

Global South is the increasing gap between policy rhetoric

and real implementation. Radical sounding language is

increasingly used to gloss over deprivation, injustice, and

inequality. Through the co-option of language, symbols,

and institutions that claim to represent civil society and

the marginalised, decision makers tend to create more

and more

policy mirage. Policy mirage is a public policy

statement, which articulates a lofty vision and principles

for change, without any clear programme to move toward

that vision and without any budgetary allocation to

implement the policy. Such policy mirages create illusions

of change while perpetuating the status quo. Hence, there

is a need to understand and change a public policy in

terms of policy direction, relevant legislation,

accompanying programme, implementing mechanisms,

and most importantly, financial allocation.

People-centred advocacy always considers every aspect of

policy, process, and negotiation in terms of the real impact

it can bring to the lives of the poorest. Every action needs

to be inspired and informed by Mahatma Gandhi’s

talisman:


I will give you a talisman… Recall the face of the

poorest and the weakest man whom you may have

seen, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is

going to be of any use to him. Will he gain anything

by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own

life and destiny? Then you will find your doubts and

yourself melting away.