The first capacity building seminar for the organizations that comprise the Members Network of Alliance for Sustainable Local Development – SymATA was successfully delivered, providing participants with skills on advocacy actions.
The advocacy seminar was delivered by Ioli Christopoulou, Policy Director of The Green Tank, starting from a review of the concept of sustainable development at the international level and how it has been integrated in both the Treaty of the European Union and the Constitution of Greece. With this point of departure, Ioli Christopoulou introduced the notion of advocacy and how it relates to the recognized need of SymATA Members Network for empowerment so that organizations can more effectively promote their demands for the protection and development of their local area, namely the sustainable local development.
Establishing an interactive discussion, she then presented advocacy means and tools and the prerequisites for successful advocacy actions. Emphasis was placed on the need for careful planning particularly with respect to the objectives, the selection of the decision-makers the organisations should address in order to promote their positions and the means of intervention on each occasion. An essential element of this planning is good preparation followed by thorough analysis and documentation around the issues at stake.
Finally, through exercises on given scenarios, the participants had the opportunity to prepare a plan for advocacy actions and reflect on how their own advocacy actions can become part of the future of SymATA. In fact, at the end of the project and after the completion of the remaining capacity building seminars, a common roadmap for the further development of SymATA will be set, in which advocacy is expected to play an important role.
The seminar was held online, on July 6, 2022. It was one of the actions undertaken by The Green Tank as a partner of the project “Alliance for Sustainable Local Development (SymATA)”. Future actions on capacity building include seminars on fundraising, Sustainable Local Development, networking meetings and participatory workshops, as well as consulting services and mentoring for the Members Network offered by the project’s Support Tank with the active participation of the Initiative Team.
Alliance for Sustainable Local Development – SymATA aims at empowering and networking regional CSOs engaged in sustainable local development – the Members Network – by offering a complete framework of support on issues of advocacy, internal organization and governance, provided by prestigious national and supranational bodies – the Initiative Team – and specialized Support Tank consultants.
Τhe project “Alliance for Sustainable Local Development (SymATA)” is being implemented under the Active citizens fund in Greece by MedINA and its partner The Green Tank.
The Active citizens fund in Greece is supported through a € 13.5 m grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as part of the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021. The programme aims to develop the sustainability and capacity of the civil society sector in Greece, and to strengthen its role in promoting and safeguarding democratic procedures, active citizenship and human rights. The Fund Operator for the Active citizens fund in Greece is Bodossaki Foundation in consortium with SolidarityNow. More information: www.activecitizensfund.gr/en/
