Course 2E08: Human Rights Advocacy

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Course 2E08: Human Rights Advocacy
20 February - 17 June 2008 | Application form

Instructor: Dr. Valerie Miller

This distance learning course provides human rights activists with a range of proven human rights advocacy methods and critical concepts as a means for them to reflect on and deepen their own work. The course will look at the theoretical foundations and critical issues of human rights advocacy, elements of advocacy planning, and strategies for action.

In this course, participants should deepen their knowledge about advocacy and its relationship to: Politics and Democracy; Citizenship and Rights; Power, Empowerment and Citizen Education and Action. Participants will gain basic skills and knowledge in: visioning; contextual analysis; problem/issue identification; analysis and prioritisation; power mapping; goal/objective setting; analysis of advocacy arenas and strategies; message development, reports and media; public outreach and mobilization; lobbying and negotiation; advocacy leadership and coalition building; and assessment of success.

The course involves approximately 60 hours of reading, on-line working groups, interaction with students and instructor/facilitator and assignments, and is offered over a 15-week period, beginning on 20 February 2008. The course is based on a participatory, active learning approach, with an emphasis on peer-to-peer learning. Participants will do the required readings, prepare interim and final assignments and participate in group discussions. The main course text will be A New Weave of Power, People, and Politics: An Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation, by Lisa VeneKlaasen and Valerie Miller. The maximum number of course participants is 25. It is also possible to be an auditor of the course. Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Participation.

Course outline

Part I: Self-Study

Weeks 1-4: Conceptual Foundations and Critical Issues

Week 1. Politics, Advocacy, Democracy, Rights and Citizenship
Week 2. Power, Empowerment and Citizen Education and Engagement
Week 3. Advocacy Effectiveness: Factors and Measures of Success
Week 4. Overview of Planning; Analysis of Political and Social Context

Part II

Week 5. Identification, Analysis and Definition of Problems; Selection of Priority Issues
Week 6. Analysis of Political Arenas and Advocacy Strategies; Selection of Policy Hooks and Angles
Week 7. Analysis of Forces, Friends and Foes; Review and Readjustment of Strategies
Week 8. "Catch up" week
Week 9. Messages, Reports and Media
Week 10. Messages, Reports and Media
Week 11. Public Outreach and Mobilization
Week 12. Lobbying and Negotiation; Advocacy Leadership and Coalitions

Part III: Peer-review of the Final Projects (Weeks 13-15)

The last three course weeks will be used to review the draft Final Projects. This can be done in pairs, small groups or group discussions, depending on participants' interest and availability. The Final Project is a paper of around 5-7 pages (maximum) presenting an analysis of an advocacy campaign or an advocacy action plan related to the participant's individual/organisational interests

About the instructor

Valerie Miller has worked in advocacy, international development, gender and human rights for more than 30 years. She has collaborated with grassroots organisations, NGOs, and international agencies in many capacities -- as an organiser, trainer, advocate, evaluator, and researcher. Over the past 15 years, she has been policy advocacy director at Oxfam America, director of policy and exchange programs at the Institute for Development Research, and advisor and associate of a wide variety of organisations including the Global Women in Politics Program; Women, Law and Development International; and the Highlander Center. She has taught courses on advocacy under the auspices of the University of Brasilia and New Hampshire University. Dr. Miller holds a doctorate in adult education and she has published numerous articles and books on issues of advocacy, development, education, and politics. She has been instructor for the Human Rights Advocacy distance learning course since 2002.

Who should apply

The course is intended for staff members of human rights/social justice organisations. Candidates should have a good written command of English and have high competence and comfort with computer and Internet use. HREA aims to ensure equal gender and geographical distribution across the selected participants.

Costs

The course tuition fee is € 525 (tuition for auditors is € 200). Unfortunately, there are no scholarships or tuition discounts available for this course.

Application

The deadline for applications is 1 December 2007. Applications received after that day unfortunately cannot be accepted. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 December 2007. Full tuition payment for accepted participants is due on 15 January 2008.

Application forms

Application form Word file (in Word)
Application form PDF file (in PDF format)

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