From December 9-11, HREA conducted a three-day training workshop for national advocacy officers of SOS Kinderdorf International at their headquarters in Innsbruck (Austria). The aim was to increase capacity in preparation of the “Leaving Care” campaign, SOS Kinderdorf’s first ever advocacy campaign, which will be launched in January 2009.
Thirty participants from Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Russian Federation and Italy were introduced to concepts of advocacy, advocacy strategies and planning policy and media work. HREA trainers Frank Elbers and Krassimir Kanev facilitated hands-on interactive sessions on problem analyses, lobbying, negotiating, and other aspects of planning advocacy campaigns.
SOS Kinderdorf International (SOS Children’s Villages) is an international non-governmental social development organisation that has been active in the field of children’s rights and committed to children’s needs and concerns since 1949. In 132 countries and territories our activities focus on children without parental care and children of families in difficult circumstances. The Campaign for the Social Inclusion of Young People Leaving Care will be focused on European countries, members of the Council of Europe, and two countries from Central Asia. Young people in alternative care in Europe and Central Asia are provided with appropriate preparation for leaving care and are able to access, as required according to their individual needs, continued after care support. Leaving care is one of the most challenging aspects of alternative care systems. Youths leaving care are expected to start their independent living at a very early age, considerably younger than other youths who grew up in the care of their biological family. Young people ageing out of care generally face many more challenges than other young people in making the transition to adulthood.