Advocacy: memory work

Awareness-raising and advocacy are key components of HIV and AIDS projects. By addressing complex, and often disabling social and political contexts, advocacy can help make the leap from lessons learned to positive, targetted communication for social change. Whether aimed at influencing political systems or changing social attitudes, evidence shows that the impact of advocacy is contingent on how it is approached. This list highlights bottom-up, participatory and citizen-centred approaches to advocacy, which are more responsive to the experiences of people affected by HIV and AIDS, and which build on the skills and resources of the entire community.

We welcome your feedback: please send comments or suggested additions to sourceassistant@hi-uk.org [1].

Selected resources

Approaches

A new weave of power, people & politics : the action guide for advocacy and citizen participation [2]

VENEKLASEN, Lisa

MILLER, Valerie

March 2007

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This comprehensive action guide provides an approach for building people’s participation and collective power that goes beyond influencing policy and politics to transforming public decision-making. It offers easily adaptable 'modules' for NGOs trainers, activists, grass-roots organisations, who wish to develop ideas around advocacy. One of the strengths is that it focuses on peoples participation and explores ideas relating to power and politics in citizen-centred advocacy. It emphasises power and constituency-building discussed through the lens of gender/race/class and is based upon the concrete experiences of social change worldwide
It also offers facilitators tips, sample exercises and easily adaptable handouts, along with core information to support anyone through the learning process. Based on long-term experience of a range of practitioners, the guide provides well-tested methods for promoting citizen participation and practical ways of realising a rights-based approach.
The contents, chapters 1, 3, 5, 10 and 13 can be accessed electronically

Making UNGASS work [3]

ASIA PACIFIC COUNCIL OF AIDS SERVICE ORGANISATIONS (APCASO)

2004

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Workshop manual designed to assist civil society groups working in HIV/AIDS to make the most of the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS made in June 2001. It aims to generate an NGO/CBO national advocacy platform based on the UNGASS declaration and its indicators, and to facilitate the development of an action plan for the NGO/CBO sector based on UNGASS priorities. The workshop structure reflects the need to understand how UNGASS can be relevant to current activities; the need to stay within the limitations of current resources and activities and avoid generating a completely new set of project activities; and the need to work out how UNGASS can add value to what is already happening

Stories and case studies

Inspiring futures : learning from memory work in Africa [4]

DUNN, Alison

HAMMOND WARD, Sarah

2009

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This learning paper looks at the experiences of applying memory work as part of broader strategies to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS in five African countries. It explores how six NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa established memory work as a key component of their community-based HIV programmes and draws on the experience of people living with HIV and AIDS, children and young people who participated in the initiative, partner organisations' own learning and analysis and the end of project evaluation report

Making waves : stories of participatory communication for social change. A report to the Rockefeller Foundation [5]

DAGRON, Alfonso Gumucio

2001

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A wide range of international case studies of grass-roots projects involved in communication for social change. Covers radio, theatre, video and the Internet and the participatory approaches they are employed in. Each case study gives a succinct overview which includes history, background, description of the media, outcomes and constraints

Tools

Advocacy for HIV/AIDS [whole issue] [6]

COMMUNICATION FOR HEALTH INDIA NETWORK (CHIN) SECRETARIAT

April 2005

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This issue highlights the situation of HIV/AIDS in India, the need for advocacy and advocating comprehensive strategies, and also brings the glimpses of the workshop on HIV/AIDS. An additional feature is the personal accounts by people living with HIV, and the trauma they underwent, the process of their empowerment to face the situation with confidence

Advocacy toolkit : practical action in advocacy [7]

GORDON, Graham

2002

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This second volume of Tearfund's Advocacy Toolkit is a step-by step guide to planning an advocacy activity, large or small, and consists mainly of tools and exercises. The introduction describes the planning process and outlines a Summary Advocacy Strategy. The following sections describe five parts of the planning cycle in detail

All of us count : part II. Developing policy and advocacy skills [8]

QUAN, Andy

WARD, Chris

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Describes the concepts of policy making and advocacy and how affected communities can be engaged in this; and describes international and regional organsations and meetings which might provide opportunities for advocacy

Networking for policy change : an advocacy training manual [9]

POLICY PROJECT

1999

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This training manual was prepared to help representatives of NGOs and other formal groups of civil society form and maintain advocacy networks and develop effective family planning/reproductive health advocacy skills. The manual's tools and approaches can be used to affect FP/RH policy decisions at the international, national, regional, and local levels. It identifies three building blocks of advocacy: the formation of networks, the identification of political opportunities, and the organisation of campaigns. The manual includes a section on each of these building blocks, with specific subjects presented in individual units. Units within each section contain background notes, learning objectives, and handouts. While the manual can be used in its entirety, it is designed to be used in sections depending on the particular needs of the network

Websites

Pan-African Treatment Access Movement (PATAM) [10]

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PATAM is a social movement of individuals and organisations dedicated to mobilising communities, political leaders and all sectors to ensure access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, as a fundamental part of comprehensive care for all people with HIV/AIDS in Africa. The PATAM was created in response to the unacceptable situation where the greatest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world today are located on the African continent but do not have sufficient access to lifesaving medications. The site contains useful information on HIV and AIDS, advocacy strategies, and resources. It also provides links to information on treatment response strategies, treatment literacy and drug pricing

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) [11]

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The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) has since 1998 been campaigning for greater access to HIV treatment for all South Africans, by raising public awareness and understanding about issues surrounding the availability, affordability and use of HIV treatments. It campaigns for equitable access to affordable treatment for all people with HIV/AIDS and supports the prevention and elimination of all new HIV infections. It promotes and sponsors legislation to ensure equal access to social services for and equal treatment of all people with HIV/AIDS. It challenges by means of litigation, lobbying, advocacy and all forms of legitimate social mobilisation, against any barrier or obstacle, including unfair discrimination that limits access to treatment for HIV/AIDS in the private and public sector. It educates, promotes and develops an understanding and commitment within all communities of developments in HIV/AIDS treatment. It campaigns for access to affordable and quality health care for all people in South Africa. It trains and develops a representative and effective leadership of people living with HIV/AIDS on the basis of equality and non-discrimination irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, sex, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status or any other ground. It campaigns for an effective regional and global network comprising of organisations with similar aims and objectives