Advocacy
Most of us crave some kind of social change – we want things to be more aligned with our values, to meet more of our needs, and we want our systems – on some level, from family to school, to government - to embrace and support this change.
Peacebuilding advocacy is not only about supporting a particular cause or issue, but also building strong relationships with people in your community. Whether it is with policymakers, administrators, media professionals, or your peers, relationship-building could be your number one priority. Instead of focusing only on persuading someone to support “your side” of an issue, your intentions could include making someone your ally in peacebuilding.
Dominic Barter, renowned inventor of the “Restorative Circle” process in Brazil (which is now mandatorily available in all juvenile criminal justice cases throughout the country), emphasizes the importance of open-minded curiosity, when seeking systemic change. You might approach your school principal, college dean, or teacher with an earnest wish to find out what he or she values, and what they feel is most needed and important for enhancing school relations.
Let a primary goal of your advocacy be to engage in constructive dialogue that addresses the issues you are passionate about, a dialogue which will increase your awareness of what others in your community care about. Below are useful links to resources for more information on different kinds of advocacy and step-by-step guides to follow for engaging in effective, heartfelt, and fun ways.
Ideas for creating policy changes in schools, including helpful statistics for “making the case,” can be found here:
Policy Proposal Ideas
There are plenty of opportunities to do advocacy work at a broader level. Listed below is information that can be used for advocacy at the state or federal level.
If you have more resources to suggest to add to our page, please send them to us here!
Peacebuilding advocacy is not only about supporting a particular cause or issue, but also building strong relationships with people in your community. Whether it is with policymakers, administrators, media professionals, or your peers, relationship-building could be your number one priority. Instead of focusing only on persuading someone to support “your side” of an issue, your intentions could include making someone your ally in peacebuilding.
Dominic Barter, renowned inventor of the “Restorative Circle” process in Brazil (which is now mandatorily available in all juvenile criminal justice cases throughout the country), emphasizes the importance of open-minded curiosity, when seeking systemic change. You might approach your school principal, college dean, or teacher with an earnest wish to find out what he or she values, and what they feel is most needed and important for enhancing school relations.
Let a primary goal of your advocacy be to engage in constructive dialogue that addresses the issues you are passionate about, a dialogue which will increase your awareness of what others in your community care about. Below are useful links to resources for more information on different kinds of advocacy and step-by-step guides to follow for engaging in effective, heartfelt, and fun ways.
Ideas for creating policy changes in schools, including helpful statistics for “making the case,” can be found here:
Policy Proposal Ideas
There are plenty of opportunities to do advocacy work at a broader level. Listed below is information that can be used for advocacy at the state or federal level.
If you have more resources to suggest to add to our page, please send them to us here!
