High-level Advocacy and Lobbying Workshop

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world…would do this, it would change the earth.”
William Faulkner

DAY 3

We moved from Skopje to the beautiful Tikvesh region. From June 23 to June 25, 2023, our workshops continued and for two days we discussed high-level advocacy and lobbying strategies, opportunities and spaces to be involved in as GBWN.

Our network represents 88 CSOs. How do we educate “the demos” to make the democratic processes strong? Why do people care more about their neighbour’s car but not about how their taxes are spent?

Our expert Ida Manton charmed us with her storytelling skills and it was clear from the first moment that we will learn a lot from her. On the first session with Ida, we divided into three groups and did the mapping opportunities for CSO participation in international events that can be used for holding the government accountable; created a Calendar Event for the next two years; and identified entry points for side events and identification of potential partner. It was a very important space for the partners to brainstorm and discuss various ideas about platforms and potential events where it would be beneficial to have the network represented.

Ida invited a special guest, Tome Lisichanec – a lover of nature, a forestry engineer by profession and a respected professor at the high school of forestry in Kavadarci, now retired. Tome showed us his unique photos of eagles, mountains and other natural beauties from where he draws inspiration from. He also gave us a unique perspective of his 77 years old experience wandering in the Macedonian mountains and how climate changes are bringing damage to the country, making it 40% droughts.

DAY 4

How can we get on “the menu” even if we are not at the table? How do we “translate” what has been agreed on at the international level?

On the last day of our workshop, we started with a structured plan for the next 2 years with specific tasks and actions to be done, again wonderfully led by Marija Risteska, supported by Ida Manton, bringing the theory into action! We now know how and where GBWN can network, attend and participate in high-level discussions and forums.

Afternoon sessions were focused on our self-assessment of styles of personality that is influencing what are we focused on, be it action, people, processes, or ideas. Knowing our own style and the style of people we interact with can help us to better identify what skills they need to develop in order to have successful advocacy efforts.
We have ended this series of workshops with a clear activity plan until the end of the year. Next to come is a workshop on Communication Strategy in Moldova. We look forward to meeting the network partners again!