The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) is seeking applications from intending participants in its courses on: Introduction to Policy Advocacy and Engagement(IPA); and Networking and Alliance Building (NAB).
The IPA is a course for civil society organisations (CSO) in West Africa. It is meant to provide civil society actors (CSAs) with a clear understanding of advocacy concepts, definition of advocacy related terms and introduce civil society organisations (CSOs) to strategies and tactics in planning an advocacy intervention with the goal of promoting an open society, participatory and responsive governance.
The course which is from June 23 to 25, 2014 will be held at WACSI Training Centre in Accra, Ghana.
The overarching goal of the training is to introduce emerging and experienced CSAs to the concept of policy advocacy and engagement, as well as contribute towards a deeper understanding of public policy making and influencing processes and in planning effective advocacy campaigns.
According to WACSI, “This course has been specially designed to introduce development practitioners to the concept and practice of policy advocacy. It seeks to equip them with techniques that will enable them to demand for a more open and participatory governance system in West Africa.”
The course will enable participants to:
• Clarify and define the basic concepts associated with advocacy and public policy;
• Design policy advocacy objectives and agenda;
• Articulate the key purposes of the policy making cycle;
• Identify and adopt a range of policy communication and advocacy tools;
• Understand the roles of civil society in public policy formulation, analysis and influencing;
• Lobby and negotiate effectively in a policy influencing process and;
• Monitor implementation progress and evaluate advocacy process.
Mr. Cousin Zilala, Executive Director of Amnesty International, Zimbabwe who had undertaken the course said, “This training enabled me to have a better understanding of advocacy strategies and tactics. It deepened my knowledge and enhanced my skills on how to use social media tools to drive policy advocacy campaigns effectively.”
WACSI is requesting a contribution Fee of GHS600.00 (Six Hundred Ghana Cedis) to be paid by June 13, 2014 to be eligible to participate in the training. Two or more participants from an organisation will attract a GHS50 discount each.
The NAB course will also provide CSAs with requisite knowledge, skills and techniques to establish and sustain networks, alliances and coalitions in pursuit of a common advocacy goal and development agenda.
The training will hold at WACSI Training Centre in Accra, Ghana on June 26 and 27, 2014.
The overall goal of the training is to expose CSAs to the process of instituting, maintaining and sustaining networks at local, national and international levels. The course has been tailored to equip practitioners with skills needed to build strategic and effective alliances with like-minded groups, organisations and stakeholders in order to constantly leverage support to promote a common agenda. The course will strengthen the networking and alliance building skills of CSAs, CSOs and relevant stakeholders. Knowledge and skills gained from this course will enable participants to:
• Understand the concept and importance of ‘networking’ and ‘alliance building’;
• Gain insight into the different types and models of alliances and networks;
• Explore networking development and its sustainability;
• Examine the potential benefits and limitations of networking and alliance building;
• Understand the causes of disagreements and conflicts within networks and alliances and how to
• Master issues of accountability and shared governance and;
• Unpack the dynamics of power relationship in networks and alliance building.
WACSI is requesting a contribution Fee of GHS500.00 (Five Hundred Ghana Cedis) to be paid by June 13, 2014 to be eligible to participate in the training. Two or more participants from an organisation will attract a GHS50 discount each. Fill and submit the appropriate application form to: policyadvocacy@wacsi.org on before May 23, 2014.
For more information and to apply, kindly click here and here
