ESDO offers the following workshops:

• Environmental Education & Management


• Environmental Reporting & Photography


• Project Management & Interpersonal Skills


• Gender, the Rights of Women and Children


• Governance & Human Rights


• Communication & Reporting


• Advocacy & Policy Lobbying


• Media Advocacy


• Advocacy TOT

Advocacy

ESDO has initiated several issue-based advocacy programs throughout Bangladesh and have built alliances through creating mass awareness, social mobilization, working with media advocacy, facilitating interactive discussions with students, professional groups, and networking with Government and Non-Governmental Organizations.

On behalf of the Advocacy Institute of Washington DC, ESDO organizes a range of workshops and training programs on various issues related to advocacy.

Advocacy is a process to enable social justice advocates to influence public attitudes and to bring about, enact and implement laws and public policies which will take society closer towards being just and equitable.

Workshops are designed in a way to reflect the Bangladeshi situation and how advocacy can be more effective to reach certain goals from a development perspective. The workshops follow the guidelines of Advocacy Institute of Washington D.C. USA, and David Cohen and Dr. Shahriar founded Centre for Advocacy and Social Justice Initiative-CASJI (Washington-Melbourne-Dhaka International Advocacy Centre), and relate to ESDO’s extensive experience in the field of advocacy and policy lobbying and media advocacy. The workshops convey a comprehensive understanding of the concept of advocacy, with significant focus on the tools of advocacy and how they are utilized, within a rights-based approach. Sessions illustrate what ‘civil society’ means and what issues ‘civil society’ can advocate for. Media advocacy is also a focal point of workshops.

While working on any issue related to policy intervention for adaptation, change, reform or pass-over, advocacy is a very powerful tool. However, there are many ways in which advocacy can be utilized, and specific tools need to be adopted. ESDO’s advocacy courses provide insight on how advocacy operates, and how participants and their respective organizations can effectively carry out advocacy work using the media for example. Specific issues related to advocacy include: good governance, child rights, human rights, reproductive health, adolescent rights, HIV/AIDS prevention, media & mass education.



Overview:

Advocacy is a process to enable social justice advocates to gain access and voice their opinion in decision making, to influence public attitudes and to bring about, enact and implement laws and public policies which will take society closer towards being just and equitable.

The issue of Governance is a major fundamental task for LDC nations. ESDO’s advocacy training will strengthen the capacity of participants to act and handle governance issues.

Media advocacy is a major component and effective form of advocacy. It can be an important part of any planning process to highlight issues as it helps in message development, delivery, campaigning, and presentation.

ESDO has extensive experience in the field of policy lobbying and media advocacy and has created a model for effective policy advocacy & campaigning – an outcome from the success of our anti-polythene movement. We have also developed curriculum materials in partnership with Advocacy Institute, Washington, D.C. British Council International Network, and Centre for Advocacy and Social Justice Initiative-CASJI.



Objectives:

To provide a deeper understanding of advocacy, its basic concept, and the role of advocates, and NGO and GO relationships in enhancing their respective efforts towards achieving organizational and social goals:

• To develop knowledge and capacity regarding advocacy, its strategic planning, and ways of policy intervention and lobbying


• To examine the range and applications of specific advocacy tools


• To identify areas for NGO-GO cooperation and collaboration for the promotion of social, economical and environmental justice.


• To strengthen good governance and human rights through media advocacy


• To understand and clarify the issue of advocacy through a rights-based approach


• To highlight the process of policy intervention and explore ways of introducing new policy through advocacy


• To understand the obstacles and opportunities of advocacy and lobbying


• To design and develop an action plan for issue-based advocacy