CVSS and EU roll out advocacy training for CSOs
THE COUNCIL of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS), in collaboration with the European Union, (EU) will roll out a series of advocacy training workshops for civil society organisations (CSOs).
The workshops, scheduled to commence on March 4, are being funded by the EU through a grant under the 13th European Development Fund to enable the CVSS to fulfil its original mandate to create a local culture of volunteering and ensure that it is recognised as a vital tool for creating a more sustainable, fair and peaceful Jamaica.
The CVSS will host these workshops under the initiative ‘Advocate, Innovate and Mobilise (AIM)’, a 30-month project to build t he capacity of more than 135 Jamaican civil society organisations.
Underscoring the need for advocacy training, Nancy Pinchas, executive director of CVSS, explained that for over 80 years, CVSS has supported volunteer organisations in Jamaica, and credits volunteers’ advocacy work as vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Vision 2030.
“These training will promote a vibrant civil society to effectively advocate for the rights, needs, and aspirations of communities for a more inclusive and democratic society,” she said.
“In the face of challenges such as threats to civil liberties, environmental degradation, or social injustice, advocacy training workshops provide civil society with the tools and strategies needed to respond effectively and mobilise support for positive change,” she added.
FREE WORKSHOPS
Carol Narcisse, an advocate, accomplished educator, researcher and trainer, will facilitate the training. Narcisse said she was happy to partner with the CVSS to conduct the training and noted that the training was timely. She pointed out that it is important that civil societies have a voice in the decision-making of any country.
“Civil society has a unique position, particularly organisations that tend to work at the community level, the grassroots level, and on very key development issues. So, whether those issues are in the environment, child welfare, child development or health, civil society organisations work on those issues,” she said, noting that CSOs will have unique perspectives that can be brought to policymaking decisions and process.
She explained that the value is in the information that civil society has and brings to decision-making. She also observed that democracy tend to thrive when civil society has a say and has a voice, and acts as advocates, raising awareness about groups in society that might be vulnerable.
Narcisse also stressed that training is important because CSOs are the beneficiaries of development efforts in a country, so it is important for beneficiaries to be able to articulate how they are being impacted and how differently they can be assisted to fully achieve their potential.
“Civil society advocates are an important aspect of providing feedback on how development is occurring, who is benefiting and who is not, and how we can improve the quality of people’s lives. Civil society advocates can raise those questions and provide recommended answers to some of those questions because of the knowledge and expertise that have been amassed,” she said.
AnnMarie Kirlew Williams, programme manager at CVSS, said that the advocacy workshop consists of six training sessions and will look at the topics such as: Introduction to Advocacy and Policy; Understanding the Advocacy Landscape; Developing Effective Advocacy Plans/Programmes/ Strategies; Advocacy Tools and Techniques; and Guided Practice & Review - Developing an advocacy action plan for participating CSOs.
The Council of Voluntary Social Services is presently concluding the last session of its series of workshops on grant proposal writing to help civil society organisations craft stronger proposals to secure funding from donors, local and international, for various actions to improve the lives of Jamaicans.
Williams said that all workshops are free for civil society organisations. Registration will open soon on Eventbrite, CVSS website at https://cvssja.org, and on the CVSS’ social media platforms.