What is Advocacy?
Advocacy is action directed at change -- in attitudes, policies, laws, practices.
It involves...
1 - identifying & developing awareness of a problem,
2 - analyzing causes & alternatives,
3 - developing recommendations to solve the problem,
4 - building support for the proposed solutions, and
5 - seeing proposals through to enactment.
Outcomes of Zonta Advocacy
Issues of concern to women are addressed with sustainable change.
Club membership is motivated & enhanced.
Zonta's visibility & credibility is increased.
Important leadership opportunities emerge.
Programs & speaker opportunities are enriched.
What about your club?
What's going on in your community?
What do you care about?
Have you found your voice or are you relying on others?
Where do you fit in to solve problems & make a difference?
Advocate what?
Zonta International, its districts, and clubs are urged to express themselves and become involved in issues that:
Improve the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women.
Promote justice and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Advance understanding, goodwill & peace through a world fellowship of executives in business & the professions.
Advocacy Within Zonta
Advocacy involves education and It can & should involve your whole club... and finding other like-minded organizations in your community to work together on important issues.
What will you do?
Planning an Advocacy Campaign
Know your issue
Establish your objectives
Examine interests of all stakeholders
Develop a strategy
Identify & mobilize required resources
Implement strategy; monitor progress
Use advocacy tools/guidance on Zonta.org website
Follow ZI Bylaws, Advocacy & Affiliation policies
Resources
www.zonta.org/MemberResources/Tools/AdvocacyTools.aspx -- newsletters, procedures, articles, CEDAW, etc.
www.zonta.org/WhatWeDo/LocalServiceandAdvocacy.aspx (Both are continually updated with Zonta tools & information you can use)
zontasaysno.com -- discover easy-to-apply advice on how to set up a project; see what other clubs are doing and post your ZSN story
www.unwomen.org -- a wealth of information can be found with UN Women's six Focus Areas
Violence Against Women
Millennium Development Goals
Economic Empowerment
Leadership & Participation
Peace & Security (e.g., Res. 1325)
National Planning & Budgeting
For further assistance, e-mail advocacy@zonta.org