Building your capacity on advocacy and lobbying at the UN

"We should never negotiate from fear or fear to negotiate" John Kennedy

Over the past twenty five years I have run a number of successful campaigns at the UN. These include:

• Advising organizations on their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Targets - securing a number of targets
• The introduction of stakeholder dialogues at the UN;
• In particular new governance processes for engaging stakeholders at UN Habitat, WHO European Environment Conference, UN Commission on Sustainable Development, UNEP GPA Conference;
• Secured water onto the UNFCCC agenda;
• Reformed sustainable development governance in particular for the creation of UNEO, the High Level Political Forum and the Follow up to the SDGs
• Guidelines for Corporate Sustainability Reporting;
• The four elements for the Rio+20 Conference (2012);
• The possibility for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (@002).

 

An advocacy campaigns is focused on the promotion of a particular cause.

A good advocacy campaign will have clear objectives, strategy, actions, and a realistic time-line. We can help you develop a successful Advocacy campaign. This would include the following elements:

• Advocacy Narrative: Develop with staff a clear narrative for the campaign.
• Advocacy Strategy: Develop a strategy for the campaign.
• Advocacy Mapping: Mapping out where your support is with other stakeholders.
• National Advocacy:  Any successful campaign starts with your own government. 
• UN Advocacy: Understanding the UN and how it operates and Where, when and how they can influence the negotiations
• Identify governments and officials: Identify the key governments and UN officials that need to be influenced – and the relationship that the organization has with them. Develop a plan on how to expand those relationships.
• Organize meetings with key governments and officials: having Identified the key people to see organize meetings with them for the campaign. 
• UN Demystification: Understanding the relevant parts of the UN that you will be working with or trying to influence. 
• UN Training: Training on how to lobby at the United Nations