June 28, 2021
Strategic planning at IPOPI’s Asian Advocacy Workshop
During the 17th and 18th April, 2021, IPOPI’s National Member Organisations (NMOs) from Asia and neighbouring regions took part in IPOPI’s regional Advocacy Workshop, with the aim of increasing participants knowledge on strategic planning on advocacy and communication. The workshop welcomed participation from 9 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam) and allowed for an interesting exchange of experiences from countries with both similar and different national challenges and opportunities.
Using the metaphor of advocacy work being like preparation for a marathon, the patient representatives were encouraged to consider advocacy campaigning as a long-term effort, with both short- and long-term objectives guiding the work. Organising both long-term and short-term allows for more successful advocacy efforts with milestones reached along the way to keep motivated. Not only did the participants identify national and regional priorities, they also contributed with great action points to counter the challenges they face, and communication strategies to successfully disseminate their work to their target audiences.
The meeting ended with an amusing role play session where the two groups were challenged to a meeting with policy makers (IPOPI reps), and truly put their advocacy skills into action.
Supporting NMOs to become key players in national advocacy efforts is one of IPOPI’s priorities. We truly enjoyed hosting this workshop and look forward to continuing these efforts in Asia and in other regions.
Read full meeting report.
This meeting was supported by an unrestricted grant from SOBI.
