Making change happen: advocacy and citizen participation

The overview to this special issue of PLA Notes describes a workshop in Washington, USA in November 2001 whose goal was to reclaim advocacy and citizen participation as deeper, longer-term processes of organising, consciousness raising, political empowerment and social transformation. Workshop participants shared case studies, strategies, methods and personal experiences and this issue of PLA Notes presents this shared learning. The articles are also enriched by excerpts from A New Weave of Power, People and Politics: The Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation which was written by two of the workshop facilitators. The overview gives a synopsis of the papers that make up this issue of PLA Notes and concludes with ôlessons learnedö and ways to move forward. There is a comprehensive list of recommended reading given at the end.