Making change happen: advocacy and citizen participation

This is the report from a meeting of 49 people engaged in advocacy and citizen participation efforts in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, North America and Europe. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together activists, researchers, trainers and other practitioners to discuss the challenges and successes of citizen-centred advocacy in different country contexts. This report aims to capture key lessons and recommendations to help donors and international NGOs refine their support strategies for training and action in participatory advocacy. The report is structured around the key themes of engagement in advocacy: when is a policy space strategic and when is it just window dressing?; issue-based struggle or struggle-based issues: linking social transformation and policy advocacy; whoÆs who in advocacy: identity, representation and legitimacy; and how to assess success: evaluation for learning.