EWL delivers training to NGOs from Western Balkans, Turkey and EU on lobbying for women’s rights
[Istanbul, 11 November 2012] On 11 November, EWL Policy Officer and Project Coordinator Pierrette Pape gave a training session about lobbying and advocacy in the framework of the first Freja Academy, inaugurated in Istanbul in the framework of the 2012 Freja Forum.
Freja Forum is a platform for networking and co-operation within the non-profit sector for the Western Balkans, Turkey and the EU. The second weekend in November every year, the event Freja Forum takes place in the Western Balkans to discuss issues of equality, democracy and development for the non-profit sector and civil society.
In 2012, Freja Forum was organised on 09-11 November 2012 by the Turkish organisiation KAGIDER, member of the European Women’s Lobby. The question of equal opportunities, democracy and social innovations were discussed, including a lot of sessions about women’s rights. Through three days of seminars, workshops and informal meetings, participants from Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey and Albania shared knowledge, experience and strategies, with the support of the Swedish Union of Tenants region Aros-Gavle which leads the work of the network of organisations preparing the Forum.
The Freja Academy is a unique project aiming at promoting the NGOs to strengthen their role and work to be an important actor in the civil society, based on values of democracy and equal opportunities. One of the tasks of the Freja Academy is to continuously educate and develop NGO members to increase the knowledge in different areas which will assure a strong and sustainable work for the future. At the end of high quality training sessions, participants to the first Freja Academy received certificate acknowledging their participation to the academy.
The aim of EWL session on advocacy and lobbying was to share EWL’s experience of lobbying and advocacy, based on 20 years of work at European level. Pierrette Pape gave tools to NGOs to develop strong lobbying strategies and identify their goals and tools, in order to achieve concrete outcomes and change. She used as examples some of EWL’s current campaigns, including the EWL campaign ‘Together for a Europe free from prostitution’. The session was organised in an interactive way, which allowed participants to actively exchange and practice.
The 2013 Freja Academy Forum will take place in Brussels in November, so watch out for more information on the Freja Forum website!
