Reflections on campaigning across the globe
Leave a CommentReflections on campaigning across the globe
By Jonathan Ellis
I am just back from Rome where I was facilitating a workshop for a global campaign, and this experience prompted me to reflect on the reality of trying to campaign across the globe.
It was so good both to be back in the eternal city and to have the chance to spend time with campaigners from different regions across the world. I continue to be excited by what is possible to be achieved online, but you can’t beat being in the same room with people and discussing campaigning with them!
My first takeaway is the somewhat obvious, but not always followed point, that you should play to your strengths. The organisation that I was working with had a particular strength in the extent and reach of its global network, but it was not, for example, an economic think tank or strategic political consultancy. In campaigning you do need to play to your strengths, but also recognise where you have weaknesses and reach out to develop partnerships with others with whom you can build real campaigning synergy.
The next takeaway, and I wonder whether it is true both for global campaigns but also regional and national campaigns, is the sheer beauty of having shared moments when you come together, but also encouraging individual action. So, in the context of a global campaign, there could be moments across the globe where people come together in a sense of solidarity, which can have a real power, but there should also be opportunities for regional and national campaigns to have a degree of flexibility to do things that are motivating and pertinent in the local area. And then exploring how the energy from these two types of activities can feed into each other.
In our discussions, I was struck once again at the sheer power of endeavouring to connect the reality of human lived experience with those people in positions of power – confronting them with the impact on real people of their decisions. It is powerful to do this at a local level, but it can also be so energising to do it at national level to build momentum and support, and then to look to work with those in power to communicate that experience to wider regional and global audiences.
And a final takeaway, building on the last point, is how important it can be to build country champions in a global campaign. I remember years ago working for Oxfam being part of the global control arms campaign, and how often we would refer to the international campaign to ban landmines and the pivotal role that had been played by the Canadian government. As campaigners we don’t always think like this, and sometimes with good reason, but it can be incredibly powerful in seeking to build momentum to gain the active engage support of a national government to push your campaign forward at a regional and global level.
So, if you do have a good fortune to be involved or to have been involved in a global campaign, I would love to know whether you think these reflections are helpful? Are you playing to your strengths? Do you have shared moments and encourage individual action? Are you exposing people in positions of power to the reality of lived experience? And are there any countries who could potentially be champions for your issue?
I’d love to know what you think, but also what your key reflections are on the reality of campaigning at a global level.
To find out more about Jonathan’s work, do visit his website: https://jonathanelliscampaigns.com