"A" FOR ADVOCACY

The meaning of Advocacy varies greatly across Europe. These diverse interpretations can be explained in part by the various cultural, political, social, economic and legal contexts that make up Europe. Yet, there is some common meaning and vocabulary to define the scope of activities which are undertaken and supported in the name of Advocacy.

Practitioners translate Advocacy into a wide and varied set of activities from making their voices heard and having their views taken into account, to triggering and instigating policy change. Certain terms such as ‘Policy Work’ can be broadly interpreted as any activities aimed to influence policy implementation and change, although its use and scope is varied.

The selection of the references below illustrates the contrasts and commonalities in the ways advocacy is defined and approached by European interest groups:

• Influencing the debate
• Stimulating the public debate
• Raising awareness
• Fostering democratic processes by enriching the debate
• Influencing policy makers and government and regulators to ensure our views and those of our researchers are taken into account
• Making voices heard in line with our mission and objectives
• Convincing the government that an issue merits attention
• Cogently conveying an idea or a position
• Acting in a political landscape, and forming and sharing opinions
• Trying to shift behaviours, attitudes and policies
• Influencing public policies and strategies which can help the development of a certain area
• Influencing public policy change
• Triggering change within a certain context
• Encouraging both policy and legislative change at regional, national and European level
• Following policy making at regional, national and European Union level and trying to shape public policy by proactively contributing to the political debate
• Influencing the opinion or action of others on matters of public concern.