LAUNCH OF ASSOCIATION OF POLITICAL ADVOCACY EDUCATION (APAE)

Preamble

Today fewer citizens are voting and fewer citizens feel that they can influence public policy. One way to reverse this trend would be for schools to offer courses on the pragmatics of political advocacy. One person can make a difference if they know what they are doing.

Although the importance of public policy has long been recognized- education in policy analysis, policy development and the application of policy must be addressed. There is a need for organizations to develop policy-advocacy skills in areas such as communicating with policymakers, interpreting laws, regulations or policies. Few students are prepared as public policy advocates and training in policy and media advocacy remains minimal. The advocacy gap needs to be addressed with courses specifically designed to teach policy implementation, action and communication skills. In addition, there is a need to draw upon experienced practitioners in policy-making and advocacy to be part of this educational training. Indeed, political advocacy training is needed to provide future leaders with policy making knowledge and skills in generating public support, policy maker communications and policy campaign operations that can lead to improved public policies for the benefit of society as a whole.

Definition of Political Advocacy

At its core, Political Advocacy is the exercise of power by citizens in the face of governmental authorities. Political Advocacy is a tool for real participation by citizens in decision-making by government and other bodies.

Political Advocacy may further be defined as:

• The act of giving support to a policy and persuading those with power to act in support of the policy at local, national and international levels.
• Gaining and exercising power to influence a political action.
• A set of organized actions aimed at influencing public policies, social attitudes and socio-political process that enable and empower the marginalized to speak for themselves.
• Organized efforts by citizens to influence the formulation and implementation of public policies and programs by persuading and influencing state authorities, international financial institutions, and other powerful actors.

Political Advocacy consists of both strategy and action to achieve an objective. The objective of political advocacy is the engagement of stakeholders in the decisions affecting them. The actions to achieve the objective typically occur over time, and incrementally

Mission of Association

The mission of the Association of Political Advocacy Education (APAE) is to foster the development and expansion of education for and about Public Policy Advocacy as a clearly defined profession. The mission will be carried out through policies and programs established to support those professionals responsible for political advocacy education and training.

The Purposes of the Association are to:

• foster the growth and development of  Political Advocacy Education;
• enhance political advocacy education and advance political advocacy knowledge and practice;
• encourage and support the professional development of Political Advocacy educators and facilitators;
• encourage understanding of and support for Political Advocacy Education;
• maintain an efficient and effective Political Advocacy Education Association.

Membership Categories

Classification of membership in APAE shall be available in the following categories:

1. Professional membership will be available to instructors, supervisors or administrators, teacher educators, training directors, business persons, et al., who have as their responsibility the development, operation, instruction, or administration of classes or programs in advocacy education within the public or private sector. Professional membership will carry full privileges and provide opportunity to participate in all activities and services of the APAE.
2. Executive membership will be available to those persons eligible for professional membership who, in addition to enjoying privileges of professional membership, wish to receive additional benefits such as research reports, special information on issues related to national and EU policies and activities, special reports that may not be of general interest to all members, special listing in the membership roster, and so forth.
3. Institutional membership will be available to businesses, associations, universities, education agencies, trade unions, and other organizations supporting the mission and objectives of the association. An organization or agency joining as an institutional member may designate one representative for executive membership in the association with all privileges of that membership classification.
4. Student membership will be available to individuals who are enrolled in a college or university primarily for the purpose of preparing for a professional position in political advocacy education. Student members shall not have the privilege of voting on association matters.
5. Loyalty membership will be available to former advocacy educators not currently active in the discipline - retirees, administrators, former teachers who have joined industry, etc. Said members shall receive reduced services to be determined by Board and staff, and shall be non-voting.

Dues

The dues for each classification of membership per year shall be determined by the Board of Directors of the Association.