Find out how human rights organizations are using tactics to create change
Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) in India (also known as Save the Childhood Foundation), is working to create a society where all children are free from exploitation and receive quality education. BBA translated New Tactics materials into Hindi and distributed them at training workshops for leaders, community stakeholders and policy makers, bringing legitimacy and awareness to the issue of child trafficking. As a result, the BBA was able to influence policy makers to include trafficking in current labor legislation, build a large network of anti-trafficking advocates, and bring the issue of child labor to the forefront of public awareness.
When Amnesty International (AI) Mongolia translated and began using New Tactics in Human Rights: A Resource for Practitioners, they became an important conduit for inspiring tactical innovation for NGOs in Mongolia. They held trainings, and dispersed the book to key human rights actors in the area. Most notably, AI Mongolia urged the National Federation of the Blind to use New Tactics to change their current advocacy tactic of using organized hunger strikes. As a result, the National Federation of the Blind organized a crawl demonstration, drawing considerably more public attention for the rights of individuals with disabilities than did their previous tactic.
Citizens Against Corruption (CAC) in Kyrgyzstan used a New Tactics notebook about human rights improvements in Northern Ireland, to learn new methods for monitoring prisons to try to prevent forced confessions and torture. Another notebook, from South Africa, offered guidance on tracking local government budgets in ways that could improve the socioeconomic conditions of residents. CAC has translated New Tactics publications into both Russian and Kyrgyz, to get information about new approaches to the widest number of people and used New Tactics materials to create seminars and workshops about women’s issues, the impact of mining on communities, and the legal rights of victims of injustice.
Read what the online conversation participants have to say
“The dialogue on fundraising for human rights allowed me to share ideas and discuss with fellow practitioners about organizational policies on gift acceptance. We have been discussing within my organization about criteria for gift acceptance, and the New Tactics dialogue was a useful reminder that all charities should have such written policies, and be open about their gift acceptance criteria. I am looking forward to working more on the definition of such a public policy for my own organization.”
“I was impressed to see the quality of the discussion and readiness with which participants seized the opportunity to try to share experiences and ideas. I saw and heard a lot of things I already knew but definitely saw some new ideas and approaches I wasn’t aware of and got some new ideas of my own along the way.”
“I think the New Tactics dialogue was very informative and helpful. The expertise present and the strategies shared, made it educational. I had the opportunity to share, and most importantly, learn from others. As a result of my participation as a content contributor/resource practitioner, I have connected with another member to develop an ethical citizen media project to be implemented worldwide. I am looking forward to future, starting with Using Technology to Promote Transparency.”
