This thematic peer-to-peer regional workshop is the second in a cycle of two workshops, with the participation of professionals of both the civil society and public institution working in the culture sector, and who share the desire and the determination to play an active role in the cultural scene while being part of advocacy initiatives for culture.

During the first workshop, it was important to establish a few facts related to advocacy and agree on the equivalent Arabic terminology to describe it and its related actions, taking into consideration the nuances between the Arabic of the Maghreb and that of the Levant (eventually the term /munāsara/ was adopted to stand for advocacy). Participants also looked into understanding the advocates – who should engage in advocacy actions: profile and motivation, etc, and were introduced to the tools and methodologies that helped them build their “business cases”.

This second workshop will delve further into explaining tools and methodologies for implementing an advocacy campaign/initiative, where much time will be dedicated to exercises and discussing business cases that participants had elaborated as part of their homework.  Participants will also have the opportunity to visit cultural centres in Tangier and exchange views and perspectives with their managers.

As it was agreed during the previous workshop, an advocacy initiative is a project unto itself and should be thought out and designed as such. A successful advocacy initiative requires a good strategy that bears on the problem that we wish to solve. It is also about building partnerships and alliances through a communication that involves negotiation, gaining public opinion, getting decision-makers on board, convincing people who are difficult to reach, confused or simply uninterested.