Hello.  I’m Stephanie Vance, also known as the “Advocacy Guru”, and I am one of your “Create Your Activism Plan” advanced skills teachers for Online Activism Institute for Women in the Middle East. 

You have an opportunity to take my class online – in six different parts – complete with homework and exercises to further refine and develop the activism plan you began as part of the core “Create Your Activism Plan” Course. Let me tell you about myself and advanced activism planning course I hope you take.

Through more than 20 years of working for members of Congress and as a lobbyist in Washington, DC, I learned a thing or two about how to effectively – and ineffectively – influence government.  Now I work with citizens, NGOs and business interests that want to influence public policy through effective advocacy techniques.  Some of my clients include the Humane Society of the United States and the American Library Association. I come to this work with a firmly held belief that societies are effective ONLY if citizens are active in sharing their views and speaking out about what they believe in.  Whether you’re seeking changes in your community, across your country or internationally, your passionate desire to make a difference, when coupled with the activism training skills in this course, can and WILL move mountains.
In my on-line class you will learn more about how to achieve these goals by delving deeper in to the activism plan strategies discussed in the core curriculum.  I’ll review the plans you’ve developed and, along with knowledgeable co-mentors for your area, will offer ideas for improvement.  In addition, we’ll have an opportunity to discuss and address any problems or concerns that relate to your unique situation.  One person, for example, may have a vision that does not easily translate in to achievable goals, while another might have difficulty in developing a clear and concise message.  We’ll work directly and personally together to help you resolve these issues.
Some of the topics to be covered in the course include:
  • Refining and clarifying your goals and objectives
  • Assessing your very specific civic environment, not just in broad terms such as freedom of association and expression, but looking at the details of the individual decision-makers that make up your audience
  • Crafting messages that will resonate with those that can help you make a difference – and managing the obstacles that will undoubtedly arise.  For example, we’ll look at options for managing critics as well as how to craft truly effective, targeted messages
  • Implementing your activism plan over the course of a few months or several years, including how to build and maintain momentum

I hope through this program to help you start bringing to life all the wonderful ideas you’ve put down on paper as part of your activism plan.  I’ve helped organizations around the United States and in other parts of the world achieve some of their most important advocacy goals, and I hope to do the same for you.
I also hope, frankly, to learn from you – it won’t surprise you to know that most Americans don’t know as much as they should about the Middle East!  I’d like to understand more of your issues, your culture and your unique concerns as we embark on this activism journey together.

I am pleased to be a part of the program and I look forward to working with you.

Again, I am Stephanie Vance. Thank you for watching and I hope you will take my class.