🍃 Workshop Sessions

Session 1: Introduction to global policy advocacy

Time zone 1: Wednesday, 7 August (7:00 - 8:30 UTC)

Time zone 2: Thursday, 8 August (15:00 - 16:30 UTC)

Objective: This session will introduce discussions for understanding policy advocacy. The aim is to enable participants to understand what international advocacy is and what its limits are. By the end of the session participants will have a better understanding of why policy advocacy is undertaken, where it has succeeded and when it has failed. 

Session plan:

The session will aim to cover questions such as:

Session exercise:

During the session, participants will be split into breakout groups. Groups will be pre-assigned by the organising team.

Each group will be invited to identify an issue related to digital rights that can leverage global advocacy into local discussions, and asked to think about how to approach global policy advocacy in relation to that issue by responding to a series of questions.

Timezone 1:

TZ1|EN: Group1 Exercise

TZ1|EN: Group2 Exercise

TZ1|EN: Group3 Exercise

Timezone 2 

TZ2|EN: Group 1 Exercise

TZ2|EN: Group 2 Exercise

TZ2|ESP: Group 3 Exercise

TZ2|ESP: Group 4 Exercise

*Reading materials and tables are hyperlinked, please click the text to access

Reading Materials:

Suggested Readings 

  1. The Advocates for Human Rights, Advocacy in Human Rights (Chapter 6)

  2. APC, The APC ICT Policy Handbook (Second Edition)

  3. Eóin Young & Lisa Quinn, Making Research Evidence Matter: A Guide to Policy Advocacy in Transition Countries 
  4. APC, Frequently asked questions about multi-stakeholder partnerships in ICTs for development: A guide for national ICT policy animators
  5. Enrico Calandro, Alison N. Gillwald, & Nicolo Zingales, Multistakeholderism and Consensus Based Decision Making

Additional Readings 

  1. Johanna Eve Simeant, Interpreting the Rise of International “Advocacy”

  2. Shannon O'Connell, Policy Development and Policy Advocacy 

  3. Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, Introduction to Advocacy
  4. APC, Inside the Information Society The what and why of multistakeholder participation 
  5. APC, Inside the Information Society: Multistakeholder participation, a work in progress
  6. Research ICT Africa, Mapping Multistakeholderism in Internet Governance: Implications for Africa

    Representations:

    1. Advocacy Levels with Examples

    2. Tips on advocacy

    3. Multi Stakeholder Model
    4. Benefits and Challenges of Multistakeholderism
    5. Multistakeholderism and the deliberative process

    📌 Presentation Slide:

     

     

    Session 2: Legal framework for global advocacy

    Time zone 1: Wednesday, 7 August (9:30 - 11:00 UTC)

    Time zone 2: Thursday, 8 August (17:30 - 19:00 UTC)

    Objective: This session will introduce participants to key documents that help set out the standards for digital rights within the international human rights framework. This framework forms the basis of all forms of international policy advocacy. Through this session, participants will be equipped with knowledge on the types of instruments, treaties and standards that are relevant for advocating for digital rights, the enforceability mechanisms that underpin these instruments and the importance of international human rights law in advocating for digital rights at the national, regional and global levels.

    Session plan:

    The session will highlight the international human rights framework and its related enforceability mechanisms, and showcase the relevance and utility of this framework for local advocacy, through interactive discussion and practical exercises designed for participants. 

    Pre-preparation (to be completed before 7 August 2024):

    Participants are requested to watch the following video recording ahead of the session:

    Slide deck of presentation by Sheetal Kumar

    Session exercise:

    During the session, participants will be split into breakout groups. Groups will be pre-assigned by the organising team based on regional background of participants.

    Each group will be assigned a case from the CYRILLA database relevant to your region and respond to the following three questions:

    Timezone 1:

    Exercise Sheets 

    Timezone 2:

    Exercise Sheets 

    *Reading materials and tables are hyperlinked, please click the text to access

    Reading Materials:

    Suggested Readings 

    1. Arturo J. Carrillo, Primer on Researching International Law to Advance Digital Rights
    2. Global Information Society Watch, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Internet
    3. Article 19, Freedom of expression and ICTs: Overview of international standards

    Additional Readings 

    1. APC, APC Internet Rights Charter
    2. International Telecommunication Union, ICTs in Support of Human Rights, Democracy and Good Governance
    3. Global Network Initiative, Digital Freedoms in International Law: Practical Steps to protect Human Rights Online
    4. Towards an international advocacy strategy for economic, social and cultural rights and the internet

    Representations:

    1. Human Rights Instruments 
    2. UDHR
    3. Reporting Cycle under Human Rights Treaties 
    4. The Impact of the Internet on Human Rights in Africa 
    5. The International State of Digital Rights, a Conversation with the UN Special Rapporteur 
    6. Introduction to Human Rights Treaties
    7. Human Rights Treaty System
    8. State Party Reporting Obligations under International Human Rights Treaties
    9. UNHRC Members who have sponsored or co-sponsored Resolutions on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet

    📌 Presentation Slide:

    Session 3: UN & other spaces for digital rights advocacy

    Time zone 1: Friday, 9 August (7:00 - 8:30 UTC)

    Time zone 2: Monday, 12 August (15:00 - 16:30 UTC)

    Objective: This session will provide an overview of the different spaces available in the UN ecosystem and outside, including  internet governance spaces that can be leveraged for digital rights advocacy. Understanding these spaces will help  participants identify the relevant spaces and forums they must approach to advocate for different issues related to digital rights. Through looking at examples of important standards these spaces have created or instances of success, participants will be aided in modelling their advocacy. Limitations or failures of these spaces will help us understand areas that need more work.

    Session plan:

    Participants will be introduced to various global spaces for digital rights advocacy through case studies that examine relevancy of spaces to critical digital rights issues in focus. 

    The session will provide participants an opportunity to share their findings from the pre-preparation exercise detailed below, which will be followed by a presentation and interactive discussion.

    Pre-preparation (to be completed and submitted to organisers on or before 8 August 2024):

    Participants are requested to self-select one case study based on the issue that's most relevant to their work and context, and answer the following questions in relation to the case study:

    Participants are requested to download the self-selected case study, and submit the completed exercise in docx or pdf form by email. 

    Case Studies:

    Case Study 1: Freedom of expression online

    Case Study 2: Digital Inclusion

    Case Study 3: Gender and sexual rights online

    Case Study 4: Environment and technology

    *Reading materials and tables are hyperlinked, please click the text to access

    Reading Materials:

    Suggested Readings 

    1. Subscribing to UN document updates
    2. Regional UN groups of countries
    3. Chart of the UN system
    4. Open Society Institute, UN Treaty Committees
    5. International Service for Human Rights, A Simple Guide to the UN Treaty Bodies
    6. Deborah Brown & Sheetal Kumar, A guide to help human rights defenders navigate the Universal Periodic Review
    7. Internet Governance Forum, Evolution of the Internet Governance Ecosystem and Role of the IGF
    8. United Nations, High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation
    9. Joy Liddicoat and Avri Doria, Human rights and Internet protocols: Comparing processes and principle

    Additional Readings 

    1. UN Women, What is International Human Rights Advocacy?
    2. ISHR Academy, Risks in Engaging with the UN
    3. Sheetal Kumar and Deborah Brown, UN First Committee Process on Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace: An Explainer
    4. Lisa Cornish, Engaging private sector within the UN framework: What are the challenges?
    5. DigWatch, Overview of the IGF
    6.  

    Representations:

    1. Mapping International ICT Decision Making
    2. United Nations System: Explainer 
    3. Navigating the UN 
    4. UN Spaces for Advocacy
    5. Map of UNHRC Spaces 
    6. Human Rights Architecture
    7. Human Rights Mechanism
    8. UN Human Rights Organizational Chart
    9. IGF Structure
    10. Internet Governance Ecosystem
    11. Internet Ecosystem: Global Perspective
    12. Internet Governance Timeline

    📌 Presentation Slide:

    Session 4: Strategies for effective engagement

    Time zone 1: Friday, 9 August (9:30 - 11:00 UTC)

    Time zone 2: Monday, 12 August (17:30 - 19:00 UTC)

    Objective: This session will tie up all the discussions in the previous days and move towards developing key strategies to engage in advocacy. In this session, the participants will be looking at elements involved in developing responsive strategies for engaging in effective international advocacy. The session will also discuss the importance of building networks, engaging effectively with relevant actors, and developing the necessary resources, including necessary research and documentation.

    Session plan:

    The session will aim to respond to questions such as:

    *Reading materials and tables are hyperlinked, please click the text to access

    Reading Materials:

    Suggested Readings 

    1. APC, Advocacy Strategy and Approaches: Overview
    2. World Neighbors, A New Weave of Power, People & Politics: The Action Guide for Advocacy and Citizen Participation, Mapping Advocacy Strategies

    Additional Readings 

    1. ISHR Academy, Advocacy Roadmap
    2. UNICEF, Advocacy Toolkit: Developing an Advocacy Strategy
    3. BOND, The How and Why of Advocacy

    Representations:

    1. Advocacy Strategies 
    2. A Strategic Approach to Advocacy 
    3. List of Regional and International Groups Dealing with Advocacy 
    4. Incident Reporting Template by BHRRC

    📌 Presentation Slide:

    Session 5 & 6: Practicum

    Time zone 1: Tuesday, 13 August (7:00 - 8:30 UTC) & (9:30 - 11:00 UTC)

    Time zone 2: Wednesday, 14 August (15:00 - 16:30 UTC) & (17:30 - 19:00 UTC)

    Objective: The objective of these sessions is to give participants an opportunity to put into practice the learnings of the previous sessions and develop an effective global policy advocacy strategy. Participants will also be able to learn the use of the CYRILLA database, and to understand how they can leverage a database containing laws, case laws, and analyses related to digital rights for policy advocacy.

    Session plan:

    The sessions will comprise the following activities:

    1. Participants will be split into breakout groups and given an exercise that requires them to:

    2. Each breakout group will be asked to present their strategy in plenary, followed by a discussion around the various approaches, resources and tools that can be used in pursuing global policy advocacy. 

    Exercise Sheets:

    Time Zone 1

    Time Zone 2