17 distinguished professionals from the non-governmental sector participated in the fifth training related to the Leadership Training Programme under the We Care Project which aims at improving the health of mothers and children in Romani communities.
The idea behind these trainings is to develop expertise in civil society so that citizens may show advocacy in the area of proper child care.
Additionally, the organisations being trained are given the chance to develop certain initiatives in the form of advocacy projects intended to solve particular problems in the community they work with.
Every module of the three-day training was focused on presenting practical pieces of advice concerning the implementation of various aspects of advocacy and building the confidence needed to transmit campaign messages. With the help of the guidelines provided by Jonathan Ellis – an international advocacy consultant and lecturer – the participants had the chance to develop and test their message orally and in writing, to exercise engaging like-minded peers and partners with the cause they work for, as well as to handle opposition and uncomfortable questions.
The participants were also presented with the first ever in the country piece of research focused on early childhood development in the Romani community carried out by the Open Society Institute – Sofia.
The purpose of the following advocacy training was to prepare the participating organisations for the conduct of the local initiatives to be launched in October. In parallel to the implementation thereof, the organisations will proceed with their training under the project.