Advocacy Resource Persons: ISC Consultants Certified for Advocacy Trainings in Serbia

The Advocacy Resource Persons (ARP) team is vital component of CSAI's training program, which involves top-assessed trainers from different organizations selected through ISC/CSAI's competitive process of mapping of active training providers in Serbia. Those ARPs have been working extensively with ISC to help us better represent the needs of ordinary people and become more influential partners with business and government. ARP team of high- profile consultants have conducted more than 50 ISC trainings for over 700 civic activists and leaders in Serbia, since 2007.

Advocacy resource trainers come from a number of prominent civic organizations based in Nis, Pozega, Kragujevac, Uzice and Belgrade. They work on diverse local and national advocacy issues including political transparency, municipal accountability, women's rights, youth development and rights, and national development.

Founded by ISC, ARP team is mentored by Mr. Nader Tadros the Founder and Director of People's Advocacy.

In the week of January 18, 2010 Nader Tadros, provided an Advanced Budget Analysis and Advocacy training workshop for ARP team of trainers. Intensive four-day course on advanced budget advocacy skills and techniques was aimed at equipping the participants with solid budget analytical tools that they can use in their advocacy campaigns. This training follows two previous ones: the first training focused on grassroots advocacy skills and the second served as an introduction to budget advocacy. After less than two months after the training, participants started reporting on how they have been using the acquired budget analysis and advocacy skills.

The training used the "Country of Polarus" fictitious case study that IBP, Fundar, and the International Human Rights Internship Program have developed. The workshop methodology was based on developing and testing budget hypotheses on a housing problem in one of the states of this imaginary country prepared by the IBP training team.

Following the training, an overwhelming number of participants reflected extremely positively on the novel approach to advocacy campaigns introduced by Mr. Tadros, which opens new possibilities for approach in and support for advocacy initiatives in Serbia. All ARP trainers expressed their willingness to provide strategic and technical assistance to other NGOs that are involved in advocacy projects and emphasized that the CSAI training component will be invaluable in building their capacity to do so.

CSAI will provide assistance to the ARP team in developing tailor-made budget advocacy trainings for AIP grantees, which is a rather new concept requiring a developed set of training skills and techniques.

This particular training curriculum will be also presented to Serbian CSOs who participate in ISC Mobile Advocacy School program.