course overview & expectations

You have the power to make change. Whether you are working within an organization, volunteering in your community, or exploring how to make a difference as an individual, this course is designed to support you in building the knowledge, confidence, and skills needed to engage in advocacy that is thoughtful, strategic, and grounded in global solidarity.

The world today is deeply interconnected. Decisions made in one place can have far-reaching impacts on people, communities, and ecosystems across the globe. Issues such as climate change, conflict, global inequality, and extreme poverty do not exist in isolation and effective solutions will require increased global cooperation. Advocacy plays a critical role in shaping the systems, policies, and public narratives that influence how these global challenges are addressed. This course explores how advocacy is a critical function of changemaking and a powerful form of public engagement: one that invites people to act on their values, raise their voices, and engage decision-makers in shaping a more just and equitable world for all.

overview of the learning journey

This course is organized into a series of modules that build on one another but can also be explored individually to sharpen your specific advocacy skills. Each module focuses on a different aspect of advocacy:

Module #1 – What is Advocacy?

Module #2 – Identifying the Problem & Creating your “Ask”

Module #3 – Mapping your Allies, Influencers & Decision-Makers

Module #4 – Tactics That Work: Tools in Your Toolbox

Module #5 – Communicating Effectively & Measuring your Advocacy’s Impact

The best way to gain confidence in advocacy is learning by doing. Throughout the course, you will encounter reflective questions, exercises, and applied activities designed to help you connect the material to your own experiences and contexts. These activities are meant to support learning, not to test or evaluate you. As you go through the modules, try to ground your engagement in real-life experiences or issues that you want to make change towards.

By the end of the course, you will be better equipped to:

Understand advocacy within the context of international cooperation and global citizenship
Apply advocacy tools and strategies in ways that align with your values and capacities
Engage in advocacy individually or within organizations
Reflect critically on power, privilege, and systems while taking action

Everyone enters advocacy work from a different place and perspective, this course is designed to be accessible for those who are new to advocacy, while still offering value and reflection for those with more experience.

conclusion

Advocacy is not reserved for experts, institutions, or those already in positions of power. It is a practice rooted in democratic participation and global solidarity. When everyday people understand how systems work and how decisions are made, they are better equipped to influence outcomes that shape lives locally and globally.

Throughout this course, you will move step by step through the core components of effective advocacy. You will learn how to define issues clearly, understand political and social context, craft strategic asks, identify decision-makers, and select tactics that generate political will. Each module builds on the last, guiding you from foundational concepts to practical application.

This course is designed to be accessible and action oriented. You do not need to be a policy expert to participate. What matters is your willingness to engage, reflect, and take informed action. As you move forward, approach this learning with curiosity and intention. Advocacy is strengthened through clarity, collaboration, and persistence. The skills you develop here are tools that can help transform values into action and action into measurable change. In the next module, we begin with the foundation: understanding what advocacy is and why it matters.