How human rights organizations are using tactics to create change

Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) in India (also known as Save the Childhood Foundation), is working to create a society where all children are free from exploitation and receive quality education. BBA translated New Tactics materials into Hindi and distributed them at training workshops for leaders, community stakeholders and policy makers, bringing legitimacy and awareness to the issue of child trafficking. As a result, the BBA was able to influence policy makers to include trafficking in current labor legislation, build a large network of anti-trafficking advocates, and bring the issue of child labor to the forefront of public awareness.

When Amnesty International (AI) Mongolia translated and began using New Tactics in Human Rights: A Resource for Practitioners, they became an important conduit for inspiring tactical innovation for NGOs in Mongolia. They held trainings, and dispersed the book to key human rights actors in the area. Most notably, AI Mongolia urged the National Federation of the Blind to use New Tactics to change their current advocacy tactic of using organized hunger strikes. As a result, the National Federation of the Blind organized a crawl demonstration, drawing considerably more public attention for the rights of individuals with disabilities than did their previous tactic.

Citizens Against Corruption (CAC) in Kyrgyzstan used a New Tactics notebook about human rights improvements in Northern Ireland, to learn new methods for monitoring prisons to try to prevent forced confessions and torture. Another notebook, from South Africa, offered guidance on tracking local government budgets in ways that could improve the socioeconomic conditions of residents. CAC has translated New Tactics publications into both Russian and Kyrgyz, to get information about new approaches to the widest number of people and used New Tactics materials to create seminars and workshops about women’s issues, the impact of mining on communities, and the legal rights of victims of injustice.

Testimonials from our online community of human rights defenders

“The dialogue on fundraising for human rights allowed me to share ideas and discuss with fellow practitioners about organizational policies on gift acceptance. We have been discussing within my organization about criteria for gift acceptance, and the New Tactics dialogue was a useful reminder that all charities should have such written policies, and be open about their gift acceptance criteria. I am looking forward to working more on the definition of such a public policy for my own organization.”

“I was impressed to see the quality of the discussion and readiness with which participants seized the opportunity to try to share experiences and ideas. I saw and heard a lot of things I already knew but definitely saw some new ideas and approaches I wasn’t aware of and got some new ideas of my own along the way.”

“I think the New Tactics dialogue was very informative and helpful. The expertise present and the strategies shared, made it educational. I had the opportunity to share, and most importantly, learn from others. As a result of my participation as a content contributor/resource practitioner, I have connected with another member to develop an ethical citizen media project to be implemented worldwide. I am looking forward to future, starting with Using Technology to Promote Transparency.”

Testimonial: Sam Gregory of WITNESS from New Tactics in Human Rights on Vimeo.

Testimonial: Grace and Yvonne WITNESS from New Tactics in Human Rights on Vimeo.

Testimonial: Priscila Neri of WITNESS from New Tactics in Human Rights on Vimeo.

For these and other testimonials from the online community, visit our community voice conversation where defenders are sharing their testimonials. Share yours!

How organizations are benefiting from our training and methodology

Middle East and North Africa

• “This training has given the staff new lenses. It helped the staff look at things from a different angle / perspective and to take all possible useful details that we usually tend to overlook into consideration.” - Lebanese Workshop Participant
• “The methodology itself and the philosophy behind it presented us with a new vision and motivation for work. We now have a clearer vision in presenting the issues we work on and where we want to get to in our goals and objectives.” - Jordanian Workshop Participant
• “I will use the tools learned in this workshop to plan better for issues we are working on and to draw an action plan ahead which facilitates a clearer vision. “ - Egyptian Workshop Participant
• “Strategic planning is very important to solve the problem related to your issue. It enables us to see the issue clearly and be effective in achieving our goals and saving time and efforts” - Tunisian Workshop Participant

Latin America

• “This for me was very important and for my organization. It’s not something that is so difficult to learn, it can be done. Institutions come trying to teach what we don’t understand and can’t apply. This is easy to apply in our communities.” - Guatemalan Workshop Participant

Asia

• “I came here not feeling very confident about my capacity and ability as a human rights defender. This workshop nourished me by: allowing me to meet so many wonderful people; allowing me to learn from such a diverse range of experiences; and making me feel that I can contribute meaningfully to the world.” - Asia Regional Training Workshop Participant
• “It is like a door open for us to get in and do our work so we did it and I understand that we can use it in our work. I felt like we have gained new ideas and vision.” - Thailand Workshop Participant
• “The [training] gave us a lot. On a personal note, we got this information on strategy and tactics, not something new but I didn’t have a detailed vision. That’s needed by everyone. All the people here – we need to convey the information to those we work with to develop further plans. Now we can be more clear.” - East Asian Workshop Participant

Africa

• “We have been using tactics but often don't reflect on how we made the progress we have made. After this workshop we will reflect more on HOW we work. “ - Liberia Training Workshop Participant
• “It’s incredible everything I learned here, not just new ideas but because we offer opportunities for solutions to correct such problems.” - Senegalese Workshop Participant