Gauge the Poliical Situaion:

RIGHTS AIPP AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP 198

E. Assess the condiion of your campaign machinery:

1. Determine who exactly among the members of your organization can devote time to the campaign. Determine what their skills and capacities are, and define what roles they should play in the campaign. 2. Gauge who else, outside your organization, you can draw into the campaign. Note their skills and capacities, and gauge what roles they can play in the campaign. F. Based on an assessment of campaign needs and campaigners’ capacity, determine the scope or targeted coverage of your campaign – whether it will be local munici- pal, provincial, district etc., naional, regional or internaional. G. Assess the condiion of the material resources available to you for engaging in the campaign and gauge the possibility of raising more resources.

II. BASIC COMPONENTS OF A CAMPAIGN

A. Informaion and Educaion

Information-dissemination and education work may simply mean speaking with people, whether individually or in groups, in small meetings, forums or seminars, or in big public rallies. On the other hand, it may entail the production of such materials as the following: • fact sheets; • news reports or press releases; • statements of position, position papers, manifestos, petitions, resolutions; • essays, feature stories, exposés; • magazines, pamphlets, primers, comics; • info-posters, posters, photographs, photo essays, art exhibits; • theatrical, musical or dance performances on a stage, in a village square, on the streets etc., which may or may not be interactive or participatory; • slide shows or power point presentations; • video documentaries, short films; • audio productions such as recordings of songs, dramas or commentaries; • radio or television talks; • press conferences; • etc. Be as creative as possible, using traditional as well as modern forms. The important thing is to consider what forms will be most effective with your audience, given their character, needs and tastes. Some tips for information and education work: 1. Be clear in communicating your message. First, make sure that what you want to say is clear in your own minds. If it is, then you can say it clearly to others. RIGHTS AIPP AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP 199 2. Good timing and good pacing are important. News is best released when it is still fresh. But biting commentary and in-depth analysis of an issue might be better pre- sented to the public when some awareness of this issue has already been generated. On the other hand, when an issue is no longer “hot” or has gone stale, it will be difficult for you to draw or revive public interest in this issue. 3. It is possible to achieve high impact at low cost. For example, you may want to pro- duce a video documentary that can be distributed in digital form. But this might prove to be very expensive. It might be cheaper for you to invite a television news and features team to cover your issue. Their documentary, made at minimal or even no cost to you, would likely reach a wider audience than a video documentary of your own. 4. Efforts and resources do not necessarily have to come from your organization only. Maximize the interest, goodwill, skills and talents, and resources of allies or simply con- cerned people among mass media outfits, artists, the academe, religious organizations, other types of non-governmental organizations NGOs and politicians. 5. If, however, the mainstream mass media is inaccessible to you, try to find resources for setting up your own alternative, such as a community newspaper or a community radio. Some national and overseas or international NGOs provide assistance for these.

B. Mass Mobilizaion, Mass Acion

Mass mobilization means draw- ing the participation of large numbers of people in an action for or against a policy, program, project, act or activity. 1. The action may constitute a demon- stration of unity. It is called a mass action simply because people are participating in it en masse. Such a demonstration can be used in: • picketing the session of a gov- ernment body, or the meeting of the officers or stockholders of a corporation; • lobbying the government body, or the officers or stockholders of a corporation to take a desired measure or counter-measure; • rallying the public to support or adopt your cause; • simply expressing protest massively. 2. Some mass actions are, however, not just demonstrations but actual measures taken by communities – for example: • To defend their land, communities may stand in large numbers across an access road, bridge, pier or port, serving as a human barricade against the entry of people and equip- ment sent to destroy the land.