Advocacy

Advocacy is the action of delivering an argument to gain commitment from political and social leaders and to prepare a society for a particular issue (DE JONG 2003). Advocacy involves the selection and organisation of information to create a convincing argument, and its delivery through various interpersonal and media channels (e.g. public speaking, project visits, petitions, engaging celebrities, radio and newspaper). Influencing and involving important leaders is one of the essentials of advocacy, because political support together with support from community leaders and religious leaders can give a water-related project or campaign a powerful boost (SCHAAP & VAN STEENBERGEN 2001).