ActionAid Palestine to Conclude Training on Advocacy and Lobbying Campaigns for Women in H2 Areas of Hebron

Occupied Palestinian Territory – Hebron – ActionAid Palestine(AAP) has concluded an intensive training on advocacy and lobbying skills targeting 70 women from the Old City and the southern area of Hebron (H2). The training was conducted through ActionAid Palestine’s project “of “Valiance -Basala -Empowering women in old City of Hebron(H2)” funded by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,” (DFAT). The project aims to empower women and girls, enhance their participation in defending their rights, and support them in leading community change.

The training extended over 32 hours, delivered across four training days for each group, with 4 hours of training per day. The sessions were hosted at the Beituna Community Center and Sharek Development Center.

The program covered a range of key topics, including: the conceptual framework of advocacy and its tools; planning advocacy campaigns; identifying and selecting advocacy issues and target audiences; determining the factors that contribute to successful campaigns; analyzing partners, allies, and opponents; and formulating advocacy messages and objectives.

Participants also engaged in in-depth analysis of issues based on advocacy and lobbying criteria, as well as exercises on stakeholder analysis and understanding the roles of all relevant actors in advocacy campaigns—such as rights-holders, supporters, neutrals, competitors, and opponents.

Bashayer Shawar, Basala Project Coordinator at ActionAid Palestine, emphasized that this training is an important step in strengthening the capacity of targeted women to manage advocacy and lobbying campaigns and to use these tools to demand improved multi-sector services. She highlighted that the training lays the groundwork for advocacy efforts aimed at drawing community and governmental attention to the conditions and struggles of women in H2 areas of Hebron.

The training relied on a wide range of interactive techniques and activities, including games, group work, discussions, exercises, and role-playing all of which contributed to building practical skills and deepening participants’ understanding of advocacy mechanisms.

Participants applied the knowledge and skills they gained by designing complete advocacy campaign plans addressing major issues in the Old City and southern area of Hebron. They voted on the issues that best aligned with advocacy standards, discussed them collectively, and identified strengths and gaps. They also developed advocacy alliance maps to help determine key areas of strength and challenges in leading campaigns and mobilizing support.

The training resulted in the development of four advocacy and lobbying campaign plans addressing priority issues in the Old City and southern Hebron areas. It also strengthened participants’ confidence in their ability to lead change and enhanced their skills in issue analysis, alliance-building, planning, and communication with various stakeholders.

ActionAid Palestine affirmed that this training is part of its commitment to supporting women and girls, empowering them to take on leadership roles in their communities, and promoting gender justice aligned with its vision of fostering a more participatory and engaged society.

About ActionAid International
ActionAid International is a global federation working with more than 41 million people in over 72 of the world’s poorest countries. We strive to build a just and sustainable world where every person enjoys the right to a life of dignity, freedom, and a future free from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice, gender equality, and the eradication of poverty.

ActionAid Palestine began its work in Palestine in 2007 to strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people, affirming their right to freedom, justice, and self-determination. ActionAid Palestine implements several programs in collaboration with Palestinian communities, youth groups, and women, seeking to empower women and youth and enhance their active civic and political participation. The organization works to strengthen their understanding of rights, support collective action to address rights violations resulting from the prolonged occupation and improve their leadership capacities to exercise citizenship and hold authorities and other duty-bearers accountable.

For more information, please contact:
Riham Jafari
Communications and Advocacy Officer, ActionAid Palestine
Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org