What is Advocacy?

Advocacy is a major component of our work at Youth Advocate Program International. An “advocate”, simply defined, speaks or writes on behalf of an individual or a cause, defending or maintaining a position on an issue. At YAP International, we do this through various means, directly (through our various programs) and indirectly (by encouraging others to become their own best advocates).

Advocacy is essential for:

•   achieving policy influence
•   developing a central set of values
•   collaborating to share information
•   improving effectiveness and impact
•   generating better political strategies
•   moving beyond single NGOs to networks
•   strengthening democratization and civil society
•   framing issues to create clarity and attract attention

Some of the ways in which we advocate:

•   writing/distributing our books on nine child victimization and exploitation issue areas
•   participating on numerous committees and coalitions to shape strategy planning
•   developing and implementing national and international awareness campaigns
•   presenting lectures and seminars to groups and associations on child issues
•   consulting with agencies and organization on child rights and welfare issues
•   building networks of partners and sharing materials and resources
•   promoting child issues and lobbying internationally

Our Advocacy Issue Areas:

For issue specific information on our advocacy efforts, click any of the issue areas listed below. These issue specific advocacy pages will provide you our perspective on these issues, list our more recent advocacy activities in each area, and link you to our related publications and reports.

If you would like to view a brief summary of our overall advocacy and education activities since 1996, refer to: About YAP International History.