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Taking a ‘Futures’ perspective – This focus gets limited attention in the field of advocacy which often has a more immediate policy/issue focus. Cross-sectoral networking can draw from a broad range of thinking & experience, enable access to a broad constituency in devising & pursuing agendas & empower the civil society voice. New ways of advocating – Based on promoting values on issues, creating spaces for deliberation, advocating for public support, and tracing out the practical implications of these values. Agreed value base - Gives identity, establishes basis for collaboration, and shapes shared agendas.
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The challenge in the present context to innovate & reinvent agendas & process for advancing change. Moment of crisis resulting in loss of trust in dominant institutions, rapid change in public institutions – opportunity to put forward alternatives to the dominant model. Pressures on civil society & lack of impact on current situation – interest in exploring new ways of mobilizing, working & organising.
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Challenge to build a shared perspective on priorities & how best to advance a shared value base in context of austerity & diverse interests. Civil society silos are hard to break down - civil society, under pressure, returns to these silos & focuses on the struggle to survive & lack of experience in brokering the type of relationships required. Limited funding, limited investment of resources from civil society & traditions of paid activism.
Moment of crisis resulting in political unresponsiveness, political & public hostility to civil society, media disinterest in alternatives – barriers to bringing forward alternatives and securing public debate on them. Current difficulties for civil society lack of resources, limited adaptation to new circumstances & limited space to re-imagine our agendas, strategies and structures. Difficulty in promoting a futures perspective - dominance of day-to-day struggles in relation to outcomes of austerity policies.
Workshop B – Claiming Our Future