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Advocacy
is often considered a bad word in today's society - it is
linked to concepts of political lobbying, pushing a narrow
point of view or obtaining benefit for one group over all
others.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, advocacy is "The
function of an advocate; the work of advocating; pleading
for or supporting." We already have some very large
advocacy networks in this country: Citizens Advice Bureaux
and Community Law are two of the obvious ones. These
organisations assist people to navigate situations they are
faced with from time-to-time.
Whilst
our advocacy programme is a very small part of what Council
Watch does, it is nonetheless important to achieving our
overall goal of improving local democracy in New Zealand.
Council Watch primarily undertakes research and provides
education and resources to communities. There is a gap
here, however, and that is the need for advice to local
government and community leaders on creating sustainable
dialogue with one-another. Our Local Government
Advocates fill that gap.
The role
of a Local Government Advocate is not to promote a
particular agenda, point of view, or paradigm. It is
to promote dialogue between communities and local
authorities. These people advocate for open and
transparent communication and - when the scheme is fully up
and running - will be an important source of information and
networking for communities.
Our
advocacy programme is built on the base principles of our
parent organisation: transparency in all our dealings;
equity and fairness in how we treat all people and
organisations, and; integrity, honesty and credibility in
all transactions. |
