I came across this definition of an advocate on the Facebook wall of Dr. Antonio Dans. It’s a pretty good description. I think I will expound on this in a future post.
ADVOCACY is (according to wikipedia) – “an organized collection of people who seek to influence political decisions and policy, without seeking election to public office… it is a network of interconnected organisations and projects which seek to benefit people who are in difficulty.”
But what are advocates?
1. Advocates have no political ambition (by definition) – they work at the front lines;
2. They have no power (but they have FB);
3. They do not trade values in exchange for favors;
4. They take sides on issues – not the people behind them;
5. They argue to uncover the truth – not to win the argument;
6. They aren’t paid, but they’re able to dream;
7. They don’t get any credit… but they have endless opportunities to photobomb policy-makers.Advocates need policy-makers to get things done.
But policymakers need advocates to dream.
(Reposted with permission)