Created: March 2017
Last Updated: April 2020
This learning experience is part of a playlist — two or more learning experiences focused on specific areas of the digital world. You can find this playlist, Creating the Change You Want, here. This particular learning experience is the sixth in a sequence of six. Learning experiences in a playlist build off of each other, but they were designed so that they can also be completed on their own!
| Estimated time: | 35 minutes
|
| Group or individual activity: | Individual |
| Ages: | 13-18 years old |
| Grades: | Grades 8-12 |
| Online / offline elements: | This learning experience contains an offline activity and challenge. |
| Areas: | Main area: Civic and Political Engagement Additional areas: Content Production, Identity Exploration and Formation, Information Quality, Media (Literacy), Positive / Respectful Behavior |
| License: | This learning experience has been created by Youth and Media and is licensed under a Creative Commons AttributionShareAlike 4.0 International license. For more information, please visit http://dcrp.berkman.harvard.edu/about |
Learning Goal
Learn how to develop an initial plan for our own advocacy campaign.
Materials
[Optional] Computer or mobile device with Internet access
[Optional] Paper
[Optional] Pen or pencil.
Resources
Article: Safe Cities for Women - by Sopheap Chak (Global Voices)
Blog post: Our Roles as Youth Climate Activists at COP22 - by Kate Scherer and Mai Nguyễn (Global Kids)
Video: Social Movements | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy - by Sydney Brown (Khan Academy Health and Medicine)
Video: Occupy Wall Street: The Story Behind Seven Months of Protest - by The Guardian
Video: TEDx Phillips Academy Andover | Andie Pinga | We Should Feed the World More Than Just Rice and Beans - by Phillips Academy Andover
Video: TEDx Phillips Academy Andover | Vish Dhar | Young People Are the Solution to Climate Change - by Phillips Academy Andover
Activity
In this learning experience, you’ll get the chance to plan your own advocacy campaign from start to finish! Feel free to draw ideas from the other learning experiences that are part of this playlist. For example, you might incorporate background information about the issue that you want to address, or an explanation about why a pop culture character you have chosen for your campaign aligns with your advocacy goals. Good luck!
[Feel free to check out examples of existing campaigns through websites such as Voices of Youth and Global Voices.]
Challenge
Create an outline of an advocacy campaign you would like to run in your community. Please answer the following questions:
What is the issue you want to address?
What community does this impact?
How do you want to address this issue?
What media platforms will you use to raise awareness about your cause? In what ways?
What popular culture character or story would you use to promote awareness? How so?
Who will be in your support network (e.g., friends, family teachers)? Name the key players and potential network builders who can help advocate for your cause. Be specific.
What hashtag would you create for your campaign? Which existing hashtag would you use for your campaign?
What is the timeline for your campaign?
[Feel free to develop your ideas on the Advocacy Campaign Worksheet.]
Next Steps
Amazing work completing this challenge! We bet that others are really interested in seeing what you learned! We encourage you to share your campaign with an educator, mentor, or advisor, or a family member or friend. You can also share your write-up with the Youth and Media team via email (youthandmedia@cyber.harvard.edu). Please identify the title of the learning experience in the subject line of the email.