DEDAC: Designing Digital Advocacy Campaigns for Nonprofit Organisations
This publication aims at sharing the results of the Erasmus+ project DeDAC - Designing Digital Advocacy Campaigns, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the Grant Agreement no.2020-1-IT03-KA105-018168 and implemented by 7 nonprofit organisations: Akira, AR Vocational and Investment Solutions (ARVIS), Fundacja na rzecz edukacji - SMART, ProQvi, Institute Perspectives, Vsi Inovaciju Biuras and Youth Empowerment Center. The document collects: - successful practices of digital advocacy campaigns carried out in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden; - techniques and tools to design digital advocacy campaigns; - sample campaigns created by the participants in DEDAC Training Course.
This publication aims at sharing the results of the Erasmus+ project DeDAC - Designing Digital Advocacy Campaigns, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the Grant Agreement no.2020-1-IT03-KA105-018168 and implemented by 7 nonprofit organisations: Akira, AR Vocational and Investment Solutions (ARVIS), Fundacja na rzecz edukacji - SMART, ProQvi, Institute Perspectives, Vsi Inovaciju Biuras and Youth Empowerment Center.
The document collects:
- successful practices of digital advocacy campaigns carried out in Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden;
- techniques and tools to design digital advocacy campaigns;
- sample campaigns created by the participants in DEDAC Training Course.
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DEDAC
DIGITAL
ADVOCACY
CAMPAIGNS
for nonprofit organisations
Techniques and tools for youth workers
Presented by
DEDAC Consortium
Project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the EU
Grant Agreement no. 2020-1-IT03-KA105-018168
Acknowledgements
This handbook was developed in the scope of the "DeDAC:
Designing Digital Advocacy Campaigns" project, co-funded by the
Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union under the Grant
Agreement no. 2020-1-IT03-KA105-018168.
The DEDAC project was implemented by:
- Associazione Akira, Italy.
- Institute Perspectives, Bulgaria;
- ARVIS (AR Vocational and Investment
Solutions), Romania;
- Fundacja SMART, Poland;
- ProQvi, Sweden;
- Všį Inovacijų Biuras, Lithuania;
- Youth Empowerment Center, Greece.
Disclaimer
The content of this document does not reflect the official opinion of
the European Union. Responsibility for the information and views
expressed therein lies entirely with the author(s).
Contributors
Abariute Beatrice
Alexandru Alexandra-Maria
Andronic Tudor
Arnaudova Maya
Bartosinska Joanna
Bauder Tania
Cimpan Andrei
Di Gennaro Salvatore
Frostell Ameli
Gallo Gilberto
Georgiev Georgi
Koutsikakis Dimitrios
Kozeniauskaite Milda Kotryna
Kuytov Ahmed
Lykidou Eirini
Moraitou Aikaterini
Ordine Francesco
Ramanauskaite Ugne
Romanczak Karolina
Sawiki Krzysztof
Zhuoxu Jiang
© DEDAC Consortium, 2022.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0
International License. You are free to copy, share, adapt, use the material for noncommercial
purposes, as long as you meet the following conditions: Attribution:
You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if
changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way
that suggests that the Right to Remain endorses you or your use. NonCommercial:
You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
WHAT IS ADVOCACY? 4
SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES 5
Successful Practices from Italy 5
Successful Practices from Bulgaria 7
Successful Practices from Poland 12
Successful Practices from Greece 16
Successful Practices from Sweden 18
Successful Practices from Lithuania 19
Successful Practices from Romania 25
STRATEGIES AND TOOLS 32
Defining the problem 32
Understanding the needs of our target groups 33
Setting our goals 35
The message: the power of a story 37
A unique journey 37
SAMPLE CAMPAIGNS 40
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 1
INTRODUCTION
This publication aims at presenting the results of the
Erasmus+ project DeDAC - Designing Digital Advocacy
Campaigns, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the
European Union under the Grant Agreement no.2020-1-
IT03-KA105-018168. The project was implemented by
seven nonprofit organisations from Bulgaria, Greece, Italy,
Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Sweden: Akira, AR
Vocational and Investment Solutions (ARVIS), Fundacja na
rzecz edukacji - SMART, ProQvi, Institute Perspectives, Vsi
Inovaciju Biuras and Youth Empowerment Center.
DEDAC aimed to improve the quality of work of youth
organisations and youth workers, equipping them with the
skills and methods for their professional development in the
field of digital youth work and digital communication, in
particular, today more than ever needed to intercept young
people, transfer to them the common fundamental values of
our society and prevent their violent radicalisation. The
main activity has been a training course, in which youth
workers have been able to acquire new tools and skills and
share experiences, knowledge and good practices on digital
advocacy through non-formal education activities and indepth
thematic sessions with digital specialists.
The project's general objective was to provide youth
workers and nonprofit organisations with the knowledge,
skills, and abilities necessary to structure digital advocacy
campaigns to increase their opportunities to reach,
empower, and motivate young people.
The specific objectives of the project were the following:
• to improve the digital skills of youth workers to
strengthen their ability to bring positive changes within
their organisations and communities;
• to improve the quality of work of organisations and
youth workers, to intercept young people who are
difficult to reach and better respond to the needs of
individuals;
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 2
• to strengthen the potential and capacity of youth
organisations to use online activism as a tool to
empower young people;
• to provide practical knowledge and strategies to youth
workers on how to use the tools and the potential of
digital in youth work;
• to increase the international dimension of the
organisations involved.
The main activity of the project was a four-day training
course, held in Naples, Italy, in March 2022. The course
involved 21 participants from 7 European countries, such as
youth workers, youth leaders and youth project managers
of the involved organisations interested in developing new
digital practices, motivated to actively participate in training
activities, sharing experiences and learning from others, and
motivated and committed to participating for the entire
duration of the project, from preparation to implementation
and evaluation of the digital initiatives in the follow-up. The
training course combined non-formal educational activities
facilitated by an expert from the host organisation with indepth
thematic sessions with a digital specialist.
The project allowed participants to:
• increase knowledge of digital tools and strategies to be
used in their work with young people, with a humancentered
approach;
• enhance monitoring and evaluation skills of activities,
processes and initiatives;
• improve soft skills, such as problem-solving, creativity,
social and communication skills, team working.
The organisations involved were able to increase their
capacity to integrate online activism and digital advocacy
campaigns into their activities, broaden their range of action
in achieving their objectives and operate more effectively in
their awareness and information initiatives/activities.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 3
WHAT IS
ADVOCACY?
Advocacy is a process or a way to bring about positive
change. Particularly, when we talk about advocacy we
refer to:
a process aimed at changing policies, but also
the practices and attitudes of people and
institutions or companies.
According to Barkhorn, Huttner and Blau, “access to
those who decide on the issue, a policy window, the ability to
elaborate and a dynamic and practical solution, an action plan
for the objectives, and a strong leader capable of governing are
needed. the campaign, widespread support from the reference
communities, a capacity for public mobilisation, a clear advocacy
plan shared among all the actors in the campaign 1 ”.
Therefore, Advocacy is about:
● Changing attitudes, behaviour and knowledge;
● Changing or shaping policy;
● Changing how people do things;
● Doing something bigger than just project work 2 .
1 Informing and inspiring leaders of social change, Stanford Social Innovation Review, spring 2013.
2 One Step Beyond: Advocacy handbook for young people and children, Kapell Alana, 2008.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 4
SUCCESSFUL
PRACTICES
This chapter introduces the successful practices of digital
advocacy campaigns identified by the participants in the
training course.
Successful Practices from Italy
#Milionidipassi
#Milionidipassi was a campaign launched by Medici Senza
Frontiere (Doctors Without Borders) that brought to Italian
squares the story of the long journeys of people fleeing from
war zones.
"Through personal experience you really get a sense of what
these journeys mean. The intent of the campaign is to give
a human face to these stories, to put oneself in the shoes of
others. The effect was very strong, people took off their
visor with a different awareness", explained Annalaura
Anselmi, head of fundraising for the Italian section of the
humanitarian organisation active in almost 70 countries.
During #Milionidipassi, the volunteers of DWB collected
over 35,500 signatures in less than six months to support
migrants.
The campaign was born from the work of the photographer
Shannon Jensen who photographed the shoes of Sudanese
refugees on the run. Drawing inspiration from her work, the
campaign was linked to the story of millions of steps taken
by
• people fleeing from war, poverty and violence,
• humanitarian organizations that intervene everywhere
to help them, and
• public opinion of citizens who can intervene with their
support, and making their voices heard with a signature
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 5
or posting a photo of their shoes, thus making their
footsteps.
Website:
https://www.medicisenzafrontiere.it/partecipa/campagne/mi
lionidipassi-il-racconto-della-campagna/
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 6
Successful Practices from Bulgaria
Let’s clean Bulgaria in one day
The largest volunteer digital advocacy campaign in Bulgaria
started in 2011 under the name “Let’s clean Bulgaria in one
day". During specified days since 2011 young volunteers
coordinate the actions in the 28 districts of Bulgaria. The
information is initiated and disseminated through one of the
most watched TV channels and a Facebook page, which
contains photos, information and a map to mark the cleared
green areas.
The following year the motto was improved to "Let's clean
Bulgaria together" and continued to be run by bTV Media
Group, implementing regular announcements and
dissemination via social media. The events are defined as the
largest volunteer initiative in Bulgaria, which aims to build
public awareness on environmental issues and make Bulgaria
cleaner, greener and beautiful in the long run. The
emblematic campaign ranks Bulgaria a leader in Green policy
campaigns among the countries with the best volunteer
practices in environmental care in the world.
Based on the results achieved in the thousands of actions
for cleaning, upgrading and afforestation in 2019, the
initiative received global recognition for uniting the largest
number of volunteers per capita involved in the green idea
- 6.2%, among 180 countries participating in the great
cleansing of the planet World Clean Up Day.
In a pandemic situation, in 2020 and 2021 the initiative did
not focus on setting records within a single date, but
continues to call for good examples every day. In an
emergency period, bTV Media Group continued to
disseminate the ideas for pure waters, pure soil and pure air
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 7
to thousands of volunteers to take part in initiatives for
cleaning the environment.
As part of the global civic movement “Let's Do It, World”,
the initiative will continue to support the efforts of
volunteers and promote a variety of opportunities to
improve the living environment. The call to celebrate
September 19 - World Clean Up Day 2020 - was to hold
small individual and family campaigns to clean gardens and
favourite places for relaxation, to organise family picnics
with zero waste and volunteers to clean the spaces around
their homes and make them more attractive.
The campaign was organised by bTV Media Group and
advertised on the TV channel 3 time per day. The organisers
intercepted and engaged young people and children to unite
the efforts of all in cleaning their communities and re-create
open spaces for relaxation.
A mascot – “ZELENKO”, meaning Green guy, was used to
attract the attention of the general public. appeal to the
emotions of people of all ages and motivate them to become
part of the initiative. It appeared during the campaigns and
the children were very happy to take pictures with him.
The largest volunteer action for cleaning is 16 km of route
(Arabakonak - Bebresh Dam). Try to leave every place
cleaner than you found it! The Mascot was also used as a
logo of the campaigns combined with appealing messages.
In 2021 the initiative "Let's clean Bulgaria together" was
actually part of Institute Perspectives’ new social project
"The Good Example". The initiative started in May and
continued until September, dedicated to the World Day for
cleaning. The persistent information and images attracted
more people.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 8
Facebook page where the photos and videos of the events
were uploaded:
https://www.facebook.com/daizchistim/
https://btvnovinite.bg/predavania/tazi-sutrin/pochisti-samgrupa-mladezhi-opakovaha-boklucite-ot-cjalpark.html?fbclid=IwAR2PuxJiGEXeu_NwN_kPg6exsHiJjtrY
d2AKDg7pA49el8ri6dzNkzAtk1s
There were organised school competitions – children
drawings depicting the environment. The adventures of the
beloved by young and old mascot Zelenko and his friends
from the interactive comics "Zelenko and Mission" The
Good Example inspired the young artists to prove that
creativity and good deeds can go hand in hand.
The fans of online communication had the opportunity to
get a new collection of original and fresh Viber stickers, in
which the main character is the beloved mascot of "The
Good Example" - Zelenko. The new 12 animated
illustrations can be downloaded for free until the end of the
year and are inspired by important topics such as care for
nature and water resources, beautification of favourite
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 9
recreation areas, planting trees, rescuing animals in distress,
road tolerance and more.
Since the beginning of "Let's Clean Bulgaria Together",
nearly 2,500,000 volunteers, armed with gloves and sacks,
have cleaned the country. According to the Ministry of
Ecology, they managed to collect 94,338 tons of waste,
which is equivalent to over 200 fully loaded Boeing 747
aircraft, and to remove over 18,800 dumps from the face of
Bulgaria.
There is a big change - the children who already notice
where and how others throw their waste; the adults who
educate them more and more purposefully in caring for
nature and the places where we live. "Let's clean Bulgaria
together" is an opportunity to set a good example - for all
of us, for children, for Bulgarian nature.
When the members of the Association Institute
Perspectives, Bulgaria participate in campaigns for cleaning
the environment they are inspired by the beauty and
richness of Bulgarian nature and believe that "green"
communications and good example are increasingly
important for society and can contribute both to clean
Bulgaria together and to lasting change in the attitude
towards the cause of a clean environment.
Youths from Institute Perspectives believe that by setting a
good example, the biggest volunteer action will exert
influence on adolescents and build a strong connection
between them and the environment, which will grow into a
social commitment to its protection and love for the
homeland.
The campaign united many different people and destinies in
one cause - to make their city a place where love and unity
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 10
are the driving force. Student exchanges and campaigns in
which young people participate provide a basis for
motivation and faith in youth societies, which are also
among the most active citizens in the event. The initiative
"Let's clean Bulgaria together" is and will continue to be a
key reason for public unification.
Association “Institute Perspectives” participated in the
events from 2011 by cleaning the banks of the river Danube,
motivating and engaging the youths to become digital
heralds of the campaign.
In 2021 the activities of “Let’s clean Bulgaria together” were
transformed into a three-day international event for
dissemination of the EU Green Deal and BAUHAUS ideas.
We got involved in the campaign via our Europe for citizens’
project Alternative Green Areas For Rural Europe
(AGARE). The aim of the event was to raise awareness
about the European Green Deal stressing the importance of
ecosystem services, social commitment of the members of
the local authority, European partnership and joint actions
for improving the EU integration policies and new
regulations for the implementation of the European Green
Deal.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 11
Successful Practices from Poland
The Colours of Life
The Colours of Life is a project implemented by Fundacja
SMART. In this project the organisation seeks to make
young people aware of the importance of taking care of their
mental and physical health, increase their knowledge about
various diseases that affect youth and indicate how they can
take care of it and draw attention to the importance of the
aspect of tolerance of the sick person by the peer
environment.
The project’s goals are:
1. increasing awareness of the need to take care of your
own health
2. learning what it is and how to care for well-being
3. encouraging young people to take up physical activity
4. teach young people to be tolerant of people who are in
worse health.
The campaign is based on targeted communication regarding
one disease every month: month represents one disease and
each month is assigned one representative colour.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 12
For example:
“Marzec” means “March” and this month is dedicated to
Down disease and the colour that represents this month is
rainbow. Additionally, socks are an attribute of this month.
This association aims at enabling young people to focus
throughout the month on familiarising themselves with the
topic about a given disease and can focus only on it to get to
know it well. Practising with colours also helps to stimulate
the imagination and associations and involve young people in
the project by, for example, wearing clothes in a given
colour.
The school where the project is carried out is also filled with
colours, posters, curiosities and slogans dedicated to a
specific disease in a given month. In a given month young
people has classes with specialists, for example: a
psychologist or dietitian. Young people take part in
workshops where they talk about diseases.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 13
This information and every activity are posted on the
Foundation's website. Because we want to share our work
and we want it to reach as many young people as possible,
because it is a very important topic that young people often
ignore.
In addition to the website, the organisation uses Facebook
and Instagram to reach young people.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 14
On Instagram and FB, in addition to current activities, every
Tuesday and Thursday the Foundation share interesting facts
about a given disease.
To make their campaign more successful, they combined
digital tools with the activation of young people, to interact
with them and involve them in the topic.
At the end of the month, young people have a small quiz
related to these interesting facts. In class, students use useful
applications to play a quiz. Thanks to this, young people
follow the Foundation’s social media throughout the month
to be up-to-date with interesting facts and knowledge about
a given disease.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 15
Successful Practices from Greece
GIVMED
GIVMED is a non-governmental organisation founded in
2016. It aims to give vulnerable people access to medicine.
GIVMED is the linking ring between people that have
medicine that are not going to be used or medicine that is
going to expire and people in need.
GIVMED’s main idea was that much medicine would finally
go to the bin in Greece. At the same moment, some other
people cannot afford it. This phenomenon is
environmentally hazardous and financially unsustainable. So,
to solve this problem, they designed a digital platform to
present it to the society and raise awareness about it.
Moreover, through it someone can donate his medicine and
share his experience with others.
Why is GIVMED successful?
GIVMED has existed for 5 years and has accomplished to
collect 255.034 packages of medicine costing 2.535.160€
through 146 donation spots and give it to people who truly
need it.
What are the successful elements of this campaign?
1. The simplicity as well as the functionality of its digital
platform. Its webpage is simple, minimalistic,
describes what the problem is with references in
certain scientific research and numbers showing the
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 16
phenomenon gets bigger and bigger in
Greece(https://givmed.org/el/)
2. The digital platform hosts a section where donors
share their experience, opinions and emotions after
contributing to the project making more people to
act.
3. Everyone can donate their medicine by just one
click.
4. The campaign was boosted through a short moving
video transferring many messages, available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOoojXfLhC0.
5. GIVMED’s logo is a heart-shaped icon making easily
understood is about an organisation helping people
and saving lives.
6. GIVMED’s webpage hosts a FAQ section with simple
and reasonable questions a visitor could have and
their answer below. This way, visitors have a clear
view of the importance of the project and their
contribution to it.
7. They also organise online meetings with other
organisations and NGOS in order to inform and
motivate more people to participate in the
campaign.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 17
Successful Practices from Sweden
Greta Thunberg Case
Greta Thunberg’s activism began on 20 August 2018, when she
was attending the ninth grade of a school in Stockholm, Greta
decided not to go to school until the general election on 9
September 2018. The decision to do so came about in the face of
the exceptional heat waves and unprecedented forest fires that
hit her country over the summer. She wanted the Swedish
government to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as required by
the Paris Agreement on climate change and sat in front of the
Swedish parliament every day during school hours. Her slogan
was Skolstrejk för klimatet (School Climate Strike).
Even in the aftermath of the election, Greta continued to
demonstrate every Friday, thus launching the international
student movement Fridays for Future. She participated in the Rise
for Climate demonstration in front of the European Parliament in
Brussels and spoke at the demonstration organised by Extinction
Rebellion in London (31 October 2018). His Friday strike
attracted media attention in several nations and similar
demonstrations were organised in other countries, including the
Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Australia. In
Australia thousands of students were inspired by her to go on
strike on Friday, ignoring the call of their prime minister Scott
Morrison, who told Parliament "what we want is learning in
schools and less activism".
On 25 January 2019, she gave a very tough speech at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, aimed at conveying the panic that
should be felt in the face of climate change. In the following
months, she spoke at other events in several European cities,
some of which received some media attention.
Greta Thunberg has inspired a large number of her peers in what
has been called the “Greta effect”. In response to her clear
stance, several politicians have recognised the need to focus on
climate change.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 18
Successful Practices from Lithuania
BLUE YELLOW Lithuanian NGO
Prehistory of the Russian war in Ukraine
In the last few months in the world media, the Russian war
in Ukraine became the epicentre of discussions. Russia
before the beginning of the war was escalating its troops on
the Ukrainian border in Belarus, recalled its diplomats from
Kyiv, and launched the construction of hospitals in Luhansk
and Donetsk. V. Putin was preparing for the war months in
advance and proclaimed the ultimatum for the West to not
involve itself in any actions on behalf of Ukraine.
Why is Lithuania concerned?
Lithuania was affected more by the war in Ukraine than
other countries for several reasons:
1. Ukraine is a neighbour of Lithuania, separated only by
Belarus (see map below). As a result, e.g. In the event of
a nuclear war, Lithuania be in danger
2. Lithuania, like Ukraine, has common neighbours - Belarus
and Russia. For this reason, many see the same threat of
war in Lithuania (Putin's troops could also occupy
Lithuania from Belarus or the Kaliningrad region).
Lithuanians fear that with the fall of Ukraine, Lithuania
could become the next target, therefore Lithuanians are
interested in helping Ukraine.
3. Ukrainians that live in Lithuania are concerned
4. Back in history, Lithuania has also experienced Russian
aggression and Soviet Union occupation, therefore
Lithuanians can relate to what Ukrainians are
experiencing right now.
NGO “BLUE-YELLOW”
This organisation was founded in 2014 during the
occupation of Crimea. It has supported Ukraine’s armed
resistance since 2014. The organisation provides non-lethal
means to Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers, thus helping to
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 19
combat Russian aggression. BLUE-YELLOW organisation is
international, it employs people from Lithuania, Ukraine,
Sweden, Germany, the USA, Canada, Poland, and other
countries. Aid is provided to the soldiers, volunteers, and
territorial defence forces fighting for Ukraine’s freedom.
The raised money at the moment is used to buy helmets,
optics, NVD, tactical medicine, vehicles, bulletproof vests,
drones, and clothes. The name of this organisation is
symbolic - it is the colour of the Ukrainian flag.
Financial Support
There are several ways BLUE-YELLOW collects financial
support:
1. public support concerts (held in 2017, 2018, 2019),
during which approx. 340 thousand euros were
collected
2. one-time/monthly support by bank transfer or
cryptocurrencies;
3. business support (when the company allocates a part of
the profit/income to the organization).
Digital advocacy via Facebook
In order to reach more people and spread the message in a
more effective way, BLUE-YELLOW is actively using social
media tools, mainly Facebook.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 20
Here the users can get all the relevant information on how
to donate money, clothes, technical equipment, and other
means of support to the people of Ukraine. The page has
both practical information for citizens who would like to
help and also video clips, interviews, and photos of the
current situation in Ukraine.
Official BLUE-YELLOW Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/blueyellowforukraine/
Digital advocacy via Instagram
On its Instagram channel, BLUE-YELLOW NGO spread the
most important information related to the war and
Lithuania's support for Ukraine. Here we can see where our
support goes. For example in the post below we can see a
Ukrainian war doctor with aid, which was bought from the
money collected by BLUE-YELLOW. We think that financial
transparency is one of the reasons, why people donate to
BLUE-YELLOW.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 21
Official NGO BLUE-YELLOW Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/blue.yellow.ukraine.war/
BLUE-YELLOW support from other companies
It is the main NGO in Lithuania, which collects aid from
people. 10 million euros were collected in just one week!
As we already mentioned, not only people, but companies
donate money as well. They create new products for people
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 22
to buy and donate some money to BLUE-YELLOW from
the profit they received from these items.
Some examples are below:
• Slipper makers ŠLEPETIJA UAB make special slippers
with famous Ukrainian war phrases and all the profit from
these slippers donate to BLUE-YELLOW NGO
(https://slepetija.lt/en/home/118-slippers-made-of-naturalmaterials-ukraine-we-are-with-you.html).
• А famous bar +++ sell some special badges for 5 euro
and all the money from these badges will be for Ukrainian
war refugees, who fled to Lithuania:
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 23
Conclusions
Lithuanian NGO BLUE-YELLOW is a perfect example of a
successful and effective digital advocacy campaign. While
using social media tools, such as Facebook and Instagram,
this NGO has gathered a lot of support and mobilised
people, who want to help Ukrainians. Notably, the
organisation is spreading awareness and functioning both as
a fundraiser, as well as an information and support channel.
NGO BLUE-YELLOW’s success story shows that for
worthwhile digital advocacy it is essential to have a clear and
powerful message with short, practical information and
visuals.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 24
Successful Practices from Romania
Taking in consideration that advocacy is and will be an
important component of keeping the democracy alive and
that one of advocacy’s scopes is the fact that the society
may ensure that the authorities are doing their job
accordingly, as best practices in digital advocacy from
Romania, we identified the following:
1. The activity of Declic Community 3
The Declic Community is created from hundreds of
thousands of ordinary people living in Romania or the
diaspora. Currently, 1.160.654 active members are
campaigning for a fairer society.
The Declic campaigns are driven by the values of their
members, not politics. Declic is, and will always remain, an
independent community. The members of Declic
Community are from the most diverse backgrounds, and
what brings them together is their common belief in
fairness, compassion, and courage.
Since its launch, it has become the strongest community of
citizens in Romania. They are concerned about the natural
and social environment, they are concerned about
education, health, human rights, and democratic values.
Also, it is worth mentioning the fact that Declic is also the
first platform for petitions, appeals to action and online
activism created exclusively for Romania.
On what concerns the digital practices that Declic
Community is using when conducting their campaigns, in the
first place it is worth mentioning the fact that they have a
very user-friendly website whereby any interested person is
able to find information about their activities and campaigns.
Analysing their activity, we were able to find that on the
3 Information provided by Declic Community on their website: https://www.declic.ro/despre-comunitatea-declic/
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 25
second place, they managed to implement a very interesting
newsletter-system where for every campaign that they
conduct, an email will be sent to the members of the
community and afterwards, who is interested in that
subject, will be able to participate in that specific campaign
by donating money for that specific campaign (usually they
need this for buying specific materials or for advertising the
matter), or by simply being there when they are needed.
Needless to say that Declic Community has in place very
well organised and managed accounts on social media
platforms where they also promote the activity of the
organisation.
On what concerns the petitions, any interested person may
use their website to initiate a petition on a matter that is of
interest. More specifically, it enables citizens, organisations
and initiative groups to launch and manage their own
campaigns, providing the necessary tools to maintain
contact with signatories and organise events. According to
their website, if one has an idea of how the city, the
community, or even the whole country needs to chance,
that is the place where they can find support for that specific
campaign.
In what follows, we are going to present 3 of Declic
Community’s campaigns, that they conducted by means of
the digital practices presented above.
1.1. “Roșia Montană: testul lui Ludovic Orban”
(In English, “Roșia Montană: Ludovic Orban’s test”) 4
In January 2020, Declic Community conducted this
campaign about the inclusion of Roșia Montană in the
UNESCO Heritage.
For ease of reference:
● Roșia Montană represents an important area of Romania
4 https://www.declic.ro/rosia-montana-testul-lui-ludovic-orban/
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 26
where we can find a lot of cultural and natural resources.
One of the most important facts about this area is the
possibility of mining gold. It became popular in the past,
when a partially-foreign company tried to start mining gold
in that area in a way that was very harmful for the
environment.
● Ludovic Orban is the former Prime Minister of Romania.
The campaign was about the fact that the Government,
through the Prime Minister was very close to the deadline
for submission of a letter confirming the reinitiation of the
procedure for inclusion of Roșia Montană in the UNESCO
Heritage, in order for this area of Romania to be protected.
The situation seemed like the Government was going to
miss the deadline for submission.
In order to raise awareness regarding this matter, they were
planning to broadcast on a very large building from the
centre of Bucharest a message directly addressed to the
Prime Minister saying “Ludovic Orban, are you going to
betray us”. In order for this to be possible, they advertised
the campaign and they conducted a fundraising via the
newsletter and social media.
1.2. Supporting for “The protest of the
magistrates” 5
This campaign was conducted when the Government of
Romania passed a law that had some significant impacts on
the justice system from Romania. Being directly affected, a
large number of magistrates (judges and prosecutors) from
Romania have decided to organise a protest whereby they
stopped in some ways a part of their activity (excluding
some important and urgent matters).
Declic Community supported this protest by promoting it
on its social media accounts. Also, they created a lot of
5 https://www.declic.ro/alaturi-de-magistrati/
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 27
advertising materials (flyers, Facebook covers, Facebook
stickers for profile pictures that everybody was able to use).
After conducting this campaign, a lot of individuals from
Romania decided to support the protest of the magistrates.
1.3. “Vrem o lege antiviol care să protejeze
copiii!” (in English, “We want an anti-rape law to
protect children!”) 6
Another campaign that Declic Community conducted
started from the fact that the legislation from Romania
regarding the protection against sexual acts with minors
(people under 18 years old) at some point, could be
interpreted in some ways that conducted in punishments
that were considered by the community to be clemently or
easy. In this way, there were some specific cases when some
sexual acts with minors that may have been considered rape
acts (due to the age of the minor and the impossibility to
express an adequate consent for the sexual act) were
punished in an inappropriate way.
The scope of this campaign was to force the Romanian
Parliament to pass a law pursuant to which any sexual act
conducted with minors under 16 of age to be considered
rape. In this way, the children will be more protected.
6 https://www.declic.ro/campaign/vrem-o-lege-anti-viol-care-sa-protejeze-copiii/
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 28
The main objective of this campaign was to organise a
protest in front of the Parliament’s building while the lawmakers
were debating this law. They organised this protest
also by fundraising, and with the respective funds they paid
an artist who created a statue which represents a female
child crying, who holds a toy in her hands and has hands of
male men on her feet and on the holder of the statue.
Declic advertised this campaign and conducted the
fundraising on social media and in their newsletter.
2. Ștefan Mandachi’s movement about highways
Taking in consideration that the 3 participants from
Romania at DeDAC Erasmus+ are from the same city of
Romania, they agreed to present a best practice in digital
advocacy found in a campaign conducted by one person
from their hometown.
In the northern region of Romania, the road infrastructure
has been missing for years and that’s a very frustrating thing
for drivers who want to get from one end of the country to
the other quickly and safely.
Ștefan Mandachi is a Romanian businessman, who owns a
hotel and restaurant chain.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 29
This above-mentioned lack made him take the initiative and
he started an online information campaign about the
situation of Moldova on the Romanian road map. In 2019,
he built a symbolic metre of highway as a protest against the
Government.
What helped him win the support of thousands of people is
the online advertising. He probably had a solid advertising
team behind him, because he managed to conquer even the
international public with the advertisement he made. About
the situation in Romania international newspaper such as
BBC 7 and Euronews 8 wrote articles.
What did Ștefan Mandachi do?
First of all, a massive online campaign to make its goal visible
on social networks. Starting from its own Facebook and
Instagram page, the campaign continued with thousands of
informational posts and promotional videos. The campaign
quickly won the sympathy of Romanians who dreamed of
having highways not only in this region, but throughout the
country. To be clear, from the moment he started the
actions to promote the "Romania wants highways"
movement, Ştefan Mandachi declared that he does not do
politics, but he cannot fail to state that all those who are
guilty of the lack of highways in Romania are leading this
country.
7 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-
47582694.amp?fbclid=IwAR1XSeTVZC79hRSf3rL0MX35DsyuQUmR5u7rPFXwOvJFQQP_nY3YQ4i1Y50
8 https://www.euronews.com/amp/2019/03/15/romanian-businessman-builds-world-s-shortesthighway?fbclid=IwAR0bXEyjwJ_kA5a6mmsg1S9Hm214Pc5TtFArRXdiPI1kcLArgqILOzoqnvg
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 30
Secondly, he launched a 15-minutes protest in which the
whole country stopped working in solidarity with his cause.
People took a 15-minute break from work, restaurants
didn't serve for 15 minutes, cars and buses blocked traffic
for 15 minutes. Millions of Romanians shouted "ȘÎ EU"
(which is Romanian phrase for “mee too” but pronounced
with the specific accent that people who live in northern
region of Romania have) in solidarity with the alarm signal
sounded by Ştefan Mandachi regarding the lack of a modern
road infrastructure, but also the large number of accidents
that occur due to this situation. The whole protest had a
huge impact and the national and international press
exploded.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 31
STRATEGIES AND
TOOLS
Defining the problem
Where to start for good basic planning?
The definition of the problem we want to solve, investigating
its causes and studying a possible resolution could be our
starting point.
How? Creating a real map of who could be our allies and
adversaries: map all the stakeholders
The identified problem and the possible resolution must be
placed in the context analysis (with particular attention to what
are the resistances towards the change we want to achieve).
Our steps:
1. Identify the problem;
2. Gather information;
3. Make a decision;
4. Plan;
5. Take action;
6. Evaluate.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 32
Understanding the needs of our
target groups
To better understand the needs of our target groups,
segmentation is necessary.
Segmentation is done from the following point of views
● geographical (contexts, privileges and culture are assessed);
● socio-demographic (gender, age, profession, instruction,
income, religion);
● psychographic (personality, lifestyle, work, activities,
interests, opinions and choices);
● behavioural (habits, behaviours and repeating actions).
The segmentation system has been overcome and the empathy
map tool is now used.
The empathy map is a collaborative tool that enables a shared
exploration of user profiles. The map is a tool that induces
participants to empathise with a user's experience.
Empathy maps consist of 5 sections:
1. think and feel - in this section participants are asked to
describe what the protagonist thinks, feels and fears about
the object/service under analysis. The key question to be
answered here is "what really matters to him/her?";
2. listens - In this section participants are asked to describe
how the protagonist feels about the product/service. The
key questions here are: "What does his wife say to him?
What does his best friend say? What does the expert say?";
3. sees - In this section participants imagine what the
protagonist feels about the product/service.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 33
The key questions here are "What does he/she see in the
product? What does he see about the product/service that
strikes him?";
4. says and does - In this section, participants imagine what the
protagonist says.
The key questions here are: "What are the main phases of the
protagonist? What are the first actions about the product?
What does he do at the beginning?";
5. values - in this section participants imagine what makes the
protagonist happy.
The data retrieved in the research phase with users can be
complex, heterogeneous and sometimes confusing, the canvas
offered by the empathy map helps to find a common thread on
which to work together.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 34
Setting our goals
In order to define our goals, we need a set of tools that allow
us to analyse whether the goals are in line with the plan.
The first of the tools is the WOOP:
● Wish - Identify a goal you want to achieve;
● Outcome - Visualise yourself achieving your goal;
● Obstacle - Visualise the potential obstacles preventing you
from reaching your goal;
● Plan - Plan meticulous solutions in advance for any visual
obstacles that may appear.
Another widely used tool is the OKR:
OKR stands for Objective and Key Results and is one of the
most popular organisational methodologies.
The cool thing about OKRs is that they allow you to give a single
direction and create alignment on objectives and deliverables
without wasting months setting up super complicated
procedures.
OK, but what are OKRs?
OKRs are your post-it note on the wall, allowing you to answer
questions every day:
● What should I do?
● What should I focus on?
● How far am I from my goal?
Objectives are the goal, telling you where to go.
Each Objective (O) has 3-5 Key Result (KR), the metrics that
tell you if you are getting there.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 35
Last tool but not least is SMART:
1. Specific - Contain well-defined core objectives;
2. Measurable - Having a quantifiable element that acts as an
indicator of success;
3. Assignable or Achievable - Have a person designated for a
realistic and achievable task or goal Must work within the
capabilities of an individual or group taking into account time,
resources and priorities;
4. Relevant - must be a priority and the results must have value,
useful in terms of cost / opportunity;
5. In relation to Time - Have a set deadline for each goal.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 36
The message: the power of a story
The message of any campaign, in order to be understandable
and successful, must have a number of characteristics:
● User insight - is the situation from which the story starts;
● Value proposition – it is the solution to the problem or the
answer to the need;
● Reasons to believe - the credibility of the proposal.
Furthermore:
1. It must be short (at most 5/8 words);
2. It must be easy to remember;
3. It has to be unique;
4. It must be made up of simple words or common expressions;
5. It must aim straight at the target and be easily understood;
6. It must be original.
A unique journey
The customer journey is the process that characterises the
interaction between consumer and company. This "journey",
which starts with the need for a product/service, ends with the
purchase. The various stages of the journey, online and offline,
are called touchpoints.
Five key moments of the customer journey have been
theorised:
Acquisition: the consumer, according to this model, is aware
that he can find in a product the solution to his problem or the
answer to his need. The product is made by one or more
companies and the consumer has become aware of it through
different channels;
Activation: the product becomes familiar and therefore
recognisable in the wide range of products on offer;
Retention: This is the phase in which the consumer has to
choose between different brands, with product characteristics
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 37
and price playing an important role. In this phase the consumer
searches for information;
Goal: the company achieves the first of its two major
objectives: after a period, which may be more or less short, it
has managed to turn a need into a purchase;
Advocate: the second objective, the one after the sale, is to
make the consumer loyal to the brand. The key role is played
by after-sales services, such as customer care, but the
company's ability to generate interest with related products
should not be underestimated.
Touchpoints (the points of contact between the customer and
the company) are scattered throughout the customer's possible
journey, starting from when he discovers the product, service
or brand (through the web, the recommendation of a friend or
the sight of a sign, for example). Already at this stage, the
customer has an experience and compares it to his own needs
and desires which may even be better understood by him during
this first 'encounter'. His journey can continue in the countless
touchpoints of the product or service evaluation phase, the
purchase phase, the use phase and the service phase.
It is therefore necessary to be clear about certain aspects of
touchpoints:
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 38
1. Spaces of interaction with the site (chat, interactive
pages...)
2. Email marketing (newsletters, promotions...)
3. Paid advertising campaigns (Facebook campaigns, Google
Ads)
4. Third-party reviews and opinions
Once the online interaction points have been identified, it is
necessary to carry out a detailed analysis of each access point.
In particular, three questions can be identified to be answered
for each touchpoint:
1. Who interacts on the touchpoint? Regular users or new
visitors?
2. What kind of interaction is collected (be it requests,
complaints or appreciations)? How often?
3. At what point in the customer journey does the touchpoint
lead?
This pattern can also be repeated for offline user interactions:
what matters is to know how users interact with your business.
In this regard, it is useful to maintain analytics tools for each
point in the customer journey. Tracking tools are typically used
with the aim of monitoring and adapting your content.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 39
SAMPLE
CAMPAIGNS
This chapter collects the sample advocacy campaigns
developed by the participants to DEDAC’s training course.
Three sample campaigns were developed:
• WANTED, addressing the right for women over their
bodies, as stipulated at the UN Conferences in Cairo
(1994) and Beijing (1995);
• HEALTCHARE VOLUNTEERS, addressing the growing
demand for volunteers in the health sector;
• SPEAK UP, aimed at enhancing social dialogue around
matters and arguments of racism.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 40
PROJECT #1 – WANTED
Presented by:
Andrei Cimpan
Aikaterini Moraitou
Ameli Frostell
Milda Kotryna Kozeniauskaite
Krzysztof Sawicki
Georgi Georgiev
Problem addressed: the World Health Organization
(WHO) estimates that 400 women and girls dies everyday
in the world because of unsecure abortion. The right to free
abortion in medical secure way is crucial for women health
and liberation. The fact that all women should have the right
over their bodies was stipulated at the UN Conferences in
Cairo (1994) and Beijing (1995).
Taking this issue at a European level, the first problem that
should be addressed by means of this campaign is the fact
that even though we are in 21st century, there are still 6
European Countries where abortion is illegal (Monaca,
Vatican, Andorra, Poland, Liechtenstein and Malta).
Further on, it is worth mentioning that in the other
European countries, even though abortion is legal, the
women are experiencing deep pressure from the society,
family, or health care professionals when choosing to take
control over their bodies and future.
Stakeholders:
• Women
• Society
• Governments and law makers
• Medical institutions
• Religious institutions
Target group
• Young women (15-35 years old)
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 41
Goals
• Normalizing abortion by educating at least 100.000
women about their rights by means of social media
content.
• At least 5 influencer from each country to be
involved in the campaign.
• Over 500 clicks per day on the website.
Channels
• Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok;
• Google Ads.
Metrics
• Shares, clicks and views on social media/website.
Key messages
• Every child should be wanted.
• Every woman should be able to decide for herself.
• Women should say: “My body, my choice.”
• Other stakeholders should say: “Her body, her
choice.”
Actions
• Getting people engaged by means of this campaign
(through the social media content, the website and
the ads) in this cause.
• Creating the platform in all the countries to get
people engaged in this.
• Discussions with #prolife stakeholders about
#prochoice.
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 42
• Encouraging Governments and law makers to create
the safest conditions in order for women to be able
to make an independent choice and have a safe
outcome from this medical procedure.
Sample social media post
Hashtags
• #mybodymychoice
• #ilmiocorpolamiascelta
• #minkroppmittval
• #τοσώμαμουεπιλογήμου
• #corpulmeualegereamea
• #mojeciałomójwybór
• #manokūnasmanopasirinkimas
• #моетотяломойизбор
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 43
PROJECT #2 – HEALTHCARE VOLUNTEERS
Presented by:
Alexandra-Maria Alexandru
Maya Arnaudova
Dimitrios Koutsikakis
Ugne Ramanauskaite
Karolina Romanczak
Jiang Zhuoxu
Problem addressed: starting from 2019 with the start of
the first wave of global covid-19 pandemics many public
health care institutions faced the challenges of the lack of
facilities, staff and equipment to deal with the growing
number of patients. The failure of national strategies to cope
with emergency situations resulted in human resources
shortages in hospitals. We have observed the growing
demand for the volunteers that could support the risings
needs of the health sector.
Stakeholders
• Vulnerable people with medial conditions and over
60 years old
• Schools
• NGOs working with the youth
• Public health institutions
Target group
• Young people (18-30 years old)
• Students of Medicine
Empathy Map
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 44
Goals:
The goal of the program is to train and integrate the youth
to work in the health care sector. We aim to compose and
to implement the training course that prepares the
volunteers for the daily work at the hospitals and health
service institutions that are in need for workers.
Channels
• Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok;
• Google Ads.
Metrics
Informing the youth about the program
• Inform at least 10.000 youth by social media in 3
months;
• Organize at least 30 informative meetings in the
period of 3 months in high schools and universities.
Recruiting trainers and composing the training course
• Create 3-5 local committees to organize courses;
• Find 10 professors, teachers, health care workers
and trainers to conduct classes online and in practice
Implementing training courses
• Engage 200 youth/ students in an online course;
• Hold 5 training courses.
Key messages
• Every life counts, save one today.
Target’s journey
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 45
Social media post
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 46
PROJECT #3 – SPEAK UP
Presented by:
Joanna Bartosinska
Eirini Lykidou
Beatrice Abariute
Tudor Andronic
Tania Bauder
Problem addressed: social dialogue around matters and
arguments of racism.
Stakeholders
• People from middle and low class
• Public facilities (i.e., banks, hospitals, shopping
centers, schools, public transport actors)
Target group
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 47
Goals & Metrics
• Increase knowledge about social economy (75% of
people meeting the message should feel the raise of
their knowledge);
• raising the awareness about migration processes,
international relations, social local development and
circulation of resources in the society (75% of
people coming in contact with the campaign,
experience raise of awareness);
• lower the insecurity and uncertainty therefore fears
that follow lack of knowledge about effects of
migrations (50% of the encounters);
• change the opinion and/or attitudes from negative to
positive towards migration and integration (20%);
• people actively share information from the project
(25%);
• development of social dialogue remains constant
within 5 years.
*evaluation of effects will be done by surveys and deep interviews.
Key messages
Actions
• Postcards/flyers with characteristic pictures and
messages;
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 48
• Competition of short videos with topics/messages,
prize and praise;
• Youtube/Podcast of non-prestigious talks with
argumentations and discussions.
Social media post sample
DIGITAL ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS FOR NONPROFIT ORGANISATIONS 49