By Ann Allen
allen@cviog.uga.edu
Whether it is a coalition of citizens joining together to voice concern about a zoning request that will significantly affect their neighborhood or an individual’s personal tragedy acting as the catalyst for a major movement for change, grassroots advocacy is an activity that most Americans take for granted.
In a region like Bosnia and Herzegovina, however, which is emerging as a democracy after years of authoritarian rule, the concept is nonexistent. A group of 12 Bosnian public officials and representatives from non-governmental organizations learned about grassroots advocacy April 14-28 in a program sponsored by the International Center for Democratic Governance at UGA’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government; the program was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The Bosnian visitors participated in both classroom and field experiences in Athens and Oconee County, Madison and Dalton. The organization awarding the grant for the program noted the wealth of grassroots advocacy efforts in these communities, according to Rusty Brooks, program director with the Vinson Institute.
“There is an explosion of growth in non-governmental organizations in places like Bosnia and Herzegovina,” explains Brooks. The organizations typically are nonprofits that represent citizen and community interests in everything from health and wellness, to the environment, to youth advocacy, to economic development, as well as better and more transparent government.
“The history of sharing power between citizens’ groups and local government does not exist like it does here,” Brooks emphasizes. “This training is to show our trainees how grassroots advocates and local governments can cooperate to address community concerns and issues.”
Instructional sessions were taught by university faculty, community leaders and local government officials. Topics covered included effective grassroots strategies, the role of the media and the Internet in communicating a message, and how to organize and conduct a public hearing.
On-site visits helped the participants gain insight into the variety of approaches and strategies that grassroots advocates use to involve themselves in local affairs, Brooks says. The busy schedule included meetings with various government officials, representatives of economic, historic and community development commissions, and a SPLOST citizen-advisory committee. They also attended a reapportionment public hearing, visited a carpet mill in Dalton and spent time at the Cox Center for International Journalism in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. |
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