Advocacy Efforts and Syrian Civil Society

The concept of advocacy has emerged in Syria during the past ten years due to the increasing need for lobbying activities, drawing regional and international attention to long-term violence, military and political developments, and mobilizing humanitarian and development support. Dawlaty provides this Policy brief aimed to shed light on the challenges facing civil society organizations in Syria while leading advocacy efforts and campaigns at the national level and how these challenges are affecting their ability to reach the international level. The policy brief seeks to provide context-specific recommendations based on lessons learned in advocacy efforts.

The paper was launched on November 11, 2021, in an online webinar, representatives from Syrian civil society organizations in Syria and the diaspora shared their experiences and made context-specific recommendations based on lessons learned from advocacy and outreach experiences in the past ten years. They also talked about the growing need to pressure and attract regional and international attention in Syria. With a focus on networking and collective action for advocacy at the local and national levels and advocacy across conflict lines that aims to better integrate key Syrian actors into decision-making and policy-making processes and address their needs and concerns.