THE ADVOCACY ACADEMY
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Mission Statement
The Advocacy Academy is a youth movement working to unleash the power of young people to create a more fair, just, and equal society. We are on a mission to create a new generation of social-change leaders, supporting them to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st Century from gender equity to mental health to gang crime. We envision a society in which young people are active citizens, meaningfully participating in their communities and effectively challenging injustice to create a better tomorrow.
About This Cause
Civil society is dominated by the privileged few. Valuable voices are missing from the debates shaping our society, leading to policies and provisions that fail to reflect the diverse experiences and interests of all our communities. 88% of young people feel like their voices are completely unheard in society and 60% don't understand how decisions are made about local or national issues. Worryingly, it’s those from less affluent families and black and ethnic minority backgrounds who feel least able to challenge the problems in their communities - young people from working class families are 30% less likely to participate in our democracy than their wealthier peers, despite being at the blunt end of most political decisions. Not having a voice in the big conversations that directly affect them has a dangerous impact on the confidence and aspirations of these young people. The Advocacy Academy exists to give them that voice. Our flagship programme is our Social Justice Leadership Fellowship, an immersive six-month crash-course in democratic engagement. We deliver over 350 hours of programming made up of three residential retreats and two evening events a month, delivered by an outstanding team of social-change experts from more than 40 partner organisations. Through a combination of interactive workshops, and intensive mentoring our first-time Advocates graduate with skills, knowledge, and confidence to address MPs in Parliament and run creative grassroots campaigns to make positive change in their communities. When selecting participants, we take into account their socio-economic background, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, immigration status, and educational attainment. 75% of our participants are from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, 70% are women, 80% identify as working class. None have a history of civic participation. Collaboration is at the heart of The Advocacy Academy. We introduce our young leaders to over 250 decision-makers and world-shakers.. These include our patron Helen Hayes MP and Leader of Lambeth Council Lib Peck, as well as experts from leading social change institutions such as Shelter, Demos, DfID, Sisters Uncut, The Telegraph and Mind UK. Over the past four years, we have taken 67 young people through the Fellowship, and have reached 800 more through workshops delivered in schools and youth centres. Our programmes are carefully crafted to bring about 65 outcomes, co-created with our participants. These sit within five Impact Categories: knowledge and insight, skills, character, networks and access, and active citizenship, benefitting the Fellows and their communities. To date, each of our Advocates has graduated with more confidence, increased civic participation, and are extremely likely to recommend The Advocacy Academy to their friends. They have gone on to work with NEON and Campaign Bootcamp, be featured in the Guardian and on the BBC, and lead national campaigns. We are also proud to say that over 90% return to participate in our alumni residential programming and over 50% have signed up to join us as youth leaders for the next generation of Advocates on the Fellowship.