How to campaign

The overall aim of the Anti-Tobacco Youth Campaign is to provide a means of expression and voice for young people to campaign about smoking and other tobacco issues so that you are empowered to influence the social, political and economic environment and culture in which you live.

Planning and developing your campaign will play a crucial role in its effectiveness.

Choose an issue

What exactly is it you want your campaign to achieve? Do you want to raise awareness about the impact of second-hand tobacco smoke on children and young people, do you want persuade your school/college to go smoke-free or do you want to highlight the exploitative methods the tobacco industry use to encourage farmers to grow tobacco?

Decide which issue you want to focus on and have the commitment and confidence to affect change.

Define what you mean by the ‘success’ of your campaign

What does ‘success’ mean to you? Is it about the number of signatures you get on your petition, is it about the number of times local/national press pick up on your activity, is it about affecting policy change or is it about raising peoples awareness about a particular issue?

Gaining support for your campaign

Does anyone in your group or their parents/carers/youth workers/teachers/relatives know anyone in local/national media, local government, do they have access to any resources that may be of use e.g. a printer to do petitions or flyers or any skills/experience that could advise your campaign, for example graphic design, writing press releases etc.

Decide who you want to target with your campaign

Who would play a role in determining the success of your campaign? Parents/carers, teachers/tutors, local MP’s, national MP’s, local/national businesses, other young people, the tobacco industry, local media? Think about who has decision-making power that could affect the change you want and support your campaign.

Think about your message

Aim to keep your message as clear and concise as possible. Are you trying to affect change or just raise awareness? What will be the best way to do this – by radio interview, petition, mail out to relevant bodies, flyer distribution, joining the ATYC on-line petition, article to local/national press, email to all contacts, speaking at school/college council meetings, presenting to other youth organisations?

To achieve your campaign goal, you may use several ways to deliver your message.

Resources

Think about what resources you need to achieve success. Campaigning needn’t cost a lot if anything at all. If you’re part of a school/college or youth group they may already have resources that you could use such as paper, fax machine (Always ask permission of the person from whom you are borrowing materials). Always check on the ATYC petition to see if you want to TAG along with the current campaign!

Also, check out best practice from existing groups for inspiration and ideas!

Reference: The Ignite Grassroots Organizing Guide – A Manual for the Grassroots Organizer, www.ignitegeneration.org