Kwadwo Adu Boakye-Yiadom

Returning to Basics: Successful Advocacy 101

Shared by Kwadwo Adu Boakye-Yiadom -
Originally posted by Kwadwo Adu Boakye-Yiadom -
Event Date
City/Region/State or Online
Online
Event Type
ISSUP Webinar
Language(s)

English

Spanish

ISSUP GRN Webinar Series Part IV flyer
ISSUP GRN Webinar Series Part IV flyer

ISSUP and Faces & Voices of Recovery bring you the Global Recovery Network Webinars, a series of eight webinars taking place over the coming months, grouped under three core themes that explore global perspectives on recovery support.

Theme 2: Returning to Basics

Join us for Part 4: Returning to Basics: Successful Advocacy 101, a session designed to empower advocates of all experience levels with the tools to engage stakeholders, build coalitions across sectors, and drive meaningful policy change globally.

Date: Tuesday, 5th August 2025

Time: 2:00 PM London | 9:00 AM ET 

Register for the Webinar

 

Advocacy in today's political climate can feel overwhelming, even discouraging. With rising polarisation and numerous issues competing for attention, the path to successful policy change may seem uncertain. However, in a world that continues to face diverse challenges across borders, effective advocacy has never been more crucial or more possible.

This session is designed to empower advocates at all levels, regardless of experience or resources, with the foundational tools necessary to create meaningful change globally. Participants will explore how to strategically engage stakeholders, build powerful coalitions across public health, public safety, and other sectors, and seize opportunities for bipartisan progress, even in polarised environments. Led by the Overdose Prevention Initiative at the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, this session leverages insights from successful policy wins around the world and introduces the Advocacy Action Guide—a practical, proven resource for community leaders, peer recovery specialists, and advocates working to reduce overdose deaths and expand access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder.

Through a combination of guided instruction, interactive exercises, and resource sharing, participants will leave equipped not only to advocate effectively but also to train others in their communities, across nations, and in global recovery efforts.  Key aspects to be covered include:

  • Welcome & Introduction

  • Understanding Advocacy Fundamentals

  • Global Advocacy Case Studies 

  • The Advocacy Action Guide 

  • Empowering Others to Advocate

  • Wrap-Up and Call to Action

Intended audience:

This webinar is intended for:

  • Community leaders

  • Peer recovery specialists

  • Public health professionals

  • Public safety professionals

  • Advocates working to reduce overdose deaths

Learning outcomes:

By attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  1. Participants will learn foundational advocacy strategies to engage stakeholders and build coalitions across sectors to drive policy change.

  2. Examine real-world case studies to understand how successful advocacy efforts have resulted in meaningful policy change worldwide.

  3. Gain practical tools and resources to reduce overdose deaths and expand access to evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder.

  4. Learn how to train others within their communities to become effective advocates and sustain long-term change.

Presenter:

Gillian Williams 

Gillian Williams is Strategic Partnerships Program Manager for the Overdose Prevention Initiative. She is responsible for managing and building relationships with national partners with the goal of expanding treatment access and harm reduction to reduce overdose deaths in the United States. Prior to joining GHAI, Gillian was the Program Manager for Strategic Partnerships at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, supporting the advancement of federal tobacco control policy through a national coalition of over 180 public health, medical, faith, education, youth, and civil rights organizations. Gillian received her Bachelor’s degree in public policy from the University of Delaware.

Christy Arevalo

Christy is the program associate for the Global Health Advocacy Incubator's (GHAI) core team. In this role, she works across all program areas to support the organisation’s capacity-strengthening work. She also supports organisation-wide marketing and visibility initiatives. Prior to joining GHAI, Christy completed a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland. She has previous advocacy experience in a wide range of issue areas, including global health and health equity. Christy speaks English, Spanish and French.

Language:

The event will be in English with interpretation available in Spanish.

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Interpretation

Interpretation Instructions for Spanish speakers:

Access the Spanish Interpretation: https://meeting.interactio.com/link/recovery#app

Enter the meeting code: recovery
Select the language channel: Spanish


A few important details on how to listen to the interpretation:

By phone: The best way is to open the Interactio app and listen to the interpretation on your phone while watching the video meeting through your computer;

By computer: If you want to listen to the interpretation on the same device as the video meeting, you will need to select 'No Audio' in the GoToWebinar Control Panel, and only listen through the Interactio web app at meeting.interactio.com.
 

Webinars and online events delivered and hosted by the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) are provided for informational purposes only. They are educational in nature and do not constitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.