Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions A campaign message must be simple and compelling, providing a concise solution to an urgent human rights issue. It will make a logical case for change and include a motivation – personal, social, political or economic – to persuade the target audience to actively support the NHRI’s goal. Finally, the campaign message should resonate with the values of the audience. Campaign messages require a degree of testing, as what we might assume about an audience – for example, what they know, how they feel and the values they hold – is not always accurate.24 I want to share an experience we’ve had where we used messages that we thought conveyed broadly shared values but did not. Post 9/11 when the United States allowed torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the military and intelligence agents, we used the phrase “torture is unAmerican” or “torture doesn’t work” thinking it would resonate with deeply held American values of respect for all human dignity … A group did focus group testing and found that the moral arguments didn’t resonate with moderate Democrats and Republicans – the people we really needed to support us and voice their concerns to elected officials. What they did respond to was an understanding that if the US used torture, we would not get the cooperation of our allies abroad, which is so vital to combating global terrorism. They also responded to the fact that torture policies were implemented by a small group of individuals without the traditional review of American checks and balances (i.e. the courts and legislative branches of government). Ultimately, a strategic communications plan needs to understand the core messages that will resonate with people … Sometimes we might be using a message that, while not doing any harm, doesn’t move us further along in our efforts to engage people in our work. HOLLY ZIEMER, CENTER FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE24 Once you have your developed a strong and compelling message, use it repeatedly with your target audience. Frame all your communications around this message. Repetition is crucial in making sure your message gets heard in a crowded media space and in the midst of people’s busy lives. NHRIs occupy a unique space in public discussion and debate. They are separate from government and from civil society. Their status as independent human rights “watchdogs” can give them a high degree of credibility and trustworthiness among the public. This credibility is an important asset for encouraging audiences to engage with and respond to human rights campaign messages. Use stories to engage people People respond to stories, not arguments. Stories help explain an issue in personal and emotional terms, allowing people to put themselves in the shoes of another. Stories build empathy and connection, both to another person and to the issue being described. Effective campaigns will feature stories from people affected by a particular issue or situation. If the campaign is focused on access to education for children with disabilities then the campaign could feature stories with students, teachers, parents and principals. Each will talk about the issue from a different perspective but each should be framed around the campaign’s key message. 24 Entry on the online discussion “Media Tactics for Social Change”, coordinated by New Tactics in Human Rights, 16-20 September 2013; available at: https://www.newtactics.org/conversation/media-tactics-social-change. 46 | Chapter 3: Media advocacy