Shauna Sylvester
grew up in a household that taught her to look and really
see the world. She lived and worked in small communities overseas
and had a chance to see and understand poverty and injustice
first hand.
But Shauna also had a chance to see incredible
movements for social change. Motivated by the indigenous movements
of the Andes, Las Madres de la Plaza del Mayo, and the anti-apartheid
movement, Shauna chose to use the skills she had and put them
to use to improve her community.
She co-founded IMPACS, the Institute for
Media, Policy and Civil Society, a Canadian charitable organization
committed to the protection and expansion of democracy and
to strengthening civil society. As its Executive Director,
Shauna has experienced the impact of marketing and communication
in the development of a movement for change and has seen how
communication can support and grow a movement.
Shauna Sylvester is a founder and Executive
Director of IMPACS - the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil
Society.
 In
her role as Executive Director, she is responsible for delivering
IMPACS' international media programmes, which includes projects
in Cambodia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Middle East
and Guyana. She also overseas the Communication Centre, Canada’s
first non-profit public relations and training centre, and
the Charities and Democracy project, a national initiative
aimed at changing the law governing charities in Canada.
Shauna has served on dozens of boards and
committees at the local, national and international level.
Currently she serves as B.C.’s member to the Voluntary
Sector Forum and as a founding member of the B.C. Social Economy
roundtable. In 2003, she was elected to the Board of Directors
of VanCity Credit Union, and appointed to the board of the
VanCity Capital Corporation. Learn more about Shauna here!
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IMPACS - The
Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society
The idea of IMPACS came to Shauna while on
a train in the Bronx, while she was working on the Canadian
delegation for the Rio Summit. She was so impressed by the
ideas coming from civil society organizations as she was when
working in international policy. In both situations she realized
that the really innovative ideas and solutions were coming
from civil society organizations.
Unfortunately, when it came to communicating
these solutions to government or the public, civil society
organizations did not have a strong voice.
Shauna wanted to create an organization that
would help civil society organizations communicate more effectively,
especially in public policy so that they could impact social
change. She began working on the idea in 1995 – in those
days it was called the Citizen’s Media Centre. Together,
with Katharine Pearson and Tim Draimin, she created IMPACS
– which is at its core an organization that strengthens
democracy by increasing the voice and profile of civil society
organizations
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Movements for
Change - A Definition
Movements aren’t about causes –
they are about people. A movement is a group of people who
share a set of values (they can be organized formally or informally)
and begin to organize and articulate their voice. They come
together because they want to make the world a better place
or because they can no longer endure injustice.
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Communication,
Marketing and Advancing Movements for Change
If you want to inspire social change, you
need to spark debate in the public arena because that’s
where social change happens. When you deliver and articulate
a message that inspires debate, people engage in the debate,
and a new vision emerges.
However, the public arena is crowded and
competitive. Most non-profits and movements aren’t as
sophisticated as government and business in ensuring our message
is heard in the public arena, so we need to do things differently.
Corporate public relations methods do not work for civil society
organizations.
IMPACS work has shown that there are two
stages of effort that are most important for movements for
change:
Firstly, groups need to
clearly define the change that they want and they need to
identify specific opportunities to lever that change. Very
few groups do this. Generally, groups are great at knowing
what they don’t want, but they can’t describe
in appealing detail what they do want. Understand the change
you want to make.
For example, the peace movement came to IMPACS for help with
its communication strategy. They realized that the change
they needed was to capture a younger audience because the
movement's leaders were aging. After some research on youth
and the policy issues that they were concerned about, the
movement went from an old campaign of, "We said no nukes!"
to an engagement campaign for youth, "Bombs Away",
that focused on policy work related to proliferation. The
campaign saw 200,000 young people visit the website within
a couple of weeks and engaged youth in the movement.
The second step is for groups
to understand in the deepest way possible who has the power
to advance that change. We need to walk in the shoes of the
people we are trying to influence. We need to know what they
believe, what they are passionate about and we need to shift
away from talking at them to understanding what would
motivate them to deliver the change we want.
This is where real transformation occurs – when we can
deeply understand opposing views and develop the ability to
address these in a manner that delivers the change we want
to see in the world.
Once you know what change you want and you deeply understand
the audience that can deliver that change, then your strategies
and messages will fall into place.
But groups must also not forget their base.
Communicate at all times with your base of support and make
sure that they are in support of the changes you want to make
and your message.
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The Role of Communication
in Movements for Change
Movements are messy and organic and that’s
a good thing! A healthy ecosystem is one that is diverse.
Diversity of voices is absolutely critical for a democracy.
The old saying is true, “The right
has never gone to Washington with one voice”. We
need all voices in the public arena. The extremes set the
middle. As hard as it might be, we should not suppress or
fight against those diversity of voices within a movement
– we should embrace them. Different groups have a role
to play in social change - they move the debate.
IMPACS offers communications training to
groups that are a part of a myriad of movements. In British
Columbia they have been working for years with the environmental
community in helping them understand their audiences better
and assisting them with crafting their messages in a way that
speaks to those audiences.
Through research and polling they helped
to bridge the environmental communities' issues with the values
that British Columbians hold dear.
When IMPACS started this work in 1998, environmentalists
were seen as shrill, against jobs and as a fragmented community
with little credibility. IMPACS polled the community to find
out what mattered to British Columbians, and aligned the environmental
messages so that they bridged environmental issues with values
of British Columbians.
By 2003 the credibility of environmentalists
as messengers climbed 18%. In part this rise in credibility
is because environmental groups started to speak to the values
of their audiences – they began to collaborate more
effectively in delivering their messages. No one organization
can claim the credit for this –but IMPACS has played
an important role by focusing on building the capacity of
groups to communicate more effectively with their audience.
Groups can create messaging that resonates
with the audience without losing their autonomy or position
within a movement.
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Thoughts for
Further Exploration
Shauna's worked for over nine years, often
in conflict zones, and has many valuable experiences and lessons
to share regarding movements for change. We asked her to share
some ideas or advice for movement builders.
She hopes that we all remember that we are
human beings; that we don’t become so driven, so focused
on our cause that we forget that we are human beings. She
has come to reject her early years of confrontational activism.
Having seen the impact of conflict in Pakistan and India,
in Afghanistan, and around the world, she seeks to find openings/meeting
points for dialogue and collaboration.
If we can’t work on getting beyond
what separates us from the person we are meeting with across
the table – whether they are a senior official in the
Ministry of Finance or a colleague in a coalition –
then what hope do we have that countries can move beyond conflict?
And so Shauna seeks to create spaces where
others can thrive, a collaborative environment where we can
suspend our own, and our organizational ego.
IMPACS work has a similar theme, although
it’s a little more subtle – how can groups shift
in articulating their issues from a rights-based place to
a solutions based place?
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Articles
and Resources Available from IMPACS
Charities
& Democracy Project - IMPACS,
working in association with Imagine Canada took up the
issue of charities and advocacy in late 2000. The first phase
of the project, then called the Charities and Advocacy project,
ran from December 2000 to December 2001 and consisted of research
and a national dialogue. Learn more here.
Turning
up the Volume on Civil Society - This issue of
Activate focuses on the role volunteers can play in increasing
a not-for-profit’s public profile.
Countering
Media Stereotypes the Not-for-profit Way - Looking
at poverty as a case study, this issue of Activate describes
ways of challenging the generalizations and stereotypes that
the media makes about poverty.
Operational
Framework for Media and Peacebuilding, 2002 -
How can media be used in the peacebuilding process? IMPACS
has developed a framework. Access it here.
Messaging
and NGOs a Few Common Challenges - Do you want
to know the most common communication mistakes made by organizations?
Read more here.
Public
Speaking
- Learn how you can effectively communicate your organization’s
mission and purpose in a public forum here.
Developing
Effective Media Communications Skills - This fantastic resource with lots
of tips and helpful hints is a must-read for the person in
your organization who speaks to the media.
Not
for profits: brand superstars in the making?
- This article discusses the rationale and practical steps
for organizations establishing a value-based brand that is
clear, recognizable and represents the organization. Two case
studies are included at the end.
The
not for profit sector – Canada’s sleeping giant
- The not for profit sector is a trusted voice in Canada and
contributes greatly to Canada’s GDP. What better group,
then, to work together, find a collective voice and harness
the power they possess!
Plan
the Work: A Handbook for Strategic Communications - This resource
asks the questions you need to answer in order to create a
strategic communications plan for your organization.
IMPACS
Media Toolkit - Would you like some advice on
how to hold a news conference or write an op/ed? Read more
here.
Helping
Charities Speak Out: What Funders Can Do - The
key points of the Canadian Revenue Agency’s policy on
political activities by charities are outlined as well as
some practical steps that funders can take.
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top.
Additional
Links & Resources
Civic
Gemstones: The Emergent Communities Movement
- This paper provides a clear snapshot of a vision for positive
social change through citizen movements.
Greenpeace’s
Campaign Strategies - A fantastic example of
an organization that uses the media, and engages in direct
actions, political lobbying and public awareness to get its
message to the world. Read how they did it here.
The
Advocacy Institute - The Advocacy Institute
provides a wealth of resources, toolkits, and ideas, which
can help you develop a strategy for building a movement for
change.
Branding
Your Organization through your Website - Your
website says a lot about you, but is it saying the right things?
For help, check out this resource.
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