Tambacounda Advocacy Workshop (Senegal), January 2023

From 9 to 12 January 2023, an advocacy workshop organised within the framework of the Watigueleya Kêlé project took place in Tambacounda (Senegal). This workshop brought together delegates from the three Senegalese villages participating in the project (Bandafassi, Missirah Tabadiang, and Wassadou-Dépôt), supervised by the Donkosira team, and the advocacy expert Illia Djadi. The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacities of the participants in the field of advocacy, by deepening the theoretical and practical bases. It aimed to perfect the knowledge acquired during the first advocacy workshop held in Bandafassi in May 2021, and to adapt it to a more specific local context. Over the course of the 4 days, participants collectively developed an advocacy strategy, which was presented on 12 January at a mini forum on climate resilience with key actors in the Tambacounda sector.

The first day began with a number of reflective exercises that allowed participants to reflect on their expectations of the workshop and the meaning and importance of advocacy in their languages and villages. Delegates from each village spoke about the different problems they face, explained the context in which they arise and identified potential solutions and the factors necessary for success. The themes of these reflections were transhumance in Bandafassi, access to drinking water in Missirah Tabadiang, and bush fires in Wassadou. The next day, Illia Djadi trained the village delegates in advocacy theory. The aim was to understand what advocacy is, what its purpose is, what means can be used and who is involved. The training resumed the next day with an explanation of the stages of the advocacy cycle: first the identification of the issue (1), then research and analysis to base demands on evidence, understand the causes and effects of problems, the context, the stakeholders, and identify solutions (2). This is followed by the planning stage, which clarifies the

On the last day, the trainers and participants welcomed the service agents: Lieutenant Diouf, head of the reforestation and soil conservation division (Eaux et forêts), Diaman Dianifaba from the NGO “la lumière”, Ibrahim Dione from sustainable development, and Dr Abdou Sane (head of the SRFPA antenna). The village delegates presented their pleas, i.e. the various problems encountered in their villages and the solutions identified, for example a programme for the establishment of boreholes in connection with the problem of access to water. They also thought about a land use plan, community management, and asked for NGO support in their efforts.