Communication Skills for Indigenous Women

In mid May, 2021, our A4A project team conducted a series of online coaching sessions attended by almost 90 women representing 30 CBOs from the provinces of Kratie, Kampong Thom, and Pursat. The objectives of the sessions were to strengthen the capacity of indigenous women to understand their rights and to enable them to engage in advocacy efforts with the authorities, as well as to enhance the participants’ advocacy skills and improve their communication skills. The chosen method was based on issue and background briefings by the participants themselves, followed by questions from the facilitators and a discussion of the legal base. Another area we have been focusing on is the use of social media to share information on good governance, natural resource management, as well as the impact of economic land concessions and climate change. Thus, members of vulnerable groups, especially indigenous women and young people, have learnt how to create a Facebook post on one of their issues and how to use this tool in order to advocate for their causes. As a result of this coaching, the CBOs can now define their issues more clearly, they have developed advocacy action plans and are ready to propose meetings with the local authority and raise their issue. They have also learned from each other, shared knowledge with other communities, and practiced networking.