Community Mobilization Strategies in Grassroots Leadership: efficiency and challenges in practice. ?

Joshua Alade , Executive Director at Nigeria Youth SDGs Network (see short bio at the end of the article), is one leader who recently shared his wisdom with some of our students at The African Leadership University . As an educator, I ensure I take the classroom to the world and bring the world to the classroom.

In the session he had with 3rd-year students taking the "Grassroots leadership" course at The African Leadership University , students asked practical questions to supplement the course material and class discussions.

Mr Alade gracefully covered topics such as community mobilization fundamentals, how to involve marginalized people, how to create ownership amongst the community, challenges to overcome as a community mobilizer, and some essential skills community mobilizers should have. Below are some of the nuggets I took from a very insightful conversation. ?

Community Mobilization fundamentals

1. At the beginning of any community mobilization endeavour, you need to ask yourself what is strong within us? What binds us all together? For some, this could be access to resources (work, water, etc.). For any issue, one can find people dealing with the same problem.
2. Assess the personal connection people have with the issue. If the same problem affects you, too, become self-aware and realize that many other people could be experiencing the same thing.
3. Bringing people together around that issue – lead a campaign, and design some goals and potential ways of reaching them. Move from the story of I to the story of we. Convene them around what “we” need to change.

Bringing marginalized people on board

To the question of how to bring marginalized people on board, Mr Alade reminded students that whenever one has to mobilize people, those affected by a given issue are already marginalized. Take, for instance, a situation where young people are not involved in mitigating climate change. One of the many reasons is that they need help understanding the issue. As a mobilizer, this is your chance to think about the #capacitybuilding of your constituency, bring experts and lawmakers to explain the problems, and the role young people can play in ensuring the solution is shared.

Marginalized people should be at the forefront of what is happening. Their stories need to be told. Coach them on how to speak well if they need more public speaking skills. Or speak on their behalf and articulate how issues affect them. Consult marginalized people, and make them feel that their voices matter. Bring them into decision-making processes. Avoid tokenism, as this is not sustainable, people quickly see through this, and they end up disengaging – which is the worst thing that can happen to any campaigner.

Creating ownership

Ownership is critical for the success of any campaign. Consult people, and ask leading questions. You certainly know what the issues are and probably the solutions, but you want people to see that they are coming up with solutions. Some of these solutions could better suit their needs than those you propose. Please do your research (Survey, feedback of various formats) to advocate meaningfully. When you need to pivot, swiftly do so depending on what you heard/ observed/ analyzed from data collected through research. Develop people's leadership skills: just because people are affected does not mean they know how to campaign, organize, etc. Take them to meetings. Exposure is important. Give them responsibilities and tasks that will allow them to develop as campaigners.

Challenges and solutions mobilizers might face?:?

Lack of understanding by the campaigner. As a campaigner, you will not always have the correct answers. Your personal experience and needs sometimes tint your observation. For instance, a campaigner proposed constructing Toilets in a community to ensure students (especially female students) keep going to school and promote general hygiene. After the toilets were built, people did not use them. Instead, they kept using the bush. They had realized this was a good way to fertilize the grass for cattle grazing. The need was access to fertilizer, but to an outsider, it appeared to be a need for toilet construction.

There will be resistance; a campaigner is a negotiator and an educator. People sometimes do not know why they adopt certain practices or hold the beliefs they hold; helping them question these strategically can lead to behaviour change. Just so you know, you did not fail! You just did not have the right solution at a particular time. Find small wins, you might only meet some of your objectives, but there is always a reason to celebrate small wins.?

A few more skills campaigners should have:

• Be Empathetic: walking in people's shoes is essential to ensure they see and feel your leadership. Some people campaign for the wrong reasons, Eg: what is in it for me?
• Be a clear communicator: ?your message can be easily lost amidst the noise of everyday life or the concerted efforts of those who do everything to divert people's attention.
• Be a helping hand: be committed to the cause and show tour participation and engagement; people need to feel you are with them as a leader and a participant.
• Create alliances: Sometimes, people don't like, know or trust you. Creating or leveraging existing social capital can go a long way to ensure your message lands nicely.

About the guest speaker

Joshua Alade is a sustainability consultant and the Executive Director at Nigeria Youth SDGs Network, a youth-led and youth-serving civil society organization advocating for meaningful youth engagement in policies and programs that will enable them to lead and thrive. He holds a master's degree in Sustainable Development from the University of Bradford, courtesy of the Chevening Scholarship Program. Joshua is passionate about improving access to quality education and decent work for young people.