“Local to Global and Global to Local: Multi-pronged Approach for Advocacy”
By Priskila Arulpragasam (UNC MSW ’26)
Summer 2025 AFE Blog Post Series
From the day we began our Rotary Peace Fellowship, systems thinking and the interconnected nature of issues were a major discussion across all the subjects I studied. We live in an interconnected system, and as the world advances, these connections and linkages get stronger and stronger. Local actions have global impacts, and global decisions have local impacts. But I always wanted to know how global policies and frameworks support local communities and how local issues and concerns can be prioritized in global forums. In other words, how can one do advocacy and lobbying that reaches both the local and global levels?
With this understanding of systems thinking and my questions, I started my internship remotely working with the Global Advocacy for Change Team at Fòs Feminista, an intersectional feminist organization centered around the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. They work with partners across the world to resist injustice and advocate for gender equality and reproductive rights locally and globally. I started my internship by reviewing some of the policy briefs that were developed on legal challenges for adolescents and young people to access sexual and reproductive health services at national levels. I also analyzed the outcome documents of the UN Commission on the Status of Women on language used around issues like sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, menstrual hygiene and contraception since its inception in 1996. Another major part of my internship was to attend the UN High Level Political Forum with the Fòs Feminista team as part of the civil society and NGO major group and support the advocacy initiatives that were happening within the UN system with member states.
I was able to learn many things about bilateral and multilateral negotiations, political advocacy and how the UN system works. But as I sat and thought about what I am going to share with the rest of the Rotary family about my internship, I decided that I will do it in the form of answering some common questions that many people around the world may have about these systems. These are questions I wondered about and managed to find some answers during this internship.
Why do countries and people have to meet so often to discuss these issues?
Aren’t there international laws, policies and frameworks like Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) etc.?
These spaces are a call to action and a reminder to the countries and the rest of the world about the urgency of taking active and deliberate measures to address issues. It has been 10 years since the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals were set and 5 more years to achieve the targets of the goals. However, only 17% of the goals are progressing while 18% are going in the reverse direction and the rest remain slow/stagnant. Conflicts across the world, climate change, and patriarchal social norms that still prevail within communities are slowing down progress, and we need to come together with more urgency and deliberation to address these issues. These spaces are platforms for discussions and calls for action, and they can be used to seek accountability and recommit to these goals.
How does these global discussions and meetings held in New York or Geneva help and benefit local communities across the world?
These were questions I have always grappled with, and the answers are not simple. There are often moments of disappointment and frustration as you sit in these meetings. But these discussions help civil society organizations and local actors shape their advocacy. The statements and commitments that countries make in these global platforms are helpful in local advocacy and to collaborate with government agencies at the national level. Local communities may not understand technical terminology or the specific goals and treaties, yet civil society actors and organizations can advocate for local issues with national governments and regional mechanisms, especially in addressing social norms and harmful traditional practices. Partners of Fòs Feminista working with local communities stated how they use a multi-pronged approach in advocacy by using localized language and frameworks within communities as well as international frameworks with national governments. They also emphasized the importance of doing this simultaneously for change to happen from top down to bottom up.
When there are frameworks and conventions, what is the need for civil society to be in these spaces and advocate?
Often the progress we see in this world today comes from hard-won achievements and efforts from the generations who came before us. We need to continue to defend and lobby for this progress to continue, especially in a global context where we see so much push back on gender and reproductive justice. There is an urgent need to emphasize the importance of achieving gender equality and reproductive justice, as gender and reproductive justice are interconnected with our day-to-day life. Gender equality is important for global peace and security, especially when it comes to addressing important issues like climate change. Understanding the impacts and benefits of gender responsive policies is important to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals across the world. The participation of civil society organizations and grassroots activists in these spaces demands accountability from governments and reminds global leaders that these are important issues that affect people.
This experience taught me the importance of working within various systems at the local and global levels and where problems intersect. We often tend to silo ourselves based on specific issues and areas, but it is important to use a multipronged approach that targets various systems and social levels. If we don’t do this, frameworks and policies may be drafted and reformed, but they won’t be implemented at local levels without community change. At the same time, if communities change but laws and policies remain discriminatory, then that change will not be sustainable.
