Potential Allies

When trying to make changes or amendments to a policy, having allies who support your cause and can provide additional voices becomes crucial. It also becomes necessary to create a space where people are aware of the issue so that it becomes a matter of public interest rather than just the rhetoric of a special interest group. There are several ways to go about raising awareness and recruiting allies. The primary way, we believe, is to have the voices of those who are affected by the current policy, and the proposed changes, heard. Blogging is one way in which this can be done, however special interest stories in the newspaper or local news stations can also be valuable mediums for generating awareness of an issue. There are also a plethora of interest groups that can be found in the internet community who can be valuable resources to tap into in terms of policy development. Once a course of policy development has been chosen, it is easy enough to find groups who will support that viewpoint, however it is essential to consider the voices of those who disagree as well, or we take the chance on becoming isolated in our thinking and denying the reality that no policy will ever satisfy all those who feel passionately about an issue and who may have very valuable insight into ways it can be improved. Presentations can be made to interested parties, such as in this case, advocates for privacy rights as well as advocates for adoptee rights in terms of pure open adoption. Partnerships can be created between advocacy groups, legal groups and individuals who are affected by the policy that will strengthen the message when trying to bring an issue to the political agenda. Once the voices have been in a sense consolidated, a potential policy amendment can be broached with media, ministers who might be interested in the topic, and the local MP who has the power to put the issue on the table so to speak. Often these potential allies in the political realm can be found through researching the development of the original policy.

L.