Free online training: Values-Based Framing
Following our recent call for structural support and the many interesting applications received, we have listed the most recurring needs expressed by the CSOs of the Citizens for Europe’s community and decided to propose a series of joint trainings to empower as many organisations as possible with new skills for a bigger impact. For the first one, we are happy to offer you a free training with Civil Liberties Union for Europe, on values-based communications for organisations working on the topics of civic space and democracy.
During the training, participants will learn how to create messages that persuade and mobilise their audiences to support the protection and promotion of fundamental rights and freedoms.
The trainer will introduce participants to a form of communicating known as values-based framing. Values-based framing is based on decades of academic research from social psychology, neuroscience and cognitive linguistics. This method of communicating has been applied with successful results to campaigns promoting various social justice, equality and civil liberties causes. Through interactive sessions, participants will learn how their choice of language influences their audience’s opinions, as well as how to construct their own persuasive narratives and which of their existing messaging practices are counterproductive. Participants will also have the chance to have their communications materials reviewed, and to develop narratives for use in their own work with guidance from the trainer.
About the workshops:
The training will be composed of 5 workshops of 1h30 each.
These workshops will be given online at the following dates and times:
Monday 25/01 – 11h-12h30 (CET)
Wednesday 27/01 – 11h-12h30 (CET)
Friday 29/01 – 11h-12h30 (CET)
Monday 01/02 – 11h-12h30 (CET)
Tuesday 02/02 – 11h-12h30 (CET)
Registrations :
Registrations are open to all organisations having a profile on Citizens for Europe and working on the topics of democracy, civic space, citizens’ rights and freedoms.
Please fill in the following form to register: https://forms.gle/Jz2qoq7Jv9RXrRuS6
Participants selected for the tranining will be notified by email by the 15th of January.
Please note that the training will be limited to 15 people and that registered participants are expected to attend all the 5 workshops.
About the trainer :
Israel Butler is head of advocacy at the Civil Liberties Union for Europe. Israel has been researching values-based framing since 2015 and running workshops for the human rights sector since 2018. Before this, his main focus was legal and policy analysis and advocacy towards the EU to promote human rights in EU member countries. He has previously worked as a senior policy analyst at the Open Society European Policy Institute, and a legal researcher and speech writer at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. Israel has a PhD in international law and human rights and began his career researching and lecturing on EU and human rights law. He has published two books, numerous policy papers, peer-reviewed articles and opinion pieces in EU-focused media outlets.
Provisional Agenda :
Workshop 1 – Values and frames
In this workshop we’ll cover:
- how our attitudes on social & political issues depend on the values we prioritise in our subconscious,
- how we can activate these values through the way we frame our messages,
- how authoritarian political movements use framing,
- practice of frame analysis so you can start to see how different ways of framing the same message affect how persuasive we are to different audiences.
Workshop 2 – How to construct your narrative
In this workshop we’ll look at:
- some of the potential pitfalls in the way our sector currently communicates, such as myth-busting.
- the ingredients that go into making an effective narrative,
- how to use values statements, explanatory models & metaphors to get across what you’re promoting, what the problem is and the solution you’re calling for.
Workshop 3 – Turning your narrative into messages
In this workshop we’ll look at some of the tools you might use to convert your frame into a communications product:
- how to talk about statistics,
- what tone to use,
- how to integrate storytelling,
- how to pick a messenger who is effective,
- how images can help or hinder your message.
Workshops 4 & 5 – Working sessions to begin developing narratives
If participants would like to do some preparation beforehand, here are some materials:
Anat Shenker-Osorio’s podcast: https://wordstowinby-pod.com/
George Lakoff’s podcast: https://framelab.us/podcast/
George Lakoff’s book: ‘Don’t think of an elephant’
The Common Cause handbook or Building Bridges