The program, took place just before the 2013 Mobility Conference Week and was highly evaluated by its participants and was conceived  to entice engaged, proactive participants willing to have a solid impact in the Road Safety agenda-setting of governments. The FIA believes that by creating outstanding leaders, Automobile Clubs will be able to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

The Strategic Lobbying course was attended by 17 executives from 13 clubs from 12 countries, and aimed to explore opportunities and challenges underpinning the need for global effective lobbying and advocacy strategies. Through the sessions –developed by the co-directors Prof. Luis Vives of ESADE Business School Spain and Emma MacLennan from EEAST London –participants gained knowledge in applied leadership, communication and advocacy skills essential to achieve a positive impact in contemporary settings of global governance.

During the one-and-a-half day course participants also exchanged ideas and projects on how to possibly improve their club’s practices. Participants also had the opportunity to learn from and interact with international advocacy experts on all institutional levels and work on a concrete study case to put into practice the acquired knowledge.

The course offered participants an opportunity to discover or reinforce their knowledge on advocacy and lobbying, an essential tool and component of any policy change for road safety and other areas of interest for clubs.

The program used a mix of interactive, didactic sessions, the contributions of experts in the field as well as professionals at the receiving end of lobbying that was highly appreciated by the participants. In this way, the program addressed different approaches to sharing knowledge and provided them with fundamental understanding of concepts and best practice.  Furthermore it offered a set of concrete tools tested with practical exercises using real life examples brought by experts. Learning was pitched at a level to help participants develop strategic approaches and direct practical implementation.

Delegates also took part in social events including a preparatory team building dinner, organised before the official kick off of the course.

Save the dates: Next FIA University Strategic Lobbying course to be confirmed.