JOSÉ MARÍA VERA
Prophetical and Effective Advocacy
communication requires clear, convincing data and arguments adapted to the present political situation, not to a timeless perspective. Of course, all this supposes that there is an earnest desire to coordinate the areas of work in the universities with the priorities of the social sector.
• Aversion to formal structures. My impression is that Jesuits, apart from the hierarchies, have difficulty in setting up global or regional structures and in giving them the authority and formal power they need to operate. I will develop this point further on, but let me briefly mention this: no strategy of international advocacy will ever function if it does not possess an acknowledged structure and sufficient resources to make that structure effective. A groundwork consisting solely of soft networks is a guarantee of failure, as interesting as such networks may be for complementing formal structures or for sharing knowledge.
• Difficulty in collaborating among works. I have the impression that our individualistic practices are giving way to greater cooperation, which is promoted by the Society’s authorities and encouraged by Jesuits and lay people who possess the tolerance needed to work with others. The fact is that alliances are important in advocacy and in global campaigns, since few organizations have all the knowledge, strength and tools they need to be successful by themselves. However, before proposing external alliances, it is necessary for us to develop the possibilities of working within, and among, the great variety of Ignatian works, to make that collaboration visible, and to acknowledge it and publicize it as an example for others. Of course, we will find examples in reality that contradict what has thus far been said about our strengths and weaknesses. In fact, at the workshop in El Escorial, organizations like Fe y Alegría and JRS recounted quite noteworthy experiences of advocacy around relevant concerns. When we consider the planning and management of advocacy, the first and perhaps most important recommendation that we should keep in mind is that of giving priority to the thematic agenda of our advocacy or campaign, so that we make a good choice of issues and strategy. Such a choice is made especially complicated in a situation like that of our Ignatian world, with its limited resources and the great diversity of situations calling for a response in so many countries. Even so, the Society itself in GC 35 has clearly marked out some general priorities that may help us in planning and managing our advocacy. It is possible to have a gamut of issues that are important for one region or another and to establish an initial international coordination through which there can be exchange of experiences and knowledge. But if we want to be effective in helping to generate change, we need to choose one or two global issues, broad but well-defined (examples might be migrations, business, inequality, education, conflicts, HIV/AIDS…), on which we decide to work together closely by contributing part of our available resources to the joint
Page 47