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Advocacy Goals and Action Steps

 

GOAL 1: NATIONAL ADVOCACY
Monitor, participate in, and report to our membership regularly on issues of the arts' place in American culture and higher education.

Action Steps:

  1. Through the Advocacy Watch Sub committee, monitor and report on important issues in arts advocacy to members. Topics of interest may include arts education in the academy, censorship, artistic freedom, and government support of the arts both locally and nationally. (Ongoing)
  2. Review and revise as necessary the Advocacy Watch Guidelines with the Governing Council. (2006)
  3. Utilize Advocacy Watch guidelines to determine Watch priorities and on-line procedures that follow electronic copyright laws. (Ongoing)
  4. Create and implement an advertising campaign for ATHE members to join the Advocacy Watch Listserv and to visit the ATHE Advocacy Resource Center.
    (2006)
  5. Through the Advocacy Watch Subcommittee and the Information Bank
    Subcommittee, create a more effective mechanism for helping ATHE members respond to advocacy alerts promptly and effectively. Develop strategies for using ATHE Call and ATHE News more effectively in promoting advocacy awareness and activism. (2006)
  6. Encourage the ATHE President, the Vice President for Advocacy, and other officers to make formal responses to high priority advocacy issues as they arise. (Ongoing)
  7. In conjunction with the Conference Committee, continue the practice of conference programming on important issues, and seek to disperse the results of such programming beyond the convention through reports to our membership and white papers to those outside the organization. Specifically create sessions in collaboration with various Focus Groups in order to foster greater communication and collaboration between ATHE members and committees. (Ongoing)
  8. In conjunction with the editor of Theatre Topics and the Professional Development Committee, discuss and design a "Hot Topics" column regarding Arts Advocacy in each journal issue. (Ongoing)


GOAL 2: AFFILIATIONS
Create stronger coalitions with arts and education affiliate organizations so that there is a more united voice in advocating for concerns around arts education in the academy.

Action Steps:

  1. In concert with the Operations and Finance committees, create calendar and budget for attending important advocacy related conferences and meetings to build our affiliation status with these organizations. Recommend attendance by ATHE President, Vice President for Advocacy, and/or delegated member, and have these individuals report to the membership via ATHENews and ATHECALL.
  2. on emerging national trends and issues. Conferences and meetings may include ACE, AATE, EdTA, TCG, NAST, ACTF, USITT, and MLA. (Ongoing)
  3. In concert with the Professional Development committee, create a "2006 Arts Advocacy Summit Task Force" who will create an action plan, calendar and budget for the Summit to take place at the 2006 ATHE Conference. (2006)
  4. Identify and strengthen Advocacy Affiliate relationships through specific means such as publicizing Advocacy Affiliates in ATHENews and on the ATHE website, and asking for reciprocal exposure in related newsletters and websites. Increase number of Advocacy Affiliates through follow-up letter campaign. (Ongoing)


GOAL 3: ACADEMIC ADVOCACY
Advocate for theatre/arts education in elementary, high school, and higher education to decision makers at schools and on campuses.

Action Steps:

  1. Create Academic Advocacy Task Force to investigate and implement various strategies to advocate for the arts in education (K-college). Strategies might include newsletters and/or brochures to elementary and high school principals, college chairs and deans, elementary and high school arts teachers, college theater teachers, etc. (2006)
  2. Advocate for national certification of K-12 arts teachers in conjunction with AATE and EdTA. Report status and news on this topic to ATHE members via the Advocacy Information Bank and ATHE News. (Ongoing)


GOAL 4: INTERNET ADVOCACY RESOURCE CENTER
Establish an on-line clearing-house for major documents, position papers, brochures, websites and electronic discussion lists that presently exist on theatre education and arts advocacy.

Action Steps:

  1. Through the Advocacy Resource Center Subcommittee, build from previous work to identify website addresses that house major arts advocacy documents and can provide significant arts advocacy information to ATHE members. Develop strategies for keeping Information Bank updated. (Ongoing)
  2. Work with the ATHE Advocacy Watch Listserv to advertise the Information Bank to members and notify the membership regularly of updates to the Resource Center. Highlight a different area of the Resource Center in each issue of ATHE News.
    (Ongoing)

 


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