12 Mar. 2020 Burkina Faso
Speech class and mock parliament debate was held for YEH. They built skills and advocated Diet members.
Learning about the debate at the National assembly from an incumbent Diet members
For three days on July 1, 2, and 4, incumbent members of the Diet conducted speech class to 35 YEH members at the HFW office. The purpose of this activity is as follows. First is to enable YEH members to acquire persuasive speech and thereby to increase the number of people who support our activities. Second is for YEH members to learn the process of a bill being passed into a law through experiencing a mock Diet debate at first-hand, and to make use of it for future advocacy activities. And at the same time, it is intended for the Diet members who participated in the activity to understand the importance of the "right to food" to be set forth in the constitution and to make them back up the establishment of the right into the constitution.
Mr. Gnoumou Dissan, a national Diet member, took time from his busy schedule to be a lecturer of this training and provided guidance to YEH members at the HFW office. The members learned to clarify what they want to communicate, to have enough confidence to overcome shyness, to change the way they express depending on the person to talk to, and to speak effectively by using body-language with an appropriate loudness of voice among others. Moreover, YEH members played such characters as members of the ruling party and the opposition party, government ministers of Agriculture, Livestock, Environment, and Water respectively, a chairperson and a secretary of the meeting, to hold a mock debate. They learned how to expound their opinions from their respective positions, on what aspect to discuss, and the key of debating the bill. Three Diet members participated to help them.
On July 6, we conducted a mock Diet debate at the meeting room in Hotel PACIFIC as a conclusion of the training. 40 members of YEH, including new members, attended. In addition to three Diet members who attended the training, three journalists participated, too. The Minister of Agriculture and then the President, acted by YEH members, made a presentation and speech, followed by a discussion and voting by the members divided into the coalition party and the opposition party. The YEH members who attended the debate said as follows: "I understood very well about how they debate at the assembly to pass the bill," "Thanks to this training, I can make a convincing argument to move others to act."
We have received comments from Diet members, saying "Those young people improved through the training. YEH will be able to draw a lot of attention. Please continue the activity to realize the right to food without breaking pace."
The actual sessions of the assembly are scheduled to be held from the end of September through October. We plan to submit the document of the policy proposal based on this discussion to the national assembly chairman.
They learned the importance of gestures and practiced right away
