The Advocacy training

 For the past five years OWON has been responsible for developing a network of advocates for this new story by developing a groundbreaking advocacy training program for previous members of assemblies. This program has been developed with George Marshall, a pioneer in advocacy that crosses all political and social groupings. 

OWON have advocates on four continents who are already practiced in telling their powerful stories of their experiences of going through an assembly. These individuals are the best messengers for this new story as they speak emotively from a place of complete authenticity. In 2025 we upgraded the training program and piloted it in Cumbria in the UK with remarkable results. Our work is not purely aimed at making spokespeople out of participants but supporting them in building their own sustainable supportive networks where we work together on new ways to platform their voices and maximise the actual impact of their assembly.

Part of the new work developed in 2025 took place in our supporting the national citizens' assembly on the Future of Norway. This has meant that we have also developed a new program for 'training the trainers' so that we can grow exponentially the opportunity for assembly participants to receive cutting edge advocacy training and therefore open up as many avenues as possible for their voices to be heard after the assembly has been completed and maximise the opportuntiy for it to have impact. 

This is ground breaking work and we welcome all practitioners and organisations that run deliberative democracy assemblies to get in touch and join the advocacy training network.     

OWON have two members who collectively have unprecedented experience in advocacy training and effective communications work that spans all political perspectives, avoiding the pitfalls of being exclusive to any one or other political or social groupings. 

We know that  this work is key to the success of these models being embraced by publics globally. People are tired of politics and power overiding the voices of the regular everyday member of society. With this work, the public see themselves reflected for the first time, speaking the common sense that we all recognise. 

OWON understands, celebrates and facilitates the great power that this new story presents... the world can shift on its' axis when those without agency find their agency. These are the people who can change everything. When we cease to look just to our leaders amd instead, look to each other.