Advocacy Tip of the Month, August 2007

Attend an August Town Hall Meeting

The most effective method of influencing members of Congress is an in-person meeting. The month of August is a great time for you and your colleagues to discuss international education issues with your elected officials, as many will be participating in town hall meetings or other local events to hear constituent concerns during the summer district work period (August 6-31 for the House of Representatives and August 6-September 3 for the Senate). At these events, you can ask questions or simply introduce yourself to your Senators or Representative, and can tell them about activities and issues that affect you as an international educator.

When speaking with your members, be sure to illustrate the importance of international education and exchange at your institution, which is in their district, and be specific about what you want them to do for you. Illustrate the local impact of international education by telling a story about a successful study abroad or international student or by providing relevant data. You may also want to consider bringing study abroad alumni along with you so they can share their personal experiences firsthand. The more your members of Congress know about the benefits of international education and exchange for their district, the more likely they will be to provide legislative support in the future.

NAFSA will e-mail August town hall details and suggested talking points to ACT (Advocacy Centered Team) members if/when their members of Congress post details about these meetings.

Action Step

1. Prepare for attending a local meeting by reviewing 10 Strategies for Using Town Hall Meetings to Advance Your Legislative Agenda
(Source: Knowlegis)


View previous issues in the Tip of the Month Digest
The Advocacy Tip of the Month is meant to help further your knowledge of grassroots advocacy while offering tips to effectively engage your elected officials. Each month, we will give you information on the tip with action steps to take relating to that month’s tip. This information is distributed to all registered users of ACT and posted in NAFSA.news.