50th Anniversary Evaluation - Summary

---

SUMMARY OF 50TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN EVALUATION.

Introduction:

The 50th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising came at a significant moment for Tibet. The mass protests in Tibet during the early part of 2008, the brutal crackdown on the part of the Chinese authorities that followed and the lack of progress in the Sino-Tibetan dialogue made it essential that Tibet groups worked in a coordinated manner to focus global attention on the ongoing and untenable situation in Tibet, exert heightened pressure on the Chinese leadership and build global support for a negotiated resolution with the Tibetans. After the success of the Olympics Campaign in 2008, ITSN devised the 50th Anniversary Campaign as a starting point for the broader ITSN Post-Olympic Strategy and to encourage a renewed, coordinated effort with global Tibet groups. One of the most important aspects of the 50th Anniversary Campaign was to prove yet again to the Chinese government that, no matter what evasive tactics it uses, the issue of Tibet will not go away until a resolution is found.

The four primary goals of ITSN's 50th Anniversary Campaign were to 1) Focus global attention on the grave current situation in Tibet and on the strength of Tibetan identity and resistance, including sending the message to the government of China that the Tibet issue will not go away; 2) Build multilateral support for substantive negotiations between the Tibetan and Chinese governments. 3) Free political prisoners; and 4) Maintain momentum and provide a stepping-stone to longer-term campaigns post-50th anniversary.

Due to staff changeovers, and low take up on suggestions to form a campaign working group, the campaign was largely implemented by the Secretariat, including the newly appointed Campaign Coordinators, with regular consultation of the larger Tibet groups. The campaign plan drew heavily on the proposals for 50th anniversary campaigns generated by ITSN's 2008 Regional Meetings.

The evaluation of the 50th Anniversary Campaign involved Regional Coordinator feedback, member group reports, foreign government responses, on-line media research, and an on-line survey for member groups, which was completed by 47 member groups.

ITSN's evaluation found that:

• -   There was a high level of media awareness.

Extensive coverage was given to the protests held around the world by ITSN member groups, with many groups quoted in their national and local newspapers, as well as gaining television and radio coverage for their events. There was a significant increase in media coverage on Tibet. Press coverage, which had remained at a monthly average of 2,500 to 3,000 articles in the post-Olympics period (more than double the average number of articles in the period March 2007 to February 2008) escalated by 55% and 119% for February and March 2009, peaking in March at 8,420, close to the 10,000 average seen during March to August 2008.

Just over half of ITSN member groups felt that there was significant media coverage about the general issue of Tibet and even more (79%) felt there was significant coverage of the Tibetan peoples' continued resistance. However 63% thought that the current situation in Tibet, had not been highlighted by the media as much as it could have been. Given the vast media coverage Tibet received in 2008 following the protests on the plateau, the torch relay and the Beijing Olympics, it is likely that groups' expectations were very high.

• -   The campaign reached new public audiences.

ITSN knows of at least 190 actions or events that took place to mark the 10th March anniversary, in 118 towns and cities in 25 countries. 70 were protests, marches or vigils, 21 were exhibitions or film screenings, 2 were parliamentary mass lobbies, with other actions ranging from city-wide cycle rides to art installations and a number generically called "events". In addition 1,686 towns and cities in 5 countries had Tibet flags flying from municipal buildings. 58% of groups said there was a considerable increase in public awareness of the Tibet situation as a result of the campaign. 32% also reported a considerable increase in number of supporters during the period of the campaign. From the reports that stated attendance figures, it is known that at least 10,000 people participated in 21 of the actions and events. Also a number of groups mentioned that their events had attracted many people with little or no knowledge of the situation in Tibet. This, coupled with recently formed groups undertaking activities for the first time, meant the campaign reached new audiences.

• -   The campaign demonstrated to China that Tibet issue will not go away.

Over 82% of member groups that responded to the survey believed that the campaign successfully demonstrated to the Chinese government that Tibet will continue to be a critical issue until a resolution is found. A clear indication that China recognized the sensitivity of the date is seen in its major propaganda offensive; the number of Tibet articles by Xinhua rose 5.4 times between January and March, whilst non-Xinhua sources saw an increase of 3.4 times. Xinhua published 49 Tibet articles in January, 98 in February, 266 in March and 95 in April.

• -   The campaign did not generate significant pressure on foreign governments, but mass lobbies in the USA and UK represented a ground-breaking step for the Tibet movement.

Only 39% of the groups felt that a significant amount of pressure had been generated on foreign governments to act on the issue of Tibet at the time of the anniversary. Though most groups felt that the movement had taken full advantage of the opportunity the 50th Anniversary represented (78% in terms of 10th March activities), the lack of responses and statements by foreign governments will have contributed to the overall feeling of lack of success in this area. Only 11 substantive responses have been received to ITSN's sign-on letter to 203 heads of government. Member groups in two countries, USA and UK, held mass parliamentary lobbies on 10th March. Both organisers of the lobbies reported good turnouts, each with hundreds of Tibetans and supporters lobbying their parliamentarians on the issue of Tibet. Following the US lobby, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution on 15th March by 422 to 1, calling on the US government to recommit to "promoting a solution on Tibet". The US State Department issued a statement on 10th March urging China to "reconsider its policies in Tibet" and to enter into "substantive dialogue" with the Dalai Lama's representatives. The European Parliament passed a resolution on 12th March calling on the 27 EU nations to "adopt a declaration calling on the Chinese government to open a constructive dialogue."

• -   Events in Tibet meant that the planned focus on political prisoners was reduced.

Several groups are known to have worked on the political prisoner cases during the campaign. In particular, Students for a Free Tibet and Australia Tibet Council are known to have provided supporters with detailed online information and actions on the profiled prisoner cases. However, this objective became less of a priority due to developments in Tibet. In May the welcome news was received that one of ITSN's chosen six prisoners, Jigme Guri, had been released. ITSN is shortly to launch a new political prisoner campaign, which will build on the groundwork already begun.

• -   The campaign generated widespread participation by member groups, drawing in groups that had not previously participated in coordinated campaigns; most of ITSN's materials were found to be useful.

From our survey, 33% of groups were participating in an ITSN coordinated campaign for the first time. This would have included recently formed groups in Latin America and Eastern Europe. All 156 ITSN member groups participated in at least one campaign action during the 50th Anniversary: all groups (bar one) signed the letter to heads of state, and the one exception is known to have undertaken their own activities.

ITSN received reports of 10th March-related activities from member groups in 25 countries (out of a total of 43 countries which at the time had ITSN members). 92% of groups that responded to the survey used at least one of the materials prepared by ITSN over the 50th Anniversary period. On the whole, Talking Points seem to be used more than press releases. There were lower take-up rates for the Serfs' Emancipation Day postcard (50%), Leaving Fear Behind DVDs and screening kit, lobby kit and flag raising kit.

96% of groups felt that the impact of their activities had been increased by working on a coordinated campaign and 63% of member groups felt that the campaign had succeeded in focusing global attention to Tibet in this period.

• -   The campaign led to a growth in capacity:

The majority of groups that responded to the survey reported a moderate to significant growth in capacity over the period of the 50th Anniversary. 32% reported a significant increase in supporters, whilst 45% noted a moderate increase. 36% reported significantly greater press contacts during the period, whilst 39% felt there was a moderate increase. However, 50% noted they did not develop new government contacts during this period. From reports received, a number of groups (for example from Austria, Poland and Indonesia) noted that their activities attracted many new supporters to the movement and that they reached many people who had little or no knowledge of the situation in Tibet.  ITSN's grant scheme was effective in facilitating actions and events in key and developing areas for the Tibet movement.

Lessons Learned and Recommendations:

ITSN member groups felt the campaign was most successful in the following areas:

• focusing global attention on the strength of Tibetan identity and the Tibetan peoples' continued resistance to Chinese rule.
• taking advantage of the key dates around 10th March 2009.
• increasing number of supporters for the Tibet movement.

Media: the survey highlighted that member groups did not feel that the urgency of the current situation in Tibet was addressed strongly enough by the media. This in part may be explained by the groups' own high expectations following the massive media coverage of Tibet during the Olympics Campaign.

Recommendation: Member groups should be questioned further, to determine if ITSN can do more to support groups' media work, for example additional media training or more sample press releases during heightened campaign periods. ITSN noted that Talking Points were used more extensively than sample press releases.

Pressure on governments: Member groups felt that the campaign was only moderately successful in creating pressure on foreign governments to take action on Tibet. The number of political activities that groups undertook were, on the whole, disappointing. For example, only two mass lobbies took place on 10th March, although the two that were held were successful and will hopefully inspire other groups in the future.

Recommendation: Overall, there is a need amongst member groups to build lobbying expertise and to re-invigorate those who already lobby on a regular basis. Training and detailed guidelines need to be provided for groups with little or no experience of lobbying and suggested actions need to be provided for all lobbyists. ITSN has already embarked on such a political lobbying initiative, with the aim of forming more parliamentary support groups.

The response from national governments during the 50th Anniversary Campaign was also disappointing, with the sign-on letter to foreign leaders receiving only a handful of responses.

Recommendation: In order to generate a greater response from future sign-on letters, it is recommended that the initial letter is sent earlier followed by a reminder asking for a response. Groups could be encouraged to follow-up the letters and urge responses from their own governments.

Although groups felt the campaign had demonstrated to the Chinese government that the issue of Tibet remains critical and must be resolved, China's major propaganda offensive during the 50th Anniversary period may have been dispiriting.

Recommendation: To ensure that groups do not become frustrated by the seeming lack of progress in dealing with the Chinese government, it is recommended that - as specified in the Strategic Plan - new targets within the Chinese leadership are sought and new techniques of reaching them are researched. ITSN has already begun this research and hopes to launch a new campaign directed at key leaders later this year.

Coordination: Overall, there was a good level of take up of ITSN-produced materials, however further analysis could be undertaken to decipher why certain materials were less popular than others, and to ensure ITSN is providing what member groups require.

Recommendation: To further improve take up rates regular reminders could be sent to groups informing them of all available resources, including campaign specific resources and long term resources. Consideration should be given to increasing the amount of one-to-one communications with member groups, especially in the run-up to key dates. If resources and time are limited then priority should be given to new groups and those developing their support base.

ITSN's new website (launched February) proved invaluable for groups to access information and download relevant materials. However, as it took some groups a while to sign-up to the new website this may have had an impact on the take-up rates of some materials.

Recommendation: A separate survey on the utilisation of the website by member groups may be valuable.

The on-line action alert was another relatively disappointing component of the campaign. However, there were extenuating circumstances and the subsequent alert on the death sentence cases has shown greater numbers can be achieved.

Recommendation: Other methods of promoting the action alert should be investigated, particularly through other new media tools (such as facebook and twitter) and encouraging greater participation from member groups.

The number of groups filing post-event reports and responding to the survey, though significant, was disappointing.

Recommendation: A blog should be created to which would allow member groups to add their own actions and see those of other groups in other countries. This would increase the feeling of belonging to a coordinated campaign, particularly for new groups, and also facilitate in sharing of ideas and experiences. ITSN should be more pro-active in soliciting reports and feedback.

Additionally, the evaluation of the 50th Anniversary Campaign endorses many of the recommendations from the Olympics Campaign evaluation, with the following remarks.

• -   The value of a multi-pronged campaign strategy. The 50th Anniversary Campaign noted that external events lead to changes in strategy and may lead to some tactics being dropped.

 

• -   The challenges of determining an effective way to target the Chinese leadership. See above.

 

• -   The importance of building expertise amongst members in the use of strategic planning.

 

• -   Ensuring future campaign plans define goals and objectives in a more measurable way, and include more benchmarks in order to enable more precise evaluation. The goals and objectives of the 50th Anniversary Campaign were well defined, however benchmarks were not set and the evaluation process has, therefore, lacked precision. It is recommended that benchmarks are set for future campaigns and allowance is given for a full and proper evaluation.

 

• -   More frequent requests for information from ITSN members about which aspects of the campaign they have participated in, what materials they have used, etc. See above.

 

• -   Designing campaigns with an array of tactics and ways groups can participate effectively. Including in campaigns components that are compelling, easy to participate in, and have significant staff support, as well as encouraging members to increase their participation in more seemingly "mundane" but important activities as well, e.g. letter writing. See above: The creation of a blog, allowing groups to report on their activities and read reports from other groups, may encourage further participation particularly in "mundane" activities.

 

• -   Facilitating Tibet Groups to work productively together. A number of collaborative events were reported on, including in Austria, Denmark, India, the UK and the USA. In particular, a network of USA groups was created for the mass lobby in Washington D.C., which was very effective and considered important by participating groups. Joint applications for the small grant scheme were encouraged and given preference (two joint projects were approved).

 

• -   Using different implementation mechanisms (working groups, consultation groups, campaign networks), according to campaign activity, as recommended. ITSN's campaign implementation guidelines were revised and re-issued in June 2009.

 

• -   Considering the use of face-to-face meetings where possible.

 

• -   Making greater use of software that allows individuals to send automated messages to targets as part of a campaign, and should make this available to members. Now available.

 

• -   Identifying which Tibet Groups are committed to building their capacity and encouraging them to take advantage of what training and financial assistance ITSN can provide. Finding new ways support and publicise the work of Tibet Groups in regions that have traditionally had less Tibet activity.

 

• -   Investigating the feasibility of translation into languages in addition to French, German, and Spanish. ITSN hopes in the future to provide materials in Japanese and Portuguese.

 

• -   Promoting the sharing of materials between Tibet Groups. The new ITSN website allows for sharing of materials in a secure environment.

 

• -   Being aware of, and taking steps to minimise tensions between groups in some regions.

Conclusion:

Though not all the original aims of the campaign were met, once several internal and external factors are taken into account, the overall strategy and implementation of the campaign can be seen to be both sufficient and effective. The changing situation in Tibet had the greatest impact on the campaign strategy, as 'No Losar' and Serfs' Emancipation Day were unforeseen when the strategy was developed and had to be factored in after the campaign had already begun. Several original aims had to be dropped to allow for new initiatives relevant to the new developments, as both ITSN's and member groups' capacities were already stretched. An internal factor to be noted was the change of Campaigns Coordinator during the Anniversary Campaign.

---

Member groups can download the full report from here. (Login Required)