[Intl-tobacco] Making a Difference on International Tobacco Control

[Robert Weissman]

Dear Friends:

We are writing to invite you to participate in a new project that
Essential Action has launched to help support and strengthen
international tobacco control activities at the grassroots level.

Loosely modeled on the "sister-city" concept, our project is working to
pair groups in the United States with groups in other countries and assist
them in initiating meaningful shared activities.  It is our goal that over
time partner groups will develop close relationships and feel comfortable
sharing advice and information, and joining together in effective
campaigns.

Currently we are recruiting a wide array of groups to participate in the
project, including but not limited to: tobacco control advocacy groups,
hospitals and medical associations, local government agencies, schools,
and faith-based groups.  

After a recruitment process focused primarily on the recent World
Conference on Tobacco Control or Health in Chicago, 240 groups have agreed
to enter into partnerships, from 80 countries and nearly 30 states.

More non-American groups than American organizations have signed up so
far, so we are now making a major push to seek further participation
especially from U.S. groups.

What will "buddy" organizations actually do? The partners will set their
own agenda, so the exact activities will vary. The possibilities are
limited only by partner groups' creativity and imagination. We recommend
that partners begin by sharing information about their organization and
pressing issues they face.  After getting to know each other, they might
conduct local surveys on tobacco advertising, smoking rates, and
anti-tobacco laws to share with each other.  They might coordinate
activities for World No Tobacco Day, or visit each other's countries and
do speaking tours.

Specifically, an American anti-tobacco school club and a Senegalese
youth group might work together to examine how the tobacco industry
targets young people. As follow up, they could develop effective
counter-advertising campaigns, get media to report their findings, and
encourage politicians to pass legislation banning advertising that
targets youth. A medical association in U.S. might partner with a
hospital association in Romania to work on passing smoke-free hospital
ordinances at the local, regional, and national levels. Or an American
tobacco control group might partner with a Vietnamese organization to
examine the issue of international tobacco smuggling. The American group
could research online industry documents that give insight into
smuggling activities in SE Asia, and the Vietnamese group could help
interpret names and places mentioned in the documents. The resulting
knowledge could be published and used to promote stronger international
tobacco control regulations.

How might a partnership with a group overseas benefit you and your
organization? Benefits will vary depending on the specific groups
involved in a particular partnership and the topics they choose to
address.  In general, the partnerships promise to help American groups
frame tobacco control issues in an international context, gain important
information on U.S. corporations' overseas activities, and address new
issues (e.g. bidis) with which international groups have more extensive
experience.  Similarly, you will provide your partner group overseas
with a reliable source of information, an advocacy partner in the U.S.,a
feeling of connectedness to the global tobacco control movement, and
hopefully a greater sense of empowerment. Overall, we believe that by
developing stronger bonds of solidarity between groups in different
countries, the international tobacco control movement will be better
able to combat the global tobacco epidemic at the local, national, and
international levels.  As tobacco corporations increasingly shift their
operations overseas, it is imperative that tobacco control advocates
similarly strengthen their efforts at this level.

We are hopeful that many of the groups that pay attention to
international tobacco control issues through intl-tobacco and other
means will be interested in joining the partnership program. Once we have
received your completed sign up form, we will send you further information
about the program. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments,or
suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact Anna White, who will be
coordinating our partnership program (awhite@essential.org or
202/387-8030).

We look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Robert Weissman & Anna White
Essential Action


***************************************
HEALTH ACROSS BORDERS:
GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR TOBACCO CONTROL
***************************************
***SIGN UP FORM***

Please fill out completely and return as soon as possible. Thanks!

CONTACT INFORMATION

ORGANIZATION:__________________________________________________
Street Address: _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
City:___________________________ State:________________________
Zip Code:_____________________
Country:_______________________________________________________
Telephone:____________________ Fax:____________________________
Email:_________________________________________________________
Website (if applicable):_______________________________________
Time Zone (+/- EST):___________________________________________


PRIMARY CONTACT:_______________________________________________
                    First Name                Last Name
Title: __ Mr.   __ Ms.  __ Dr.
Role:__________________________________________________________
Email:_________________________________________________________
Other personal contact info (if different from above):
_______________________________________________________________
Languages, other than English, proficient in:
_______________________________________________________________
International experience:______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________


SECONDARY CONTACT:_____________________________________________
                    First Name                Last Name
Title: __ Mr.   __ Ms.  __ Dr.
Role:__________________________________________________________
Email:_________________________________________________________
Other personal contact info (if different from above:
_______________________________________________________________
Languages, other than English, proficient in:
_______________________________________________________________
International experience:______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________


THE INFORMATION BELOW WILL HELP US MATCH YOU WITH AN APPROPRIATE
PARTNER. Please be as detailed as possible!

How large is your organization (staff, core leaders, volunteers,
members)?
_______________________________________________________________

At which level does your organization focus most of its projects and
activities?
__ Local                __ Regional                   __ National

With whom does your organization primarily work?
__ Youth                __ Medical professionals      __ Teachers
__ Government           __ General public
__ Other: _____________________________________________________


Please briefly list your organization's primary projects and activities
and/or your areas of personal experience and expertise:
1._____________________________________________________________
2._____________________________________________________________
3._____________________________________________________________
4._____________________________________________________________
5._____________________________________________________________

What issues/projects would your organization be most interested in
working on with an international partner?
__ Local surveys               __ Advertising Restrictions
__ Counter Advertising         __ Tobacco-free Schools
__ Smoke-Free Hospitals        __ Smoke-free Ordinances
__ Trade Issues                __ Smuggling
__ Taxation                    __ Tobacco IndustryDocuments
__ Religion and Tobacco        __ Tobacco in Movies
__ Women and Tobacco           __ Tobacco Use Cessation
__ World No Tobacco Day        __ Website Development
__ Other. Please Specify: _____________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

What criteria would you prefer we weigh most heavily when choosing an
international partner for your organization? Please elaborate below.
__ Organization type (e.g. nonprofit, hospital, school, church etc.)
__ Past or current activities (Projects you are already working on)
__ Issue/Project interests (Projects that you are interested in, but
haven't necessarily worked on before)
__ Sub-populations work with (e.g. youth, medical, etc.)
__ Geographic scope of work (Local, regional, national)
__ Other preferences. Please specify:___________________________
________________________________________________________________

Is there anything else you think we should know about your organization
that would help us match you up with an appropriate "buddy"?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


Please return by email, fax, or mail to:

Anna White
Essential Action
P.O. Box 19405
Washington, DC 20036
Email: awhite@essential.org
Fax: 202/234-5176

Please feel free to direct any questions or comments to Anna at
202/387-8030