From Strategy to Change: Lessons from Freedom to Marry Global

The views expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy or Harvard Kennedy School. These perspectives have been presented to encourage debate on important public policy challenges. 

It can be hard to plan and maintain a clear goal when a global backlash is underway. But recent workshops taught by Freedom to Marry Global were a reminder of the power of having a clear strategy, whatever your context is.

Freedom to Marry Global is a team of alumni from the successful marriage equality campaign in the U.S. that now advises and coaches activists in more than 30 countries in campaigns to win marriage equality for same-sex couples, build LGBTQ acceptance, and secure other important victories like decriminalization and nondiscrimination protections. They offered two online workshops for a selected number of applicants that are part of the Changemakers Network—a network of 2,000 LGBTQI+ activists from 140 countries convened by the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights. 

The first workshop focused on "LGBT Campaigning & Persuasion Fundamentals" and the second on "Engaging Decision Makers".

Before outlining the key principles of Freedom to Marry's work, it is important to note that while the workshop centered on advancing marriage equality, the strategies and insights gained are applicable and should be considered by advocates working on other human rights issues. 

The idea here is not to provide a comprehensive overview of Freedom to Marry Global strategies and tactics but rather to offer my main takeaways, along with reflections from some participants' main takeaways from the two sessions they conducted.

What they taught us about clear goals and strategy

The Freedom to Marry team opened the first session by emphasizing the importance of having a clear goal and a clear strategy. One might think this is obvious, as most people would agree that if we want to get somewhere, we need a plan. But the reality is that when you are constantly being attacked–as LGBTQI+ organizations and activists are in several parts of the globe—it can feel quite daunting and disorienting. And that's also a strategy (in this case, being used against the LGBTQI+ movement), in my view.

So, the facilitators walked us through why we need to have a clear goal and a clear strategy, even in challenging times. First, a clear goal gives focus to the organization's work, as everyone knows "what we are trying to achieve together". This is especially important when working with restricted funding and limited resources. It makes it easier to say "no" to what is not a priority. Having a specific and winnable goal and a clear strategy to get there makes it easier to engage partners and funders. It also puts organizations in an active rather than reactive mode. As one participant said:

"I learned that clarity of strategy is not only helpful for me and my team but can be a vehicle to invite external people to my campaign. It allows them to understand how it will work, why securing certain partnerships or collaborating with specific allies is important... In other words, clarity of strategy and then sharing that strategy with others is key."

—Enrique Torre Molina, Cofounder of Colmena 41

Just to be clear: the workshop wasn't making the case against reacting to attacks. The point was that we cannot only react, and that even reacting can be done strategically and with a clear goal.

Using language and shared values to reach people

My second big takeaway came during the session on persuasion, where the team showed us how we quite often use "activist language" to communicate what we care about. We talk about equality, fairness, and rights, and these are very tangible ideas for us. But most people don't think about the world in these terms, they explained.

The facilitators walked us through how a good communication strategy starts by understanding what your audience cares about, what their values are, in their terms. If your audience cares about family, show them LGBTQI+ people with their supporting families. This video ad is one of many great examples they shared during the workshop. 

One of the participants asked how we change our audience's understanding about LGBTQI+ people, and the answer was simple yet remarkable: the goal is not to change anyone's values but to remind people of values they already have.

As one workshop participant noted:

"... All along, my advocacy on freedom to marry was siloed. I saw no link between the broader LGBTIQ+ rights and the marriage equality right because I had no idea of framing the whole issue with shared values around the issue. I also was unclear how to craft the message to get understanding from the general population in my country, not to incite violence against LGBTIQ+ people as well as a strong strategy of how to persuade the right decision makers. This training series equipped me with all that information."

—Connex Khomba, Senior Advocacy and Grants Officer, Ivy Foundation

Challenging stereotypes and engaging unlikely messengers

Another important campaign strategy the facilitators shared with us is to challenge stereotypes and shake up assumptions. One common assumption is that only young city folks are supporters of LGBTQI+ rights. Or that faith leaders are not supporters of LGBTQI+ rights. Engaging unlikely messengers - people from different backgrounds, age groups, and locations – and showing their support for equal marriage can be incredibly powerful to shake up assumptions. It also can make it easier for your target audience or decision maker to show support, as they see others "like them" doing so.

The team emphasized that underneath the surface - and probably behind a lot of prejudice, there is fear and misconceptions about who LGBTQI+ people are, what they want, and how marriage equality will impact them. It is essential to debunk myths and show that LGBTQI+ people are like everyone else – they have family, friends, careers – and they want what everyone else wants: to be treated equally, fairly and respectfully.

An example that struck me was the result of several focus groups conducted by Freedom to Marry Global where they asked the participants (non-LGBTQI+) why they would get married: 76% answered they would marry for love and commitment. When asked why they thought same-sex couples wanted to get married, 36% said for love and commitment, and 22% answered they didn't know. While this might come as a surprise, the truth is we still need to let people know that same-sex couples want to marry because they love each other and that building a family is also important for them. 

Engaging decision makers

The second session focused on engaging decision makers - those who have the power to make the change we want or resolve the problem we are aiming to address. 

Through examples of their own work, the facilitators explained how they map and understand who the decision makers are, including what they care about, who influences them, what their aspirations are, what newspaper they read, etc. This mapping is key to designing a successful strategy to gain their support – but usually is not enough.

According to the Freedom to Marry team, to successfully engage a decision maker we need to both understand who that person is and create an echo-chamber. This means not only having different strategies (such as emails, petitions, letters, in-person meetings, coalition statements, etc.) but having them delivered through different voices and by different people. According to the Freedom to Marry team, what we want is that "everywhere our decision maker looks, they see people they know, trust –and may not expect –urging them to support marriage".

So what is a campaign after all? According to Freedom to Marry, a "campaign is a series of activities aimed at achieving a singular goal." It's the combination of the right messaging with the right tactics that will enable you to build momentum, display your power, and ultimately achieve your goal.

The workshops left me with a renewed sense of hope. Yes, the backlash is real, and the attacks are relentless. But we are not powerless. With a clear strategy, thoughtful messaging, and the right coalition of allies, change is possible. As Odom Uzoma Bruno, Executive Director of Health Initiative for Equal Rights (HIER) said:

"One key thing I learned and intend to apply in HIER Nigeria's strategy is the power of building broad, values-based coalitions. The training showed that successful movements don't win alone, they bring together unexpected allies by focusing on universal values like love, dignity, safety, and fairness. For our work at HIER Nigeria, this means intentionally connecting with new partners, such as community leaders, health actors, women's groups, legal advocates, and human rights networks to strengthen support for LGBTQI persons. It also means shaping messages that speak to shared humanity and everyday realities, not just policy language. Applying this approach will help us grow a stronger, more relatable, and more resilient movement, especially in a challenging context like Nigeria."

—Odom Uzoma Bruno, Executive Director of Health Initiative for Equal Rights (HIER)

To know more about the Freedom to Marry Global, please check their website: https://www.freedomtomarryglobal.org/