Leadership and Advocacy Academy

Your Compass for Impact

The Academy is made possible with the support of

The Academy in a glance

A practical program designed to develop advocacy leaders and sustainable organizations.

Why this Academy?

A practical program designed to develop advocacy leaders and resilient organizations. Built on BESCO’s values of transparency, entrepreneurial thinking, and accountability, the program combines civic engagement with a business-oriented approach to develop leaders who understand how processes work - and know how to navigate them effectively.

Skills That Stay With You

From day one, you’ll start applying what you learn in your own sector through practical case studies, mentorship, and tools tailored to the field of your personal cause.

  • Political Impact

    Driving reforms at the local, national, and European levels.

  • Theory of Change

    Building sustainable systems, strategies, and practices to achieve measurable impact.

  • Cross-Sector Coalitions & Partnerships

    Building trust-based relationships with donors, teams, and private and public sector partners.

  • Personal Leadership

    Developing your leadership compass, resilience, and adaptability while strengthening social value and organizational capacity.

  • Advocacy Communication

    Shaping a public image and communication infrastructure for compelling messages across traditional, online, and social media.

  • Negotiation

    Learning how to engage and persuade stakeholders and partners around your advocacy cause.

Every Good Cause Needs an Advocate

Advocacy looks different in every environment. That’s why the Academy brings together like-minded people from different sectors - creating the space where lasting partnerships and impactful initiatives begin.

  • 1

    Public Administration

    Work more effectively and build trust with partners.

  • 2

    Business

    Shape the environment through partnerships and professional advocacy.

  • 3

    NGOs & Civil Society

    Build your organization alongside others and work towards measurable change with a long-term vision for growth.

  • 4

    Media

    Understand institutions, interests, and the mechanisms behind public processes - and turn that understanding into lasting partnerships and your own advocacy voice on the issues you champion.

Lecturers

A team of leading practitioners and experts from different sectors will lead the program’s eight modules. Each of them brings hands-on experience from the reforms, campaigns, and organizations they have built or transformed.

Guest Lecturers

Established leaders who join the Academy beyond the core module structure through dedicated sessions focused on specific leadership skills. Each session will focus on one skill and the practical experience of a leader who has applied it in their work.

Program

What can you expect throughout the Academy? Eight areas that come together to build a comprehensive approach to leadership and advocacy.

  • Module 1 | Foundations of Advocacy: How Practice Builds Influence

    Many of the most important decisions affecting businesses, citizens, and public policy are not made in the parliamentary chamber. They are made in ministry working groups, in deputy ministers’ offices, and through regulations drafted by senior experts no one elected.
    How do you get to those decisions? What do these processes look like from the inside? And how do you say something that matters to the right person at the right moment?
    This module explores Bulgaria’s executive branch as it works in practice - from the perspective of an advocate trying to enter the process from the outside and make their voice heard.

  • Module 2 | European Advocacy: From National Priorities to European Dialogue

    This module offers a practical look at the EU’s institutional architecture - how decision-making works, how a European legislative proposal moves through the system, and what makes an advocacy strategy effective.
    Participants will develop the skills to identify the right counterpart within a specific institution, prepare concise and professional positions for EU institutions, and communicate their messages clearly to both Brussels and national audiences.

  • Module 3 | National Advocacy: Through the Lens of Decision-Makers

    The legislative process is more than a procedure - it’s about knowing when, with whom, and how to engage. This module offers an inside look at how legislation is developed: the key moments for influence, the interests of those involved, and how to work with them.
    Through real-world examples from leading experts and sector leaders, participants will learn how to increase the chances of their proposed text achieving the intended impact.

  • Module 4 | The Municipality as a Field for Change: Local Advocacy and Self-Governance

    This module focuses on the level where change is most visible and accessible - municipal administration, municipal councils, and the local regulatory framework.
    Practical and designed for participants working at the local level, including outside the capital, the module equips each participant with a ready-to-use action plan for a real issue in their city, the skills to build a local coalition with limited resources, and an understanding of how an advocacy cycle can withstand a change in mayor or political majority.

  • Module 5 | PR Strategies & Communications: Messages, Storytelling & Influence

    This module turns an advocacy position into compelling messages and builds the communication architecture needed to reach key audiences and stakeholders.
    Participants will learn how to build trust around their cause - from public speaking and storytelling to personal positioning, social media, and automation tools.

  • Module 6 | Negotiation: The Art of Leading the Dialogue

    This module explores how to advocate for your cause without closing the conversation. You’ll learn to identify interests, understand the positions of different stakeholders, and choose the right strategy for each conversation.
    Through real-life scenarios and practical exercises, participants will develop persuasion and negotiation techniques and learn how to turn differences into shared solutions.

  • Module 7 | How to Collaborate Better: From Shared Interests to Joint Action

    This module explores collaboration not as good intentions, but as a leadership practice built around a clear shared goal, defined roles, and decision-making rules. It examines why partnerships fail even when everyone formally wants to work together.
    Participants will learn to diagnose why a specific partnership isn’t working, recognize leadership behaviors that undermine trust, and structure collaboration across organizational and sectoral boundaries.

  • Module 8 | Your Personal Leadership Compass: Values, Resilience & Decision-Making in Uncertainty

    This module shifts the focus to the person driving change - often without formal authority or full control over the process, and in an environment of resistance and slow progress.
    Participants will develop a clear personal leadership compass built on values, principles, and boundaries, enabling them to make sound decisions under pressure and amid competing interests.

Partners

The allies who make the Academy possible.

Alumni Club - Your Community

“A community that grows, shares knowledge, and leaves a lasting impact.” The Alumni Club brings together all Academy cohorts in a community that exchanges knowledge, builds partnerships, and creates new initiatives together. This is where collaborative projects with lasting impact take shape.

Our Alumni Community Shares...

First-hand feedback on the Academy.

  • Trendafil Meretev

    Projects and Advocacy Manager, “For Our Children” Foundation

    “I am very grateful to the organizers for the opportunity to participate in the academy. I learned a lot from the speakers, but also a lot from the amazing participants, who I also thank. In the process of the course I realized that the most important advocacy should be about developing people's knowledge and skills, to increase competencies to be used for prosperity.”

  • Ivaylo Madzharov

    Founder and CEO of Association “Active Politics”

    “This program put me in the place where I understand more about essential skills, fostering a more engaged civil society in Bulgaria. Now I am more secure on how to plan and evaluate campaigns that hold the government accountable, enhancing democratic processes and ensuring policies better reflect public needs.”

  • Stefanie Aleksandrova

    Co-Founder and Board Member of Sustainable Regional Development

    "The Advocacy Academy training was a game-changer for me. As someone experienced in EU-level advocacy, the role-playing exercises were a revelation. While it's hard to pinpoint a single transformative moment, the combination of role games and real-life simulations was especially impactful. Moreover, the informal interactions with other participants were eye-opening.”

  • Yuliana Nascova

    Employment and Entrepreneurship Programme Lead , Trust for Social Achievement Foundation

    “My personal story from the training program that significantly shifted or changed my perspective about advocacy was during lecture given by BESCO - The Business case in Bulgarian advocacy that aimed to provide clear-cut, useful and specific tools and case studies related to advocacy, operations, governance and sustainability. I realized how important it is for an organization to have good, aligned governance and stable, like-minded and effective governing bodies to support, when needed, the organization's efforts and strategies for change in laws and overall business / other environment."

  • Aglaya Samokovliyska

    Attorney at Law, President Consumer Legal Clinic

    “As an attorney, I thought I understood advocacy. My work involved defending clients, building cases, and presenting arguments. However, joining the Advocacy Academy revealed a broader, more dynamic form of advocacy - championing social causes, influencing public policy, and mobilizing community support. The academy's workshops opened my eyes to new approaches highlighting the importance of teamwork, a clear vision, and persistence. By the end of the academic program, my perspective had profoundly changed.”

Tuition Fees

The fee is carefully tailored to the realities of each sector - ensuring the access and representation on which the Academy is built, with the support of the Lachezar Tsotsorkov Foundation and SiteGround.

Frequently asked questions

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, get in touch with us.

Are You Ready to Be Part of the Academy?

Your compass for impact - a place where a good idea is only the first step, because every mission needs a community that grows, shares knowledge, and leaves a lasting impact.