Our Views, Our Voices initiative 2026 training supports new lived experience advocates
The Our Views, Our Voices initiative delivered a virtual training to 25 people with lived experience of NCDs from 15 countries, aiming to build knowledge, confidence, and skills to drive action and accountability on commitments made in the 2025 Political Declaration on NCDs and Mental Health.
With sessions taking place from February to April, the training leveraged a public narrative framework, supporting the new advocates to use their powerful lived experience as a tool to drive change. Participants worked on presenting their personal stories with an advocacy-focused lens and developing calls to action that are meaningful to the communities they represent. They were also invited to explore the challenges people living with NCDs may face in becoming lived experience advocates, and to take part in confidence-building for becoming a representative. The training aimed to nurture a new generation of lived experience advocates who will use their stories to drive impact and champion accountability on NCDs at all levels.
“The sessions allowed me to step back from my daily activities and reflect more deeply on my work. It helped me approach advocacy in a more structured, organised, and strategic way, which I found extremely valuable.” - Training participant
The training consisted of eight modules, with a mix of live and distance learning sessions. Similar trainings were held in 2021 and 2022, and previous participants, including Chris Agbega, were involved in delivering the live sessions. They guided this year’s participants whilst sharing their own personal experiences of the training and how it boosted their advocacy efforts. Former and current members of the Our Views, Our Voices Global Advisory Committee facilitated the live sessions as guest speakers, including Lucía Feito Allonca, Malik Abdul, Seema Bali and Nupur Lalvani.
“It was truly a rich and insightful experience, and I greatly appreciated the quality of the content as well as the diversity of perspectives shared.” - Training participant
Chikhulipiliro Stanley Jr N’gombe, a lived experience representative on the NCD Alliance Board and Global Advisory Committee member, encouraged training participants to recognise their lived experience as expertise, and utilise the advocacy methods learnt during the training to fill in an evidence gap in decision-making spaces: "Let's talk about what's real. Let's talk about what evidence is there. Because evidence is what helps to convince [...] if you have a good story without evidence, it's just a good story...but when you couple it with evidence you're actually saying you have a good story that can provide the ability to change.” He also encouraged participants to not just stop at lived experience representation and participation, but to protect their spaces: "The future is now. How do we, as people with lived experience, use that to our advantage?”
Evaluations were conducted before and after the training to assess the participants’ perceived confidence and skills. Results from the final evaluation show that since the start of the course, participants developed greater confidence in sharing their story and speaking about NCDs, and became more confident about speaking to other advocates and policymakers. There was also an improvement in advocates feeling confident about mobilising people to act on NCD issues. When asked about advocacy plans after the training, participants said they would engage with their local communities, help build their national alliance and aim to develop their understanding of NCD policy issues in their country to help them engage with civil society and governments.
“I held on to the saying of "Nothing about us without us" and I am taking it with me.” -Training participant
The Our Views, Our Voices training was possible thanks to NCD Alliance’s partnership with Viatris and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
