through such mobilization organizations with little experience or prior knowledge could take a great leap forward into the world of formal intergovernmental negotiations with considerable success feminists learned formal negotiation methods and language and became creative in mixing effective advocacy with technical sophistication using insideroutsider methods and strategic and tactical lessons that they learned on the job equally it could creatively address new issues and learn from its own diversity despite an increasingly difficult policy environment in feet the need to challenge those policies provided grist to the mill of women s organizations during this period the ability to do so effectively was enabled by the welcoming environment that the un provided to civil society at a time when its own role was under attack