The Role Of Empowerment And Active Participation In Community Development

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to dig into the dynamics of ‘empowerment’ and ‘active participation’ within the context of community development (CD). We will identify the main concepts, success factors and impediments involved in community empowerment and participatory development and critically evaluate its effectiveness and relevance in different contexts.

Community development

Community development is a holistic approach based on principles of empowerment, human rights, inclusion, social justice, self-determination and collective action (Kenny, 2017). Community development has a preponderant role in the redistribution of power to address the causes of inequality and disadvantage. Therefore, CD is all about empowering community members in creating stronger and more connected communities; to change and develop in ways which, they themselves desire and with material support of which they are willing to make effective use. Active participation and empowerment are both

It is suggested that ‘people are their own assets’ and the role of the external agent is to catalyze, facilitate or accompany the community in acquiring power (Who.int, 2017) It is also proposed that "people cannot achieve their fullest [health] potential unless they are able to take control of those things which determine their [health]" (Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, 1986). Following the same line of thought, Cochran (1986) considers that people understand their own needs far better than anyone else and as a result they should have the power to both define and act upon them (Cochran, 1986). Javan re-asserts the notion that people must be involved in those decisions that affect their lives, thus gaining confidence, self-esteem and knowledge, and developing new skills (Javan,