[afro-nets] Measuring Empowerment: Cross Disciplinary Perspectives

[Claudio Schuftan <claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn>]

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC)

Measuring Empowerment: Cross Disciplinary Perspectives
------------------------------------------------------

New World Bank Book Explores How to Empower the Poor

Edited by Deepa Narayan - ISBN:  0-8213-6057-4 SKU:  16057 -
April 2005

Website:
http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=3839257

WASHINGTON, DC, April 20 2005 -  It is widely accepted that
effective poverty reduction depends on the ability to empower
poor people to move out of poverty, yet the concept of
empowerment tends to be poorly understood in development
circles.  A new book  Measuring Empowerment: Cross Disciplinary
Perspectives - explores various aspects of empowerment and its
relationship to poverty reduction.

The book brings together the research and experience of 27
development experts from different disciplines who were asked to
address the question of how best to define and measure
empowerment.  The book is edited by Deepa Narayan, editor of the
powerful three-part series Voices of the Poor, which chronicled
the first-hand accounts of poverty from 60,000 poor men and
women from developing countries.

Inequality in power is pervasive and embedded in institutions
from the local to global levels. Therefore, changes in the
opportunity structure dictated by formal and informal rules are
critical.

Differences between social groups are often more relevant to
development and empowerment questions than individual
differences.  However, most research and measurement efforts
focus on individuals.  The book builds a framework to ensure
that empowerment becomes part of the development agenda so that
the poor are treated as invaluable partners in development, and
are finally treated as a resource and not the problem.

Related links: Workshop Papers:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/EXTEM
POWERMENT/0,,contentMDK:20261484~menuPK:486457~pagePK:64020865~p
iPK:149114~theSitePK:486411,00.html


Session 1: Frameworks and Concepts
Session 2: Gender and Household
Session 3: Subjective Well-Being and Power
Session 4: Community/Local Governance
Session 5: National Level


--
Can anybody review this for our list?

I have earlier written about what is really empowering. If
interested, see essay No. 39 in http://www.humaninfo.org/aviva

Claudio Schuftan
mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn