Civic activism – acting for a group, only if this action does not reflect a direct personal interest
Community – group of connected people who share common interests, similar features, a common identity and history and a common vision; it is both a homogeneous entity (based on the common elements), as well as a heterogeneous one (given the diversity of age, abilities or beliefs differentiating its members); it is made of multiple subgroups that are more or less visible in the community and that have different access to resources and different levels of power in decision influencing processes.
Building capacity for marginalized/disadvantaged individuals and groups (empowerment) – this is a process that progresses along a dynamic continuum: from the individual to small groups, then to community organizations, partnerships and political action; the relational view of this concept (i.e. changing power relations) relates to the definition of marginalization, and the individual or group capacity view of this concept (‘power to act’) relates to the definition of disadvantage.
Public/public interest decision – A decision that affects community life and implies the allocation of public resources.
Disadvantage – occasional and contextual denial of certain needs that are not necessarily basic needs and of certain services, which may occur to members of any group, in certain specific contexts.
Development – continuous participatory process along which communities define and implement their own improvements, with or without external assistance
Participatory community development – approach of a set of activities, that centers on participation as an attitude and as a permanent working method of community organizations with community members; it stands for and is based on wide participation and the inclusion of various groups and interests in the community, through which those groups define their own direction and vision of development.
Building competencies – building knowledge, abilities and motivation, and creating a favorable environment for all of the above mentioned.
Empowerment/ building local capacity at individual and group level – a 3-level definition
Level 1:
- The power to act
- Involves the development of capacities/abilities/competencies
- Can be reached on a short term
-Link between levels 1& 2 – creating/strengthening/enhancing individual competencies transforms power relations
Level 2:
- The power to influence public interest decisions
- Depends upon a shift in power relations
- Entails but also contributes to systemic change
- Can be reached on a longer term
- Link between levels 2 & 3 – shifts in power relations challenge societal attitudes and mentalities
Level 3:
- The power to change societal attitudes/mentalities
- Involves systemic change
- Big picture, can be reached on a long term
Critical thinking/awareness – a group’s or a community’s ability to assess the social, political, economical or circumstantial causes that contribute to its level of disadvantage
Marginalization – continuous and systematic denial of access to fundamental rights and basic needs, which is made on the account of the features of a certain group and as a results of other groups’ perception of and reaction to those features
Resource mobilization – the community’s ability to mobilize resources from within, as well as its ability to negotiate and attract resources from the outside
Community-based organization (CBO) – nongovernmental organization or informal citizen group made of members of a certain community who associate in order to initiate activities to contribute to the development of the community they belong to, addressing needs locally identified by its members
Participation – contribution and involvement of community members in decision making with regard to public interest issues
Civil society – the totality of organizations (NGOs, CBOs etc.), relations and processes of private (as opposed to public) nature, that are meant to yield community wefare
