Empowerment UK

8/10/2019 Empowerment UK

1/48

EMPOWERMENT OF VULNERABLE GROUPSPractices and products EQUAL Portugal

Participantsfromt

heDiverCidadeProject


2/48

INDEX

Introduction 3

1. Cooperation Council 5

2. Creating and Animating Diversity Forum(s) 7

3. Participatory Budgeting 9

4. The Forum Theatre Technique 11

5. Pathways to Independence 15

6. Solidary Market 19

7. Community Capacity Building Kit 21

8. Entrepreneurship for Offenders Social Reintegration 25

9. My Guide to Freedom 2910. Promoting Self-determination and Empowerment 33

11. Experience Expert-profile and Training Course 37

12. A Day in Prison 41

13. Bus and Truck Drivers Communities of Practice 45

Front Page Photos (left to right)

1. Participants from the Iguais num Rural Diferente Project;2. Participants from the DiverCidade Project;3. Participants from the Itineris Project.


3/48

It underlies innovationbecause the more beneficiaries and users are involvedin the design of solutions being tested, the more those solutions are suited totheir culture and address their specific problems and needs. Interventions aremore effective and of a higher standard. The added value, in comparisonwith conventional responses, brought by the practice of empowerment, hasbeen the key to the success of many EQUAL solutions solutions thatpromoted autonomy and responsibility-taking among users and finalbeneficiaries, that developed new skills and new ways of learning, and thatincorporated a range of input from different partners, players, beneficiariesand other stakeholders.

It underlies citizenshipbecause empowerment is about peoples activeparticipation in change processes (whether their own or their communitys),and about the rights (and duties) of cit izens who have invested in their ownskills and contributed to the management of collective resources. In otherwords, empowerment is about the quality of democracy.

The acknowledged value of the empowerment principle and the benefits to bederived from it being spread during the next Structural Funds Programmingperiod, led us to compile some accounts of EQUAL project practices andproducts in which empowerment has been central. The practice/productoverviews in this brochure, written by the authors themselves, include:

descriptions of how the final beneficiaries were involved, key aspects of theirparticipation, and the impact this had on the interventions or services provided.The examples given are diverse and rich, and range from the students council(made up of street children the project beneficiaries) that periodically assesses

FOREWORDIn EQUAL, the principle of empowermentis a cornerstone principle of innovationand citizenship.

Introduction | 3


4/48

the training course and puts forward suggestions for its improvement; thecreation of new profiles such as experience experts (individuals who haveactually experienced poverty and social exclusion themselves) who, inpartnership with project team technicians, work to support vulnerable groups,to a Participatory Budgeting process, directly involving citizens;

suggestions on how the ESF and Programme managers could in futurecontribute to developing and consolidating empowermentpractices.Suggestions include: providing incentives to projects and initiatives thatincorporate empowerment practices; making empowerment practices aselection criteria; greater financial and operational flexibility in order toachieve empowermentoutcomes, and incentives to communities andnetworks of professionals, organisations (and, why not, beneficiaries) wishingto share and advance empowermentpractices.

This brochure has been designed with two types of users in mind: project andaction promoters, who will find in it some inspiring cases of empowerment,and ESF Programme managers who, in their efforts to further enhanceinnovation, quality, and citizenship, want to place greater emphasis on user

and beneficiary participation and involvement.Finally, a word of appreciation for the Development Partnerships for onceagain sharing their experiences, and for the EQUAL team who, in record time,managed to put together and edit this catalogue of empowermentpractices.

Ana ValeEQUAL Programme Manager

| Introduction


5/48

PRACTICE/PRODUCT OVERVIEW

The Cooperation Councilis set up as a space for regulation, organisation, anddecision-making, devised, primarily, as an educational practice. It is run byconsensus, but above all, it constitutes an opportunity for self-reflection andactive participation of trainees, through their active involvement in their ownlearning process and definition of their personal and professional projects.

It is also a key moment for broader continuous self-evaluation, thus enabling afine-tuning of training paths, carried out in a cooperative and participative manner.

It is an ideal space for exercising citizenship and learning about rights and duties,as well as for conflict resolution and learning appropriate forms of dialogue andnegotiation.

PROBLEMS THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE IS ADDRESSING

Lack of opportunity for project beneficiaries to be actively involved in decisionmaking, having the power to influence the activities and processes that, most ofthe times, are just targeted at them (and not planned withthem);

Lack of adjustment of project planning, regarding beneficiaries specific needsand aspirations.

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PRACTICE/PRODUCT

Critical success factors are mostly associated with the methodology anddynamics applied in theCooperation Councils:

The roles of Chairpersonand Secretaryrotate among the trainees group, andtheir election constitutes an extremely important moment for the trainees as itgives them decision-making authority and power to conduct the meetings.

The Chairpersonis responsible for presenting the Agenda (based on what hasbeen recorded during the previous week in the Class Diary), for checking whetherthere are further topics to be included on the Agenda and for conducting themeeting. The Secretarywrites the minutes orproceedings, recording thediscussions and decisions adopted, and also for moderating the interventions.

Cooperation Council | 5

COOPERATION COUNCIL


6/48| Cooperation Council

The egalitarian participation of all Councilmembers trainees, technicians, andtrainers, gives everyone extra responsibilities regarding training processes, aswell as the individual and/or group assessment.

In this way, trainees are able to identify their potential, valorising the skills theyhave acquired and identifying any difficulties encountered during the trainingprocess (at the training centre or in the enterprises). It also facilitates experiencesharing, within a group context designed to help finding the best solutions toproblems.

TESTIMONIES OR COMMENTS FROM END BENEFICIARIES, ORUSERS, REGARDING THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE

I learned here how important it is to listen.

The first time I first had to speak I got very nervous because although I knew thatI had to defend what I wanted, I didnt know how to, except for saying becauseI say so and because Im right!

When I was elected chairperson I felt frightened and lost - I had never realisedhow hard it was for my colleagues to understand that there are rules that must befollowed: listening, requesting permission to speak, speaking just one at a time.I realised the position that teachers are in, and started to be less noisy in class.

Here I was forced to think about my future and my life.

ADDED VALUE OF THE PRACTICE/PRODUCT

The Cooperation Councilenables project trainees to become aware of thepossibility of negotiation and participation in the management of their ownpathways;

This practice also contributes to greater value being placed on the opinions andself-esteem of the participants in the socio-cultural and vocational trainingprocess taking place;

More importantly, they start ( in many cases for the first time) to understandhow to deal with success and to visualise future life plans.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD IN FUTURE

CONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURING PROJECTIMPLEMENTATION (regulations, financing, technical support, etc.)

Organisation of a Transnational Seminar on the themeParticipation/Empowerment in EQUAL/ESF Projects;

Creation of a Support Guidewith dissemination of empowerment practicesapplied in the EQUAL C.I., with different target groups;

Creation of a Technical Support Unitto provide support to new initiatives, in thefield of applying empowerment practices.

FORMAT OF THE PRODUCT/TOOL (paper, CD-Rom, website,video, etc.) AND LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE PRODUCT ISAVAILABLE

This practice is an integral part of a work methodology developed under theproject as a way to boost the young peoples empowerment. It is part of aMethodological Guide, available in paper and CD formats.

PROJECT: ITINERIS [PT-2004-018]

Name of contact person: Ana Isabel Martins

e-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: + 351 296 285 595


7/48


This practice aims to develop the self-sufficiency and self-representation of sociallydisadvantaged groups, to increase representation of minority/disadvantagedgroups on decision-making bodies of projects/interventions in which they arethe beneficiaries and to combat social and employment discrimination againstthese groups.

Its mainly targeted at disadvantaged people, natural community leaders andorganisations representing socially vulnerable groups.

The product is constituted by structured training practices and initiativesdesigned to:

Promote self-representation among different communities in high-risk areas,for example in critical neighbourhoods, creating conditions for development

of leadership and citizenship skills, and for the formation of representativeorganisations where these do not already exist;

Encourage coordination between existing associations and organisations inthe country, promoting partnership through shared diagnoses, definition ofmission and joint vision for the country, action plans with responsibility-sharing,evaluation and monitoring processes, and communication using new technologies(online communities);

Increase Diversity Forum involvement in all community actions, interveningparticularly in public and private sector structures, in the decision-making oninitiatives, interventions, and projects taking place there.

Although reference to a clearly defined geographical area is thought to facilitatethe promotion and set up of a Diversity Forum, they can also be formed on thebasis of a particular sector.

The Diversity Forum was created gathering together representatives fromthe communitys different social groups. In the case of the Forum in Vale daAmoreira, the representative organisations initially involved were the CapeVerdean Association and the Owners and Residents Association.

Creating and Animating Diversity Forum(s) | 7

CREATING AND ANIMATINGDIVERSITY FORUMS


8/48| Creating and Animating Diversity Forum(s)

At a later stage the Angolan Association, Guinea Association and Womens Group O Regao joined. Negotiations and efforts to engage the Roma communitycontinue. The Moita Town Council and Vale da Amoreira Parish Council regularlytake part in the Forum as they are public, elected bodies. They have been involvedin assessing the groups and communitys needs, and in drawing up proposals foraction. The weekly meetings gradually turned into fortnightly and then monthlymeetings, as participants roles became clearer.

The Diversity Forum expanded, not only in terms of membership but also itsscope of action, as it took an increasingly active part in working groups and in theevaluation of interventions. The Forum has also participated in congresses and

conferences, presenting and disseminating this action strategy and its outcomes.

The participation of Forum members in the local communitys organisationalstructures has been increasing significantly, which reveals real progress in terms oftheir commitment to active participation in initiatives, and also greater relevanceof interventions to the real needs of the community.

PROBLEMS THAT THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE IS ADDRESSING

The need for minority group representation, at several different levels, gave rise tothe Diversity Forum, which was set up for the purpose of promoting theirself-determination and self-representation by exercising active citizenship basedon diversity and respect for minorities.

CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE PRACTICE/PRODUCT

Territorial intervention;

Involvement of naturalleaders in the community;

Involvement of associations that already exist in the community, ensuring theyare run democratically and encourage increased membership participation;

The role of the Forum technicians should only be that of facilitators, and they shouldresist the appeal of positions of authority, unless they belong to the community;

Promoting leadership and citizenship skills development initiatives, for which theproject produced the respective materials.

ADDED VALUE OF THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE It is a pioneering experience in effective involvement of beneficiaries in theproject implementation and in the community, which is now spreading to otherprojects supported by national funding or that are part of regenerationinterventions (such as the Escolhas and Progride Programmes, the Inter-ministerialCritical Neighbourhoods Intervention, the intervention for low-incomefamilies on temporary benefits);

It develops self-reliance, self-representation capacity and active citizenship;

It brings different realities closer together by promoting the sharing andexchange of experiences among Forum members and the communities theyrepresent, ensuring the suitability of interventions, and stimulating participationthat improves self-esteem, leadership capacity, and proximity to the individual,

because we are sure that one of the key elements for serious communityinvolvement in resolving its problems is the work of peers and natural leaders, aslong as there is understanding of what is being done and what is needed.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD, IN FUTURE,CONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURING PROJECTIMPLEMENTATIONS (regulations, financing, technical support,etc.)

The organisation and spread of the use of this practice to other localities andsocial groups should involve networking based on already existing Forums and theassociations or communities that wish to test it in their own areas, and peer work;

Awareness raising / training initiatives among natural community leaders and

associations representing communities; Demonstration of good practices and outcomes, increasing visibility in thenational media;

Recognition of the outcomes by public and regulatory bodies. This recognitionshould lead to new regulations and resources that support the multiplication anddissemination of proven good practices.

PROJECT:SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT [PT-2001-070]

Name of contact person:Augusto SousaRumo (Real Partner Organisation - Action 2)

e-mail: [email protected]:+ 351 212 064 920


9/48Participatory Budgeting | 9

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING


Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a system that enables citizens, within a determinedterritory (in this case a Borough) to provide input into the budgetary processled by the Town Council, which receives useful information from those affectedby the budget. In other words, it s a process that galvanises citizens politicalparticipation by involving them in the setting of Town Councils Budget.

Participation of this kind provides all involved Town Council, council staff, andpopulation alike with an intensive learning experience. Citizens benefit frompractical learning about public management, citizens rights and duties, andpolitical organisation. As a result, they are better equipped to understand localproblems, how responses are designed, and how negotiation of proposals works.They also gain from increased self-esteem, which itself is conducive to mobilisingpeople into action.

Council members and technical staff agree to share their authority and welcomecitizens ideas and proposals.

This participation is achieved by involving citizens both in public meetings (where theproposals about the way to apply and spend the budget are discussed) and in thematicmeetings, to promote some reflection on transversal and strategic topics, to the territory.


This product seeks to address a series of problems relating to the quality ofdemocracy, namely:

increasing alienation of citizens from their areas political life, leading to aframework of democratic apathy;

regressive redistribution of the benefits of development, with subsequentmarginalisation of social groups and territories;

loss of credibility and legitimacy of the political class;

significant shortfalls in citizenship;

lack of transparency in local governmental activity, among others.


10/48


Political willingness to implement the process.

Technical capacity to put participative methodologies into effect.

Engagement of the territorys various population segments, i.e. youngpeople, women, elderly and socially and economically vulnerable groupsof citizens.

TESTIMONIES OR COMMENTS FROM END BENEFICIARIES, OR

USERS, REGARDING THE PRODUCT/PRACTICETestimony 1 (citizen that participated in public PB meetings)Every Town Council in the country should do the same. They should allengage in the Participative Budget, reach out to people, and listen to theirviews. I think the benefit is that we learn what is going on in the borough,and what the Council does and doesnt do because, before, we didnt knowanything.

Testimony 2 (citizen that participated in public PB meetings)People become better informed on whats happening in the borough.Before now, people did not know anything about the Town Councilsprojects, and neither did they have the opportunity of expressing theiropinions on what they thought about what should be done. The Participative

Budget has changed all that. I raised a problem at a meeting here and just afew days later Council officials came and sorted it out.

Testimony 3 (citizen that participated in public PB meetings)Having a Participative Budget is essential because the leader of the Councilalone cannot possibly know everything she/he needs to know. The peopleknow what is needed in their own area. It is very important to be able toparticipate, and to know that we are listened to, and understand what theCouncil can and cannot do. The only way to achieve that is through dialogue.


Participatory Budgeting gives citizens the opportunity to express their needsand expectations and improve their social skills. They also gain a more realistic

understanding of the resources and means available with in the territory.Participatory Budgeting enables the Town Council and its technical staff:

to better comprehend the realities of the Borough;

to establish direct communication links with the public;

to validate their proposals and choices.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD IN FUTURECONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURING PROJECTIMPLEMENTATION (regulations, financing, technical support,etc.)

Providing financial support for technical training/consultancy for Councils

interested in implementing PB.

FORMAT OF THE PRODUCT/TOOL (paper, CD-Rom, website,video, etc) AND LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE PRODUCT ISAVAILABLE

The product will be in book format with CD-Rom included, whichwill containing all the tools and materials used in the testing process.For Action 3 of the project, there are plans for a website to enable onlineaccess to the product.

PROJECT: SO BRS SOLIDRIO [PT-2004-070]

Name of contact person: Nelson Dias

E-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: + 351 289 840 860

0 | Participatory Budgeting


11/48 The Forum Theatre Technique | 11

THE FORUM THEATRE TECHNIQUESupport guide for implementation of the Forum

Theatre Technique as a tool for promoting communityempowerment


The product comprises:

Narrative of the practice: a descriptive and illustrative account of the experienceof experimenting the Forum Theatre technique as a tool for promoting communityempowerment in deprived neighbourhoods located in Lisbon and Amadora;

Practical step-by-step guide to implementing the Forum Theatre technique;

Attachments auxiliary tools for planning, monitoring, and evaluating theprocess, and Curinga* Handbook (* facilitator of the Theatre Forum sessions).

This guide may be used by any individual, informal/formal group, and/ororganisation wishing to apply the methodology to promote individual andcommunity empowerment.

About the practice:

Using the Forum Theatre methodology, groups were set up within the communities.Following a period of training in the techniques and consolidation of theirapplication (individual empowerment of the groups participating members), thegroups start to work as driving and creative forces behind a space for dialogue inthe community, in which solutions to the communitys problems are sought, withthe direct involvement of residents (community empowerment).

The process of setting up the groups required careful listening to and involvementof all the organisations working on the ground, and recruiting local residents foran initial training session. The trainees then identified the relevant topics thatwould be discussed with the community through the public presentation ofdramas (mobilisation of the community to see the plays) and the creation of

spaces for dialogue.The practice invested heavily in building a sense of team spirit and the continuoustraining of the many participants in the dramas, with a view to preparing them tobe the multipliers of the experience.


12/48

The direct participation of the beneficiaries the active agents onthe ground, the interested and available parties combined with theinvolvement of DiverCidade Specialists, formed the key pillar of theForum theatre methodology implementation process.

About the product:

The practical step-by-step guide to implementing the Forum Theatretechnique with communities explains, on the basis of experience, how to setup and carry forward community theatre groups:

1.Internal training in Forum Theatre2.Identification, listening to, and involvement of organisations

3.Cultures training

4.Awareness raising initiatives

5.Training in Forum Theatre and formation of Forum Theatre groups

6.Consolidation of work in the communities

7.Public presentation of plays designed by the groups

8.Extracurricular activities for the groups

9.Advanced training in Forum Theatre

10.Adoption of the methodology by the beneficiaries

11.Implementation of concrete initiatives in the community

12.Theoretical preparation of the multipliers

PROBLEMS THAT THE EMPOWERMENTPRACTICE IS ADDRESSING

Shortfalls in terms of aware and active citizen participation,addressed by:

Becoming aware of their personal, social, and professional abilities and skills;

Promoting social skills (e.g. punctuality, dependability, team spirit...) and

assertiveness; Gaining consciousness of self-representation and self-determination;

Taking responsibility for leading their own lives and the life of the community;

Raising awareness of the capability and means for action for change;

Raising awareness of the gender equality issue.


Implementing the community intervention methodology Forum Theatre and the respective experimentation entailed the hard work of engagingdifferent age groups in the communities; energising the communitiesresources, and encouraging the formation of local and inter-neighbourhood

partnerships. To drive forward the experiment, it was essential that the groupof technicians adapted to the availability and timetables of the beneficiariesand peer organisations. The participation of the Experience Experts (anotherof the dimensions tested in the DiverCidade project) and other informalleaders was extremely important in engaging and motivating the groupmembers.

Both end users and beneficiaries were involved from the outset of the trial.During training they identified their problems which, after collectivediscussion, were dramatised on stage and presented to the community.Finally, the plays and the ensuing forum become excellent opportunities forinvolving both beneficiaries and users.

The direct work with the users calls for considerable flexibility in terms of

times, pace and working methods. There is no golden rule each targetgroups is different but we should always bear in mind that the beneficiariesare the ones who have the knowledge about their community and itsproblems. The technical team has the know-how in methodology and incommunity intervention, and it is up to the latter to create and develop groupspirit and promote equality among all the stakeholders.

2 | The Forum Theatre Technique


13/48The Forum Theatre Technique | 13

TESTIMONIES OR COMMENTS FROM END BENEFICIARIES,OR USERS, REGARDING THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE

It helps people to reflect on their everyday lives. It reveals the reality ...Develops reasoning skills, sheds light on choices ... (Peter)

It respects culture. The door is open to everyone. (Peter)We learn how to deal with everyday, like discrimination against certain people (William)

It improves the way men and women relate to and appreciate each another,and raises awareness of equal rights (Bino)

It stimulates attitudes and builds up our determination (Bruno)

This methodology (...) enables people to look at yesterday and today, and tothink about what they can do tomorrow (Isa)

Theatre Forum users and participants develop new skills by discussing theproblems that arise, which many people do not know how to deal with. (Sandra)

Although it faces many hurdles, the Forum tries to be successful, when users

begin to realise that this is something that touches them and that they mustundergo a change for the good. (Isa)

From the outset, I realised that we were the ones who had to take action, putforward ideas, come up with ideas, put something of ourselves into each activity... and this, obviously, builds up our autonomy. (Sandra)

It helps final beneficiaries to play an active part in the problem-solving (...) it isapplicable to any situation (Vitor)

It is vital that people start realising that whatever physical differences thereare, we all have feelings, all have problems, we all laugh and smile, and that thisis what makes us equal. That is how I feel every week at rehearsals. The Forumidentifies discrimination, whatever form it comes in. It is a flexible method. (Isa)

ADDED VALUE OF THE PRACTICE/PRODUCTDuring implementation of the practice in the locations defined by the DiverCidadeProject, we noted some changes in the people taking part in the activities. In Buraca(Cova da Moura and Zambujal neighbourhoods), for example, the organisationsworking on the ground were able to draw closer to the real problems facing thecommunitys young people, and gain a better understanding of how they feel anddeal with them.

The Forum Theatre is an innovative methodology that provides organisationswith new skills and tools with which to tackle the problems they encounter inthe course of their social intervention work. Through the increased creativeprocesses in the technical teams, and the stimulus to continuous reflection onthe problems affecting their beneficiaries, an improvement can be seen in the

communication between population and institutions, as well as in the learningof informal ways of working with the community, which facilitateinter-relationship, mutual learning, and a closer rapport.

The skills acquisition and enhancement among all those involved is undeniablein areas such as pedagogy and group dynamics, community work, design,implementation and follow through of the Forum Theatre methodology, etc..


14/484 | The Forum Theatre Technique

The fact that it is the young people in the community who write the plays,choose the topics and content to present, and put them on stage means thatmore empathy and feeling of commitment to the work is generated.

Furthermore, when they show the product of their work to the other membersof the community and received public recognition for their efforts, the benefitsin terms of self-esteem are palpable, and a decisive step towards individualempowerment.

The Forum Theatre methodology causes interaction with the audience in the

form of seeking solutions to the problems ariser by the community itself. Thisinteraction fosters the development of critical spirit in everyone, both in relationto the daily life of the neighbourhood and, in the case of local theatre groups,in respect of their own work insofar as they strive for continuous improvementand to fulfil the objectives of the play and achieve the solutions proposed by theaudience.

The training given to the target group provided added value in terms ofindividual and group behaviour, as well as an awareness of a new perspectiveon their community in particular, and society generally. It aroused new culturalinterests in them, especially relating to theatre. Furthermore, it opened up arange of professional/occupational choices or alternatives that would otherwiseprobably have remained closed to them.

The responsibility taken on by the members of the community participantgroup, with encouragement from the team members in all their activities, was agradual achievement in a process of creating a space, where everyone was equal(technicians and target group), for joint decision-making, always in a context ofindividual and, especially collective and community empowerment.

Additionally, new informal community leaders were seen to emerge, and therewas an openness and eagerness towards teamwork among boys and girls. In thebeginning, there had been some resistance from the boys, who were the firstones to join the local theatre group.



To create easily accessible and understandable tools for the target groups;

To facilitate exchange between organisations actually working on the ground;

To reduce to an established minimum the amount of bureaucracy required forreally innovative activities that work directly with the target groups;

A less bureaucratic and more strategic and practical monitoring role by theProgramme Management (such as visits to the local site, that would bemotivating for the organisations and technicians involved in direct work withthe target groups);

Greater flexibility for the organisations with direct intervention on the ground between budget headings, so that the finances keep pace with the flexibilityrequired in the implementation/testing of empowerment strategies on theground;

To allow the inclusion in the budget of expenses relating to developing groupdynamics for promoting group spirit (given that this is a good way of engagingtarget group members, at least in the beginning).

FORMAT OF THE PRODUCT/TOOL paper, CD-Rom, website, video,etc. AND LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE

The product is available in paper and digital formats, in Portuguese, andcomprises the following:

a) Narrative of a Practiceb) The Process Step-by-Stepc) Attachmentsd) Audiovisual record first hand account of the experiences of the ForumTheatre Groups, located in the disadvantaged neighbourhoods of Cova daMoura and Zambujal in Amadora, during testing in Action 2.

PROJECT: DIVERCIDADE [PT-2004-029]

Name of contact person:Gisella Mendoza

-mail:[email protected]

Telephone:+ 351 968 474 613


15/48


This product is an outcome of a project designed to promote equal opportunitiesand territorial development, based on the perspective that to do so, necessarilyentails rebuilding the power of the people involved and therefore putting theaccent on participative methodologies that will lead to the building of that power.Creating and animating community spaces to facilitate reconciliation of work andfamily and social life in a rural areas (day care centre for children, open school)were the type of activities undertaken by the project, since problems anddifficulties in this area that were affecting the regions people, especially workingmothers, had been identified.

The product Pathways to Independence: Methodologies and strategies forcreating and animating community spaces to facilitate reconciliation of work andfamily life in rural areas, designed as a cluster of products, calls for structuring

reflection to define, on one hand, the suitability of an intervention aimed atupgrading and redefining the relationships of power and, on the other hand, themethodologies used to develop the various activities, taking into account thatsame upgrading.

To illustrate this proposal to alter the power relationships, sub-products variousactivities developed during Action 2 have been incorporated. The participativemethodologies adopted throughout the process were applied in these activities.

The overall objectives of the product are:

to disseminate methodologies tested in empowerment processes relating tothe production of shared solutions for local community development;

to publicise a participative approach to promoting reconciliation between

work, family and personal life in rural areas, for the purpose of its disseminationand adoption in other territories with similar needs;

to prepare and train new agents to use the participative methodologies andmanagement processes, namely the theatre workshops (Oficinas de Poder),gender equality road theatre show (the Ciranda Cultural), skills balance model,and the reflection and participation monitoring grids.

Pathways to Independence | 15

PATHWAYS TO INDEPENDENCEMethodologies and strategies for creating and animating

community spaces to facilitate reconciliation of work andfamily life in rural areas


16/48


The departure point of the project Equals in a Changed Rural Area was theawareness of structural deficiencies in conditions that facilitate not onlyreconciliation between peoples work and family lives but also their everydaylives generally.

Local communities did not have spaces for socialisation purposes, or any focalpoints for local development initiatives that could produce the alternatives forthem. Most people had resigned themselves to their condition, or at most, wereindividually but not collectively seeking solutions.

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE(strengths and weaknesses, critical success factors, overcomingchallenges, unresolved issues)

Strengths:

The accent on collective and individual learning resulting from the systemisationof knowledge emerging from the experience;

The transformation of technicians and volunteers into development facilitators;

The emphasis on peoples empowerment and on changing the dominant powerrelationships;

The accent on the projects work methodology: it is around problem-solvingthat people become aware and acquire consciousness.

Some persisting challenges:

The paradigm shift: putting this product into practice means presuming theintention to focus the processes of change and development of contexts on thebeneficiaries or users, the intention to acknowledge local development as anemancipatory process that affects power relationships, aims to find a newbalance with the established powers, transfers decision-making to those whoare usually excluded from it;

6 | Pathways to Independence


17/48Pathways to Independence | 17

Furthering participative and empowerment processes that draw attention to

equal opportunities issues, and identifying agents involved with this approach,seems to be the main challenge facing the project/product in the future.

TESTIMONIES OR COMMENTS FROM END BENEFICIARIES, ORUSERS, REGARDING THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE

Theatre Workshops (oficinas de poder):

It was really good because, without realising it, while we were acting we weregiving our opinions on really important issues that affect our lives.

It was all new to us. I had never taken part in something that seemed like just abit of fun but dealt with very serious and important issues for our lives and thelives of our children. Also, it was the first time we had ever been asked for ouropinion. (29-year-old female factory worker at Brintons, resident of Oliveira deFrades).

It was the first time I was ever invited to such a thing, and to make decisions...I had never acted before and, at first, I was afraid but then I even started thinkingabout things I had never thought about before. (54-year-old male factory workerat Brintons, resident of Alcofra Vouzela).

Open School:

The Open School project is good for our community. It has given rise to a lot ofinteraction and knowledge-sharing between the communitys younger and olderpeople; the older ones are able to pass on their know-how to the younger onesbut, at the same time, learn from them too for example how to use computers.The older ones have been showing the younger ones how to knit woollen socks.

I, for example, learned how to do darning, crochet, and rug-making, among otherthings. (27year-old woman, resident of Carvalhal de Vermilhas)

The Open School is a place for everyone, where we do different activities. Wehave Guidance during the project, and lots of socialising and interaction withthe community. I like coming to the Open School very much. (10-year-old boyfrom Carvalhal de Vermilhas).


18/48

ADDED VALUE OF THE PRODUC T/PRACTICE

It provides a set of methodologies and strategies for empowering peopleseeking appropriate solutions to their problems. Responses are open andflexible, and the products key focus is Equal Opportunities and work-familylife balance;

The fact that it contains an innovative, viable, and sustainable solution makes ittransferable to other contexts;

The fact that putting the product into practice requires the involvement of localparticipants (beneficiaries) in identifying and resolving the problems;

It gives rise to a research-action perspective, i.e. oriented towards knowledgeproduction because of the questioning of the action and transformation of thebeneficiaries into collective researchers;

It imposes a paradigm shift that is conducive to a more caring attitude towardspeople in situations of exclusion.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD, IN FUTURE,CONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURING PROJECTIMPLEMENTATION (regulations, financing, technical support, etc.)

In our view, the ESF could contribute to the consolidation of empowermentpractices in the implementation of projects, namely by introducing regulationsthat explicitly recommend empowerment practices and principles in theexecution of all ESF financed projects, and by making it a criteria for funding thatapplicant institutions incorporate empowerment principles and methodologiesin both the projects to be financed and their customary practice.

FORMAT OF THE PRODUCT/TOOL (paper, CD-Rom, website,video, etc) AND LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE PRODUCT ISAVAILABLE

The product is available in a semi-rigid paper dossier and in 5 DVDs that illustrateand explain the entire process. It is available in Portuguese.

8 | Pathways to Independence

PROJECT:EQUALS IN A CHANGED RURALAREA [PT-2004-343]

Name of contact person:Maria do Carmo Bica


Telephone:+ 351 232 772 491


19/48


The market is an alternative system of exchange, based on organising periodicsessions at which goods and services are exchanged betweenprossumers(people who are both producers/providers and consumers of goods or services).The exchange takes place using social currency created for the purpose.

Between the periodic sessions, exchanges may and should continue among theprossumersinterested in accessing the goods and/or services available within thecircuit.


Too much dependence on the formal market; consumerist attitudes;disadvantaged groups problems in accessing certain goods and servicescaused by economic difficulties, lack of awareness, or cultural barriers.


Mobilisation of a considerable number of people to engage in an alternativeeconomy practice. Guaranteeing the supply of a broad attractive range of goods and services. Provision of space and other logistical resources to make the periodic marketsessions work. Energising the continuation of exchanges in between the periodic market sessions.


We stood back a while and thought about all the greed in the world, and howthings could be so much simpler. Telma Sousa (prossumers)

Taking part in the Market encourages me to continue the experience in thecommunity where I work, and reminds me to be a more responsible consumer.Sandra Silvestre (prossumers)

I had a back massage to music. I loved it, and felt valued. Teresa Gonalves (prossumers)

Solidarity Market | 19

SOLIDARITY MARKET


20/480 | Solidarity Market


Promoting access to goods and services for people who would otherwise notaccess them, either for economic reasons or due to cultural unfamiliarity withthem. Progressive understanding of the workings of the currency and conventionalmarket. Greater openness to alternatives in terms of production and consumptionof goods and services.Social valorisation of vulnerable people as a result of recognition from their peersof the interest and quality of the goods and services that they manage to offer.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD IN FUTURECONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURING PROJECTIMPLEMENTATION (regulations, financing, technical support, etc.)

Creation of a Pilot programme to enable diversification and spread of social

experimentation in forms of social and solidarity economies.


Book with CD (with tools and testimonies), soon to be published;website (www.saobrassolidario.com). All materials in Portuguese language.

PROJECT: SO BRS SOLIDRIO [PT-2004-070]

Name of contact person:Maria Priscila Soares

e-mail:[email protected]

Telephone:+ 351 289 840 860


21/48


The Community Capacity Building Kitis an integrated set of methodologies,tools, strategies, and practices designed to support community engagementand capacity building at individual, organisational and community levels.The Kit consists of four sub-products:

The Implementation Support Guide for Community Innovation Projectsis intended to build the capacity of technicians in public and private sectororganisations for mobilising and supporting groups of citizens to identify,implement, and evaluate local development initiatives in which they are theprotagonists. Testing this methodology revealed that its potential outcomes are:the emergence of new solutions that address the needs and aspirationsidentified by groups of residents; the development of behavioural skills andknow-how, and increased community participation. The methodology breaks

with the traditional approach whereby beneficiaries are regarded as merelyreceivers and/or users of responses designed by technicians, and adoptsparticipative and empowering approach that seeks to give the vulnerable andexcluded groups a leading role and the power of choice.

Business Creation for Inclusion Charteris intended to help mobilise andsupport socially disadvantaged groups in connection with entrepreneurship,especially people who have poor academic and workplace skills, by strengtheningtheir behavioural and technical skills. Promoting enterprising spirit in areas ofsocial exclusion revealed itself to be an individual empowerment tool, as abusiness creation process, using participative methodologies, offers an opportunitynot just for economic integration but for all aspects of social integration too. Thebusiness creation process may or may not be an end in itself. Likewise, we considerempowerment as being a process as well as a goal.

Promoting Change Guidance Pathways for Civil Society Organisationsis designed to support civil society organisations to conduct a participativeorganisational diagnosis, encouraging reflection on their strengths andweaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as to facilitate the strategicplanning process.

Community Capacity Building Kit | 21

COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING KIT


22/482 | Community Capacity Building Kit

The aim of this sub-product is to capacitate organisations so that they aremore efficient, effective, open to employee and client participation, and ableto recognise their resources and diversify the ways in which they mobilisethem to make them less dependent on the State. Through these processes,the aim is to promote organisational empowerment internally and in itsrelationship with all its stakeholders.

Route map for Monitoring and Evaluation of Community Intervention Projects,whose objectives are to analyse the specificity of the challenges thatconfront evaluation in pilot projects and programmes geared to innovation

and organised in territory or sector-based projects, through the presentationof concrete experiences, and to use the monitoring and evaluationprocess to promote individual, group, inter-group, organisational andinter-organisational change, development, and learning. This sub-productcontains cross-cutting characteristics as it makes it possible to secure theinvolvement of all players at different levels, so that they can learn fromtheir own experience and improve the way in which they learn, reflect, makedecisions, take action, manage, and communicate, thus contributing to theadoption of research-action practices. Adopting this type of practice fostersand creates the conditions for the promotion of individual, organisational,and community empowerment.

The direct beneficiaries or potential users of the Community CapacityBuilding Kit are:

a)local/community development project technicians and leaders;b)organisations (public or private sector, especially civil society organisations);c)partnership networks. The final beneficiaries of the Kit are individuals andgroups interested in implementing local development projects, particularlydisadvantaged people.


The Kit systematises solutions for the purpose of combating some of the factorsthat converge to create poverty and social exclusion situations. Among thesefactors are the low enterprising capacities, presence of informal economicactivity as the only alternative available to much of the community, poorqualification/skills standards among the population and organisations, family

break-up, and poor personal development opportunities, combined withinsecurity and under-development/deprivation in the localities concerned.

The Kit adopts a multidimensional and integrated approach to its action. Itconcentrates efforts on capacity building in the networks of players rooted inthe territory and working in partnership, and on promoting entrepreneurialcapacity (looking at entrepreneurism from a broad perspective that includesbusiness initiative but also self-reliance, initiative, and empowerment (ofcommunities, technicians, and institutions) with a view to simultaneouslycreating jobs and ensuring provision and access to goods and services, froma standpoint of sustainable development and raising living standards forindividuals and families.

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PRODUC T/PRACTICE (strengths andweaknesses, critical success factors, overcoming challenges,unresolved issues)

Strengths:

It is the result of a symbiosis between a pedagogical technical resource anda successful practice, strengthening its ongoing experimental character, inresearch-action perspective, demonstrating the products pro-activeness.

It upgrades the value of each participant in the construction chain (authors,direct beneficiaries/users, and final beneficiaries), developing skills in reflection,management, and decision-making capacity.

The systematisation and joint reflection made possible through the productenable the direct beneficiaries or potential users to achieve a referenceframework to serve as a starting point for the theoretical and operational aspects,in a benchmarking perspective, calling attention to the characteristics of thestages in local development.

The products innovation also resides in the ability to incorporate differentexisting responses, bringing them into the territories and lives of the communitiesas ways of doing things differently that, once tested, are shown to be effective in


23/48Community Capacity Building Kit | 23

achieving the objectives proposed, either directly (entrepreneurism aspect, forexample) or indirectly (capacity building of groups through a common interestdeveloping different individual skills, which once applied in the family andprofessional context, lead to a change in their lives and make it possible forthem to access a range of opportunities that result in income generation and

better living standards), not forgetting of course that the Kit only inducesmethodologies, tools and strategies because the actual practices arebuilt by the community, in a genuine empowerment exercise.

It is an open response (living document) for community building,as it does not address every possibility for intervention and is not a setrecipe for implementing development projects. On the basis of otherexperiments in other locations, it will be possible to incorporate in the Kitthe feedback from the future incorporators and users, in a perspective ofsharing experience and knowledge over the course of construction/productenrichment (research-action).

Potential weaknesses:

The Kits transferability can be secured through the self-explanatory

nature of the product itself. It is acknowledged, however, that it does needfacilitation in terms of interaction with the final beneficiaries, for whomthe Kit did not design a tangible product because it was thought that theset of methodologies, tools, and strategies would be for helping theinterventions of local development technicians. Constructing a productspecifically for the beneficiaries is, however, considered useful.

Critical success factors:

Adoption necessarily entails reflection on the specific context, and cannotbe an exercise without criticism as that would discredit the uniqueness ofthe territorial approach. It is therefore essential and desirable that there isimprovement and adaptation to the context, to ensure the quality of theprocess and effectiveness of its results: active and critical adoption. The Kit

is a dynamic and systemic approach built on the basis of development onthe ground and can therefore only be adopted with reflection and criticism,in view of the distinctiveness of each territorial context. The Kit is a proposalthat has to be adapted to each intervention, each context, and each playeraccording to their experience and their resources, i.e. their potentialities.


The Community Capacity Building Kitis the result of testing in thecontext. The practices shared in the Kit are the outcomes of the commitmentand involvement of residents and technicians in the local developmentprocess, so feedback from everyone is vital for evaluating the processes andsubsequent fine-tuning.

The final beneficiaries consider that the Community Capacity Building Kitoffers a set of tools in which everyone is integrated and no one is excludedand, for that reason, they consider themselves to be the best spokespersons

on the projects usefulness. The product showed itself to be innovativebecause it has a transparent approach, simple language, and is closeto the people.


24/484 | Community Capacity Building Kit

With this experience it was possible to engage in learninginformally andtailored to needs, reinforcing empowerment through active participationmethodologies (requiring reflection) because the responses are not provided, but

have to emerge from the group itself (beneficiaries). It encourages group work,

team work, and joint reflection, leading to more carefully thought out and more

mature decision-making. In the view of the final beneficiaries, the product hasa basic guiding principle, i.e. the assumption (from the outset) that one cando it,because the methodology facilitates personal motivation, self-discovery,self-esteem, taking responsibility and gaining autonomy.

ADDED VALUE OF THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE

The Community Capacity Building Kitresulted from the validation ofoutcomes achieved from a territory-specific project, and aims to put in placeconditions for generalising those results, by identifying new opportunitiesfor action, new intervention methods, or policy recommendations.

The added value of the Kit is to be found in two premises of the intervention,which are also two of its objectives: (i) to support the final beneficiaries in

identifying their needs and resources (endogenous and exogenous), in thedesign, management, monitoring and evaluation of solutions for their owndevelopment, promoting greater autonomy in their change processes;(ii) to develop new skills and forms of learning using the proposed methodologies,tools and practices that emphasise the promotion of empowerment, partnership,equal opportunities, mainstreaming and sustainability.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD, IN FUTURE,CONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURING PROJECTIMPLEMENTATION (regulations, financing, technical support, etc.)

The local development intervention entails a territorial approach thatenables the different viewpoints to converge on the territory on the sameissues, supporting, reinforcing, and enlivening the collaborative work done

by the partnership networks, which should comprise public sector, privatesector, and civil society partners, conferring on the networks autonomy, andmanagement and decision-making capacity, in the area of socioeconomicpolicies at micro level.

Local level intervention policies must necessarily contemplate communitydevelopment and mobilisation as inseparable components of individual,collective and organisational capacity building processes in a community, so ispossible to access a range of human and financial resources that canaccompany communities in respect of local development in exclusion contexts.


The Community Capacity Building Kitis in paper format, thus making theproducts more accessible to their direct and final beneficiaries. The Kitisalso available in digital (CD) format, with videos containing testimonies fromthe final beneficiaries. At a future date it will also be downloadable from thewebsite, www.kcidade.com . Available in Portuguese.

ROJECT:KCIDADE - Urban Communityevelopment Programme [PT-2004-096]

ame of contact person:aria Joo Marques

-mail:[email protected]

elephone:+ 351 722 900 001


25/48

Entrepreneurship for Offenders Social Reintegration | 25

ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR OFFENDERSSOCIAL REINTEGRATION


The project Entrepreneurship for social reintegration of offenderswas designed bythe Canadian firm CG International in collaboration with Gesventure, and adaptedby the General Directorate of the Prison Service, for application in Portugal.

It is a pioneering and innovative project that primarily aims to create viableand sustainable options for the socio-vocational reintegration of offenders andto prevent their re-offending. Becoming self-employed, setting up a business,working for someone else, returning to education to get academic qualificationsor vocational training, are possible progression routes after completing this8-month project.

Working in groups and encouraging public presentation of work helps developcreativity and teamwork skills. Meetings are an important component of theproject and these sometimes take place without the presence of facilitators.To develop verbal and written communication some work takes place in theprison library. Participants borrow a library book once a month, read it andthen make a presentation of the book to the rest of the group. They also haveto research and prepare work on topics of their own choice. Sports and musicalactivities are also part of the project.

Other exercises, connected with generating ideas, setting out a businessplan, and formulating strategies for obtaining financial support, provide theparticipants with the tools they need for planning their businesses and theirlives in general.

The project also has a strong component of openness to the local community,which foster relationships that will facilitate their eventual transition backinto society. Examples of this are the Entrepreneur for a Day andLunch withBusinesspeopleinitiatives:

The Entrepreneur for a Day, very innovative in Portugal and in Europe, is basedon entrepreneurs and offenders, especially those who commit economic crimes,sharing many common characteristics, namely the fact that both aredecision-makers, profit-oriented, determined, creative, risk-takers, and competitive.


26/486 | Entrepreneurship for Offenders Social Reintegration

In 3 days, after being given a small amount of money, the offenders have tothink up and complete a real business deal (e.g. involving selling bracelets,key-rings, painted glasses, fruit, car-washing, African dance, etc.).

The products are sold and here lies one of the most innovative aspects out in the community, with a discreet security presence of uniformed and

plainclothes prison offers and local police. After this exercise, which takesplace in the early stages of the project, the offenders reflect on theirlegally-made profits and the amount init ially invested. From that pointonwards, the programme centres on their real business plans.

Lunch with Businesspeople: businesspeople are invited during the project tohave lunch with the offenders at the prison. One business person sits at a tablewith six to eight prisoners. These lunches provide the offenders with an opportunityto meet people who are self-employed and to learn about their experiences.

At these lunches, tutors are sometimes chosen. Tutors are people with theirown business who are willing to share their expertise, experiences andadvice with offenders. They are invited to go to the prison on a regular basis,depending on their availability, to talk to the prison population.

Target group: Imprisoned offenders


Lack of options for socio-vocational reintegration of offenders;

Lack of opportunities for ex-offenders to explore self-employment solutions;

Not enough effort put into developing offenders creativity and teamwork skills;

Not enough openness to the local community, fostering relationships that willfacilitate ex-offenders integration.

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PRODUC T/PRACTICE (strengths andweaknesses, critical success factors, overcoming challenges,unresolved issues)

Strengths:

The project is an effective trigger for the empowerment of offenders, basedon a learning-by-doing methodology, with activities taking place inside andoutside the classroom.

The emphasis on openness to the community fosters relationships thatultimately facilitate transition to society. The Entrepreneur for a DayandLunch with Businesspeopleare examples of this.

The openness to the community aspect, increasingly led to other empoweringinteractions: in 2007 in Leiria, for example, offenders were invited to take partin a Commercial Management class at the Technology and ManagementCollege with students from the College. In Castelo Branco, they took part in anevents fair at the Castelo Branco Regional Business Centre, where theyinteracted with local businesspeople.

The product cultivates closer relationship between offenders and professionals;

The product foments a change of mindset ;


27/48Entrepreneurship for Offenders Social Reintegration | 27

This is a learning-focused product (even those who do not set up their

own business learn how it can be done);

Stimulates the setting of partnerships with private sector organisations(Business Angels).

Weaknesses:

Very extensive and repetitive programme;Financial side of the business plan is too complex for the offenders.

Critical success factors:

The Entrepreneur for a Dayexercise in the early stages of the project,which enables offenders to reflect on their lawfully-made profits andcompare them with the initial investment.

Overcoming challenges:

Redesigning the product so the intervention is shortened from 12 to 8months. Making the project part-time, so offenders can reconcile projectwork with their educational or employment activities.

Unresolved issues:

Continuing to address the programmes 3 objectives or restructuring theproject so that it has a basic common trunk intended for all prisoners andan optional component just for those who want to continue with thebusiness creation project.

Lack of an operating fund for investment in a mini-business.

Follow-up / Cost-benefit sustainability.


There are many ways of making money without being involved in illegal

activity. When we are in prison, we dont plan for our future, but I have to

choose a good future for me if I am going to have a peaceful life without

Ana Baio/Expresso


28/488 | Entrepreneurship for Offenders Social Reintegration

problems. (Igor, offender in Beja Prison)

It helped me to rediscover educational values that had been forgotten...

It has made me feel closer to the community and more hopeful and

confident about the future. (offender in Castelo Branco Prison)

This program is giving us tools which will help us on the outside:I want to work as an electrician and later have my own business.

(Mrio, offender in Leiria Prison)

This program is the first time someone has believed in me. My family has given

up on me, the system has given up on me. (offender in Leiria Prison)

Discovering the entrepreneur in me has been useful. (offender in Leiria Prison)

I have learned that being an entrepreneur is not always a bed of roses we

can succeed or fail; there is no need to excel in creativity and that is what we are

learning. (offender in Leiria Prison)


The Entrepreneur for a Day exercise not only stimulates the offendersmotivation, but also changes the local communitys attitude towards theprison population.

With its different activities, workshops and experiences, the project hasa more exponential educational impact than traditional methods, andenhances participants self-esteem, self-confidence, and their ability to dealwith rejection and stress, and promotes a positive relationship with risk-taking.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD, IN FUTURE,CONSOLIDATE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICES DURINGPROJECT IMPLEMENTATION (regulations, financing,technical support, etc.)

Preparing and encouraging inter-institutional cooperation throughface-to-face and online collaborative work practices and joint participationof the stakeholders: beneficiaries, collaborators and users;

Promoting and consolidating joint production practices: participation ofbeneficiaries at every stage: construction, testing, and validation of the product.


Paper, CD-Rom, www.pgisp.info

Portuguese and English

PROJECT:MANAGING TO INNOVATE THE PRISON SERVICE[PT-2004-285]

Name of contact person:Paula Vicente


Telephone:+ 351 214 427 716 / + 351 918 625 100

Ana Baio/Expresso


29/48My Guide to Freedom | 29


The Product My Guide to Freedom consists of a Prison Management Kit, atechnical Manual, and a prisoners Dossier.

The practice centres on dossiers compiled by prisoners, based on their intra andinter personal development. It presents the outcomes of knowledge and skillsdevelopment that will be useful in the process of learning for life in freedom.

Based on the premise that target groups have a right to take part indecision-making that concerns them, this project has been carried out jointlywith offenders. For this purpose, an innovation team consisting of membersfrom different categories (management, administrative, officers) was set up,and 4 prisoner focus groups in 4 prisons (Castelo Branco, Leiria, Sintra andBeja) were formed. The Castelo Branco focus group consisted of both male andfemale offenders. The methodology developed on different fronts, as it passedfrom the innovation team to the prisoner focus groups and then on to testingon the ground, benefiting from the input of each.

This joint production by prison professionals and offenders, the passagefrom conceptual creation in meeting rooms to testing methodologies onthe ground, combined with feedback from peers, stakeholders and outsideexperts in the projects pre-validation and validation sessions, enabled a closealignment with the needs of the intervention.

Two target groups were defined:a) End Beneficiaries: Prisonersb)Users: Prison Service professionals


The need to increase efforts on:a) the preparation of the inmates life after release, through an integratedmethodological option;b) inmates intra and inter personal development and growth;c) participation of inmates in decision making processes, on issues that affecttheir own life.

MY GUIDE TO FREEDOM


30/480 | My Guide to Freedom

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE(strengths and weaknesses, critical success factors, overcomingchallenges, unresolved issues)

Strengths

In relation to the offenders:The product is intended to produce greater sense of self-blame for the actscommitted by the beneficiaries, and to increase their self-responsibility forthe damage their actions have caused.

While deprived of freedom, offenders very often have a defeatist attitudetowards their own future. Furthermore, when they think about after theirrelease, they tend to over-rely on assistance from others. This product aims toencourage them to create a vision for their future that centres on themselves.

In relation to prison staff:

It contributed to a focused intervention among professional peers, andimproved the rapport between staff of different categories.

Although the dossiers belong to the individual offenders, the fact that theyare filled up over time means that the users/facilitators can actually see theimpact of the work they have done, and this is seen as encouraging andmotivating.

Critical success factors

Focus on individual empowerment from the beneficiaries perspective, andon institutional empowerment from the users perspective;

Calls for active participation and collaboration of the beneficiaries in thedecision-making processes for example, the workshops designed in theproject: Building a Personal Vision, Achieving the Vision, Going into Actione Preparing the Contingency Plan, and Managing Social Pathways a prevention and rehabilitation programme for individuals with sociallydeviant behaviour, suggested by the Guide for the early stages of the intervention;

Facilitation of prison treatment through personalised case managementand use of group dynamics;

Support to development and management of the Individual ReadjustmentPlan, a key priority contained in the draft Law under the Penal Reform process;

Contribution to a holistic approach to the prison intervention process,enabling an enrichment of the systems provision: My Guide to Freedomgenerates needs that require the introduction/creation of new methodologies,namely those imported from other EQUAL products, such as ManagingSocial Pathways;

My Guide to Freedom, once validated, could be disseminated to allprison establishments and other closed regime facilities, and could bepart of the range of internal institutional alternatives available to thePrison Service in Portugal as well as in other countries/social institutions.We believe this is a long life product that has considerable multiplier effects.It can also be adapted to non-custodial situations, such as in socialintervention projects.


31/48My Guide to Freedom | 31

Overcoming challenges

Countering disconnected routines in prison intervention and consolidatingthe Guide as an integrated methodological option that has a positive impacton motivation and skills development for both offenders and prison staff;

Persisting with the global strategy, even while realising that prisonersmotivation is often variable and susceptible to factors outside the contentsof the Guide itself;

Highly unpredictable levels of motivation, participation and engagementon the part of offenders, given the fact that this is a long-term project;

Since the product has only recently been applied, assessing the impact inevery sphere has not yet been possible;

The number of staff on the ground may not always be compatible with therequirements for applying the product.

Unresolved issues

Safekeeping of the dossier: The dossier belongs to the prisoner, butcell-sharing means that the confidential information contained in it couldbe accessed and used by other offenders;

Ensure that the case managers who will facilitate/follow-through theprojects implementation receive specialised training.


Beneficiaries

In my week, attending the workshop Building a Personal Vision was whatI found most positive as it helped me to think about my future and my lifegoals. (Helder, at a Drug-Free Unit community meeting.)

Listening is easy, but actually doing is more difficult. (Hugo)

Ana Baio/Expresso


32/482 | My Guide to Freedom

This is making me think long and hard, and that hurts. (Fbio)

When I knock on the door, dont ask me Who was it?, but Who is it? (Bruno)

I thought it would be easier, but life on the outside its really hard. (Helder,referring to the testimony of an ex-offender invited to speak during the project.)

Users

(...) it creates a greater dynamic in the prison; the change can be brought aboutwith pedagogy; new practices, not barriers have to be put in place; the barriersmust come down. (Clia)

I feel that linking action to the future vision and to the idea of values will helpwith the insight work and the interiorising of those values. This makes it possibleto achieve a more realistic future life plan, and to look more at the person andless at the prisoner. (Joel)


The fact that it is an innovative product in which the beneficiaries heavilyparticipate in the design process: formation of focus groups with offenders atdifferent prisons and an innovation team comprising practitioners with wideexperience in the field. The process started with listening to the beneficiariesbefore the innovation team embarked on the project design. The outcomes ofthe design process are periodically presented to the focus groups for analysis

and incorporation of the prisoners views.

It is based on a methodology that provides for heavy participation of the prisonpopulation (group dynamics).

The product addresses the three main priorities underlying the application ofcustodial sentences: rehabilitation, readaptation, and reparation to the victim.

It contributes to an integrated approach to prison intervention, and enriches thesystems provision: the Guide generates needs that require the introduction/creation of new methodologies, namely those imported from other EQUALproducts, such as Managing Social Pathways.

SUGGESTED WAYS IN WHICH THE ESF COULD, IN FUTURE,


Preparing and encouraging inter-institutional cooperation through collaborativework practices, face-to-face and online, and joint participation of the differentstakeholders beneficiaries, collaborators, and users.

Promoting and consolidating joint production practices: participation ofbeneficiaries at every stage: construction, testing, and validation of the product.

FORMAT OF THE PRODUCT/TOOL (paper, CD-Rom, website, video,etc.) AND LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE.

Paper, CD-Rom, www.pgisp.info

Portuguese and English

PROJECT:MANAGING TO INNOVATE THE PRISON SERVICE[PT-2004-285]

Name of contact person:Paula Vicente

e-mail:[email protected]

Telephone:+ 351 214 427 716 / + 351 918 625 100


33/48


The fundamental aspects of this practice are:

The building, together with the young women who are the projects endbeneficiaries, of the self-determination/empowerment methodology, byanalysing the routes and strategies that resulted in specific skills learning,recognised by themselves as valuable;

Promoting access to resources that made it possible for the beneficiaries toformulate and/or achieve their personal plans and projects.

This is not a practice designed for the beneficiaries but rather a process that isgradually built up with them. The empowerment principle was taken up as theguiding philosophy of the entire intervention.

To facilitate the process, the Humanus-CAM technical team was also involvedin the empowerment dynamics through personal development and learningof critical skills for the intervention. They were also actively involved indecision-making and results evaluation processes.

Steps for bringing about Empowerment:

Encouraging personal development and critical skills learning (of techniciansand Partner Organisations) for the intervention;

Encouraging active participation of the technicians in the decision makingand results evaluation processes;

Listening to the potential beneficiaries at project outset in order to reach aneeds assessment that serves as the basis for the design of the intervention;

Participation of the candidates in the process of re-creation, adaptation, andmaintenance of spaces, and purchase of equipment and materials for the project;

Participation/input of beneficiaries in the process of developing the projectsimage, including dissemination materials to the target group (e.g. languageused in the leaflet, distribution points, etc.);

Promoting Self-determination and Empowerment | 33

PROMOTING SELFDETERMINATIONAND EMPOWERMENT


34/48

Fostering gender equality;

Ensuring access to crche facilities;

Promoting access to health services;

Promoting achievement and certification of educational qualifications;

Ensuring social protection (temporary accommodation, social benefits);

Developing physical and psychological well-being;

Encouraging self-esteem and self-awareness;

Promoting opportunities for cultural enrichment;

Developing parenting skills;

Involvement of interested parties in the project and participation of otherstakeholders;

Developing relational and communication skills;

DPs attendance and right to speak and vote at meetings;

Transnational Partnership attendance and right to speak and vote at meetings;

Input to decision making on tools to be used by the professionals;

Participation in the (re)definition of training content;

Fostering socio-vocational skills development;

Support for decision making on personal and professional projects/plans.

PROBLEMS THAT THE EMPOWERMENT PRACTICE IS ADDRESSING

Lack of skills and opportunities for target groups (adolescent mothers in thiscase) to become or be regarded as full citizens;

Lack of self-determination skills;

Lack of opportunity for end beneficiaries to be actively involved in decisionmaking, having the power to influence the activities and processes that, most ofthe times, are just targeted at them (and not planned with them);

Lack of adjustment of project planning, regarding beneficiaries specific needsand aspirations.


An intervention focused on developing empowerment not only requirespromoting access to existing resources but also the direct and activeinvolvement of the beneficiaries in the decision making and execution ofintervention. This obviously adds practical difficulties to the process as it

complicates and draws out decision making and calls for skills in democraticparticipation, without which it could easily become unfair and undemocratic.

4 | Promoting Self-determination and Empowerment


35/48Promoting Self-determination and Empowerment | 35

TESTIMONIES OR COMMENTS FROM END BENEFICIARIES, OR

USERS, REGARDING THE PRODUCT / PRACTICETrainees testimonies provided for the product validation session:

Product ... applicable to other contexts ... respect for the young peoplesprivacy ... ...the project contributes to a strategy for social inclusion, and to ourpower to decide and to be involved in the decision-making ...

Other testimonies from the trainees:

We can take part in meetings, express our feelings and, for example, give ourviews on many things that were not going well in the training. All that made usfeel more motivated to carry on with the training, because we are the ones inthe project and so we should be helping to organise it better.

Our involvement is good because it helps us to be more responsible, becausenow we have to think twice before doing something or making a decision thatmight affect our future.

VALUE ADDED OF THE PRACTICE/PRODUCT

Management of services that is more efficient and adheres to quality criteria,due to the involvement of the organisation, professionals, and clients.

High satisfaction levels among all involved in the process.

Participated management by objectives.

Learning of skills and strategies that last beyond the life of the intervention.

The advantages of this empowerment practice are to be found in the greaterdegree of beneficiaries involvement and responsibility sharing in theexecution and outcomes, and in their increased sense of belonging andsecurity, which are fundamental components of social quality.

The reflection engaged in with the young women on their daily challenges andaspirations, and the mobilisation of resources they need, will enable them andothers to follow less complicated paths, now and in the future.


36/486 | Promoting Self-determination and Empowerment



Making the presentation of evidence of the presence of empowermentdimensions a prerequisite for the funding of future projects:

Professionals skills development and participation

Participation of the beneficiaries in the formulation of policies and interventions,and in the decision making process

Promotion of access to social benefits and services

Citizenship and personal skills development

Fostering social cohesion and interpersonal relationships

Participation in the development of the intervention and in operational decisionmaking

Promotion of labour market inclusion

FORMAT OF THE PRODUCT / TOOL (paper, CD-Rom, website, video,etc.) AND LANGUAGES IN WHICH THE PRODUCT IS AVAILABLE

The product is available in paper and CD-Rom. Its an interactive book.

PROJECT:HUMANUS-CAM (Womens Support Centre) [PT-2004-322]

Name of contact person:Isabel Lopes


Telephone:+ 351 913 451 900


37/48


This product is designed for groups who have experienced poverty and socialexclusion. It approaches, on a theoretical basis, the feelings, needs, problems,and communication codes they experienced while in a situation of exclusionand poverty, and provides them with tools that enable them to analysepoverty as a collective rather than individual problem.

The training course helps the Experience Expertto team up/work in tandemwith a technical staff member; the two work in tandem with each other, on thepremise that the combination of experience and theory will facilitate finding,and achieve better solutions to discrimination.

Apart from enhancing trainees personal development, this training coursehelps to build mediation skills and improve communication between peoplewho have actually experienced poverty/social exclusion (the experienceexperts) and the broader community at various levels (services, employment,health, education, housing...). The Experience Expertswill then be qualifiedand better able to interpret the needs of excluded people, thus providing anopportunity for the community to become more empowered and to have avoice, closer to public services and decision-makers.

The product also provides background information for the profile of ExperienceExpertto be included in Portuguese legislation.

OVERVIEW OF THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE HOW AS THEPRACTICE DEVELOPED AND TARGET GROUP

The product fosters a balance between theoretical knowledge and practicalexperience, and aims to multiply the beneficial effects of combining these twoareas of expertise in poverty/social exclusion related social work.

The model was based on the results of field experiments undertaken by twoorganisations: De Link(Belgium) andAssociao Cultural Moinho da Juventude(Portugal), involving first and/or second generation immigrants with abackground of exclusion, as well as representatives of other ethnic minorities(e.g. Roma community).

EXPERIENCE EXPERTPROFILE AND TRAINING COURSE

Experience Expert - Profile and Training Course | 37


38/48

This methodological approach provides for different training types to suitthe different needs and/or objectives of trainees:

1.Classroom instruction combined with work placement during the training process;

2. Full-time on-the-job training for a one to two years;

3. Development of skills around the concept of linking theory and practice(relating to poverty and social exclusion), for action (working in tandem).


This occupational profile and training course contribute to overcomingproblems such as:

the lack of involvement of the socially excluded in the design of publicservices and resources;

the need for a link person (experience expert)between the poor/sociallyexcluded and public services and resources;

language barriers;

poor self-determination skills and awareness of social rights and obligations;

lack of empowerment among members of communities experiencing socialexclusion.

KEY ASPECTS OF THE PRODUCT/PRACTICE (strengths andweaknesses, critical success factors, overcoming challenges,unresolved issues)

STRENGTHS

The occupational profile (and respective training course) facilitates moreeffective communication between people who have experienced poverty/social exclusion and society at large at various levels, giving them a voice andincreasing their capacity to intervene;

It helps to develop the self-sufficiency and capacity for collective action ofethic minorities, immigrants and their descendants, through strategies andmechanisms that strengthen self-representation, self-determination, and

community empowerment;

Social work becomes more specific and appropriate as a result of theworking in tandem methodology; Social policies and public services become more in tune with communitiesreal needs; Empowerment of the experience expert.

WEAKNESSES

The effectiveness of this training is influenced by how much the organizationthat holds it, is committed to empowerment principles and believes in thetandem between practice and theory;

The occupational profile has not yet been formally recognised in Portugal

(unlike in Belgium).

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS

Organisational ability to be self-sustaining (independent external fundingto promote this approach and the training course);

Changing mindsets to get acceptance and recognition of the value oftheory and practice working in tandem;

Changing attitudes towards the promotion of individual and communityempowerment and participation as a tool for social development andadaptation of social policies.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES

Promoting this professional profile among to policy makers

TESTIMONIES FROM END BENEFICIARIES AND/OR USERS

It took me a while to understand the Equal concepts and what being anExperience Expert actually meant. I read a lot of documents and got informationfrom the Belgians. I began seeing things in a different light in my neighbourhood.

8 | Experience Expert - Profile and Training Course


39/48Experience Expert - Profile and Training Course | 39

Working in tandem was not the hardest part because there was always empathy,

but I did find public speaking difficult putting my feelings into words andexplaining the experience expert figure to others when I was still learning aboutit myself. My understanding of the people beg

Empowerment UK

Documents