Resources

Colombia's new Constitution of 1991 gave the status of citizen and participant to a people which had not historically enjoyed it. This implied the need for citizenship education and formation to enable people to take advantage of their new status. Many non-governmental organizations in Colombia immediately rose to the challenge. Some of these were newcomers to this field. Others, among them the Instituto Popular de Capacitaci¾n (IPC, Popular Training Institute), came to this task with a long history of working to deepen democracy in a range of ways. Christian Aid Colombia began to support IPC in the area of citizenship education in 1992. This case study represents a collaborative attempt, by Christian Aid with IPC's Democracy and Citizenship Team, to document the experience of IPC in promoting citizen participation from 1991 to the present. It aims to be, on the one hand, a piece of applied research that informs future practice in the field of citizen participation in local urban governance, and on the other, an advocacy resource for IPC and Christian Aid in Colombia and the UK, that illustrates the challenges faced in holding open spaces for democratic participation in a country in conflict. After an introduction the study sets the context and then moves on to look at the legal framework for citizen participation in local governance. Next, IPCÆs experiences in promoting citizen participation are documented, followed by a look at some key variables (gender, armed conflict and other challenges). The final section looks at learning from the experience.

This literature review is intended to complement the English and Spanish literature reviews carried out as part of the Global Study. Many of the issues and points of discussion raised in the English review were also noted or confirmed in the French literature. There are inevitable influences and overlaps between the various literatures, such that to make a clear distinction between the French, Spanish and English literature is, to a certain extent, artificial. However, it cannot be denied that there are some differences in approaches and emphasis, due to the predominance of certain schools of thought or institutional cultures. This paper emphasizes the differences by focusing on elements that were not yet necessarily covered by the other views, or that are addressed from a different angle. The objectives of the review are to clarify the concepts and definitions of terms related to participation and consultation in the French literature on development and humanitarian aid; present and analyse key debates around the concept and practice of participation; review lessons learned, recommendations, and manuals that can be useful for the elaboration of the Global Study Practitioner's Handbook and overview book; and illustrate the issues raised through case studies that are relevant to humanitarian action.

Since time immemorial humans have been increasingly competing for natural resources. Their occurrence and access have been used to exert power and authority, influence and enact policies and decisions concerning public life, and economic and social development. From as early as 2200 BC, humans have tried to document and legalise rights to resources with the use of maps, a geographic representation of the earth that has since been considered as an authoritative reference, and accorded due (and sometimes undue) respect and credibility. In managing conflicts bound to the territory, the use of maps is widespread and helps locate and visualise the source of disagreements, which frequently involves boundaries defining the geographical scope of resource use and tenure. Processes leading to consensual conflict resolution are complex and articulated and need the concurrence of several factors to lead the contenders to consider the solution of the conflict from broader perspectives.

In remote, poorly served areas, community-based mapping methods can help in addressing boundary issues through the visualization of the landscape, associated land uses and settlement pattern. In the Philippines, the use of 3-D models began in 1993. Integrated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Participatory 3-D Modelling (P3DM) has been used among indigenous peoples under the auspices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and lately, of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). This article discusses how the method has contributed to a successfully conflict resolution case in the Cordillera Region of the Philippines.

This guidebook is part of a research toolkit produced by the International Save the Children Alliance to support the UN Study on Violence against Children (the other part is called So you want to consult with children? A toolkit of good practice). It gives guidance on ways to encourage meaningful and ethical participation by children in research related to violence against children. It promotes research that sees children as active agents in their own lives, not passive victims or research subjects. Specifically, it presents techniques and pointers for the involvement of children in secondary and primary research, including experiences of children participation in research from case studies in Malawi, Vietnam, Yemen, U.K., Tanzania, Bangladesh, Brazil and Canada. General tips for the incorporation of children in research include e.g. considering the risks and costs to children of their participation and acting in their best interests; building in benefits for children who choose to become involved in research; thinking through how to recruit children; exploring with children what are appropriate roles for adults and children in the work; sharing goals and expectations with each other so that everyone can understand the needs, interests and pressures of each member of the team; drawing up ground rules to set the stage for your work together; recognising that children may not want to be involved in all steps of secondary research; practicing talking about the research without using any jargon or academic language; considering whether children should be paid or given another type of incentive to participate; accommodating children of varying ages, skills and abilities; and creating ongoing opportunities for sharing views and experiences about how the process is working.

This article gives account for a domestic violence study conducted in 12 haor areas (areas that flood regularly) in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. Concern Worldwide (an international NGO) has been implementing integrated rural development projects in three remote sub-districts- Khaliajuri, Itna, and Gowainghat- or the last ten years. Key project activities include the formation of community groups with the poor for raising awareness, human development training, skill training, non-formal education, saving and credit schemes, and rural infrastructure development. Roughly 96% of the group participants are women and the activities aim to contribute to the socio-economic empowerment of poor women. A research study was undertaken in 2003 in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme; to determine the socio-economic factors contributing domestic violence; the most common types of abuse and their health consequences; reductions of physical and mental abuse of housewives due to Concern's interventions. The research methodology used was based on PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) methods with social mapping of poverty; family relationships diagrams; focus group discussions; and Venn diagrams. The results are presented defining the fabric of inter-household relationships; analysing abuse in family relationships; and looking at defence strategies. The authors go on to the effectiveness of the Concern Project, examining housewives' feelings about power and ways to achieve power. Lessons learned form the project are summarised and it is concluded that processes of change in gender relations and attitudes are ongoing and take time and that it is equally important to work with both women and men to change attitudes.

Este informe, del serie Lecciones del Campo, presenta los mÚtodos y los resultados de un esfuerzo de investigaci¾n-acci¾n realizado para medir y comparar el impacto del huracßn y tormenta tropical Mitch en parcelas agrÝcolas manejadas ecol¾gicamente con aquellas manejadas tradicionalmente (en Guatemala, Nicaragua, y Honduras). El proyecto cont¾ con la colaboraci¾n de 2000 campesinos, promotores y organizaciones locales como socios en el proceso de investigaci¾n, desde el principio hasta el fin. El objetivo del estudio era de informar a polÝticos y donantes, y de influenciar prioridades y polÝticas de la recuperaci¾n. El informe mira los impactos del huracßn Mitch en regiones agrÝcolas sostenibles contra aquellos convencionales y examina las razones de diferencias en el impacto tÚcnico (es decir suelos, la cubierta de la vegetaci¾n, la erosi¾n etc.). Presenta la metodologÝa de investigaci¾n-acci¾n usada en el estudio de evaluaci¾n del impacto y prßcticas agrÝcolas, y analiza el impacto social del proyecto sobre el conocimiento de los campesinos, las instituciones y el gobierno local. Se concluye que los mÚtodos alternativas de cultivaci¾n evit¾ del peor da±o causado por la huracßn Mitch en millares de granjas en Centro AmÚrica, y se dan recomendaciones para prßcticas agrÝcolas futuras.