Asset-Based and Citizen-Led Development with the Coady

International Institute

Brianne Peters and Ben FloodJanuary 25, 2014

The Coady International InstituteSt Francis Xavier University

Established in1959

Emerged out of “the Antigonish Movement” in the 1930’s

Educational Offerings Over 6,000 graduates in 130 countries

19-week Diploma in Development Leadership: Two or three-week Certificates in:

Advocacy and Citizen Engagement Community-based Conflict Transformation and Peace Building Community-based Natural Resource Management Community-driven Health Impact Assessment Facilitation and Training Approaches for Community Change Learning Organizations and Change Community Development Leadership by Women Skills for Social Change Good Governance and Social Accountability Tools Communications and Social Media Partnerships Livelihoods and Markets Community-based Microfinance Mobilizing Assets for Community-driven Development

Master of Adult Education: Community Development Stream - StFX

Women’s Leadership Global Change Leaders Indigenous Women in Community

Leadership Canadian Women’s Foundation

Focus on Youth: Skills for Social Change

Community 1 and Community 2

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) emerged as a result of a growing critique of “problem solving” or “needs-based” approaches

Needs and Assets

ABCD focuses on the half full part of the glass where the strengths, capacities and assets of the community lie.

For too long community workers have only paid attention to the half empty part: people’s needs and problems

Asset- Based Citizen-Led Development (ABCD) as an Approach

Consequences of a “needs-based” or problem-solving approach

Leadership emphasizing community “needs” in order to secure resources

Community members internalizing what their leaders are saying (a deficit mentality)

Funding by categories of needs, andMoney going to the institutions filling the

needsA dependence on external rather than

internal relationships

Needs and assets

Growing recognition of the existence of a multitude of assets in even the poorest communities

First hit on google (Wikipedia) Cité Soleil (Kreyol: Site Solèy, English: Sun City) is an

extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty.[1] The area is generally regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the Western Hemisphere and it is one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. The area has virtually no sewers and has a poorly maintained open canal system that serves as its sewage system, few formal businesses but many local commercial activities and enterprises, sporadic but largely free electricity, a few hospitals, and a single government school, Lycee Nationale de Cite Soleil. For several years until 2007, the area was ruled by a number of gangs, each controlling their own sectors.

First hit on google images

Cite Soleil - Haiti

One story of Cite Soleil

Another story – Cite Soleilhttp://www.coady.stfx.ca/themes/

building_resilient_communities/initiatives-partners/haiti/research_innovation_knowledge/

Questions

What motivated people to take action?

Who were the drivers?

What were some of the traits of the leaders?

What resources did they draw on?

Buzz Groups

Tell a story from your own experience about an initiative that was driven by students or citizens and started with no outside assistance from institutions

Describe how the idea took hold, how people organized to get things done, which leaders emerged, and what resources and assets were drawn upon

What do we mean by assets?

Mapping skills of the head, hand and heart

CookingDancingEmbroideryStitching

CompassionHumourTeamwork Conflict resolutionWillingness to collaborate

AnalysisOrganizationWriting ManagementLiteracy

Mapping Associations and Networks

“Nobody has Nothing”

Nobody Has Nothing

The groups represented in the following scenarios are marginalised and harassed: often labelled ‘the poorest of the poor’

Similar groups exist

in many countries

For each scenario – identify livelihood opportunities you think these groups could undertake building on what they have

Scenario 1: Street Kids in Khartoum

Organised in gangs Ruthlessly harassed: tough and

determined Energetic, strong, young Know the city, in spite of no maps or

street names or numbers Keen to learn

What these street kids did:

They organized into a tour guide association.

Scenario 2: Crazy bikers in London

Passionate about motor-bikes Own and cherish fast machines Deal in drugs and stolen goods to ‘feed’

their passion Used to coping with the police Know the fastest route to everywhere Compete fiercely, but strong

cameraderie

What really happened?: Crazy bikers

http://www.dtdc.in/

DTDC: Door to Door Courier Services

“DTDC with 13,000 individuals as its strength, delivers at over 10,000 zip (pin code) areas, handling 10 million consignments every month. DTDC serves over 240 international destinations.”

Scenario 3: Ex-Prostitutes in Los Bagnos

Out of work; American base closed Young, attractive Good at selling Know how to deal with authorities Know the streets

What really happened?: Ex-prostitutes

Scenario 4: Plastic Rubbish Pickers in New Delhi

250,000 +, mainly women Pick from garbage, roadsides Know where to go and to sell Low value, mixed varieties and

colours Some recyclable materials Harassed by ‘official’ services, police Provide a valuable service Visible, shameful to ‘image

What really happened? Plastic Rubbish Pickers in Delhi

Some of their Products

/

http://www.conserveindia.org

Bottom Line: Nobody has Nothing

Everyone has something to contribute

Courtesy of Peters Kenyon, Bank of IDEAS

Every single person has capacities, abilities, gifts

and ideas, and living a good life depends on whether those capacities can be

used, abilities expressed, gifts given and ideas

shared.

(Jody Kretzmann)

The Danger of a Single Story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T74d_VtzucM