Resources

This paper is concerned with the notion of developing effective citizenship and democracy building through participation and how power or lack of it plays a key role in the degree to which citizens are able to actively participate. The author considers that there are different approaches towards overcoming powerlessness, according to different dimensions of power, which then lead to developing citizenship and democracies. The first view describes power as a product that can be won by anybody who chooses to participate. Thus, citizenship can be developed through developing political and advocacy skills. The second is concerned with systematic barriers that do not allow people access to participate and thus to power. In this case, the focus is on strategies to gain access into the political arena with an emphasis on who participates, and not just how to. The third dimension is concerned with power as knowledge and consciousness - thus, what people participate about is crucial and forms of political education and awareness building is emphasised. The author advocates that all three dimensions must be combined and addressed in order overcome the challenges to citizenship and participatory democracy.

This toolkit draws on the lessons generated from learning projects and case studies supported under the Citizens and Governance programme of the Commonwealth Foundation. It offers practical guidance on how to promote the participation of citizens in governance. The contents of the toolkit include: the meaning of inclusive governance; ways for citizens to organise and engage in governance; strategies for multi-sectoral partnerships; key themes that emerge in governance, such as conflict, gender and power; suggestions for participatory methods in governance, including learning circles, popular theatre and role play; and methods for inclusive governance capacity building of citizens, intermediaries and government officials. Brief summaries of action-learning projects and case studies from the Citizens and Governance Programme from: India, the Caribbean, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, UK, New Zeeland, Africa, Malaysia, Canada and Belize; are presented. A toolkit CD-ROM designed to run on Windows 95/98/XP and MacOS9 is also incorporated. The CD-ROM contains the toolkit in an electronic format and has a resource bank of downloadable materials, such as relevant publications, materials used by the project partners and a word bank which provides explanations of, and proverbs illustrating terms common in the debate about civil society and governance which project partners themselves have furnished.

This paper provides several examples of inappropriate policies and programmes in the field of natural resource management, as a basis for highlighting and reflecting on the importance of appropriate behaviour and attitudes on the part of policy makers and programm managers.