The Skinny On Collective Empowerment

By Timothy Jackson


Empowering individuals is one of the best ways to alleviate instances of poverty and aid in the overall economic well being of a society. Collective empowerment, otherwise known as community empowerment, is much like empowering individuals but at a larger scale. For those who want to have an introduction to this kind of activity, here is a brief overview with a few points to take note of.

The first thing that would come to mind when one mentions this term would be community building projects or donations to a particular district, especially one that as a high rate of poverty. That happens to just be one aspect of empowering communities, though an important one. Probably the most important goal of a district is to ensure itself that it is independent and can sustain itself.

That said, the very first thing that has to be taken into consideration would be confidence of the people. In order for a community to grow, the people inside of it must be empowered meaning they must be confident in their individual abilities. For that, teaching programs that would provide knowledge in certain fields or skills in certain jobs can really be beneficial.

After one becomes empowered on a personal level, the next step would be to empower him or her to be a part of the community through inclusion programs. The important thing here is to ensure that all of the people are treated equally so that they can be united no matter what sub group they come from. Whether they come from sub groups of different ideologies, religions, or classes, they should all be able to unite when needed.

There would also be the dimension of cooperative programs wherein the various groups in the communities will work together for the benefit of the community in its entirety. This could be through community home building programs or open forums wherein local policies are discussed and implement. As long as it is for the benefit of the collective, it is a program that empowers.

In order for all these aspects to succeed though, there is a concept that is known as sense of community that must be observed. If the individuals inside do not have a sense of community, then they will not feel the need to give back to the development of their district. The important thing here is to build a sense of belonging for all the individuals so that they will feel included.

Of course, the development of a certain culture in the community is crucial in doing so. That is also an effort that most leaders do in order to make all the individuals feel like they are a part of an entire group. From there, overall collective effort may be given to the community.

Community empowerment is actually a broad scale of activities that ultimately lead to overall development. It starts with the individuals then stems out to the sub groups. From there, the success of development lies in the unity of everyone inside the entire group of people.




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