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citizen_participation
What is citizen participation?
Citizen participation is the redistribution of power that enables the have-not citizens, presently excluded from the political and economic processes, to be deliberately included in the future (Arnstein, 1969).Generally, participation refers to citizen's participation and representation in invited/formal spaces provided by the state.
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However, formal participation spaces are not always available or accessible to marginalised citizens (e.g. women, girls and indigenous or lower caste persons). As such, it is often necessary to create spaces so that their interests and needs may be represented and their rights expressed and defended.
Social mobilisation is the process through which local, national (and sometimes global) actors collectively engage to claim and create spaces for participation. These are popular/informal spaces where civil society actors come together of their own initiative to channel unrecognised demands, protest, or provide services. The primary objectives of ‘social mobilisers’ are typically to help strengthen local voice; increase the extent to which local groups and communities can participate actively in decision-making processes; ensure that citizens and communities are able to hold local government and service providers to account.
What does it mean in practice?
CARE supports citizens' engagement either in formal decision-making spaces, or when these are not available, we help to create these spaces, mobilising actors to exercise their voice and realise their right to be heard.
Actions include: raising awareness about citizens' rights and responsibilities, building the capacities of civil society to articulate their interests, social mobilisation around unrecognised rights and demands, or working with public officials and other power holders to strengthen inclusive decision-making processes that respond to the interest of marginalised groups.
Programming Examples
Citizen Participation in Africa
Key Tools & Resources
CAP Model Briefing (2016) Making Citizen Participation Central to Local Development Planning and Implementation:CARE Community Action Planning model
care_cap_model_briefing_final_version.pdf
CARE International UK (2006) Analyzing Civil Society Participation
analysing_civil_society_participation_in_country-level_hiv_aids_ungass_2006_reviews.pdf
CARE Ghana (2013) Community Action Planning Manual
Contact
For more information, please contact the West Africa Governance Advisor, Muhamed Bizimana at: Bizimana@careinternational.org
citizen_participation.txt · Last modified: 2018/12/12 16:38 (external edit)
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