Reprinted from the 25th anniversary issue of Community Development Journal (no date noted) 17 essays review contemporary campaigns for community participation and empowerment. Some explore such aspects as the concept of empowerment and its relation to public policy and development within social movements, and the relevance of the mixed economy of welfare to self-help and community participation. Others present case studies from Europe, the US, Australia, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Paper edition (unseen), $25.00. Distributed in the US by Humanities Press. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The way we as Christians attempt to restore communities can be either harmful or helpful. The purpose of this book on Empowerment is to move us toward more effective involvement and empowerment with the poor. Leaders will learn to see our under-resourced communities and their residents through a new set of eyeglasses; focusing more on developing people's skills and capacities, rather than simply helping the poor live better lives. Empowerment is one of Eight Key Components of Christian Community Development, a Biblical approach to restoring under-resourced communities.

This pivot examines non-governmental organization (NGO) interventions in two community development initiatives, namely social capital and community empowerment, and their role in funding and formulating development frameworks in developing countries like Bangladesh. It considers the key development discourse issues of collective action, social trust and access to knowledge, to political processes and to financial, social and natural resources. Given the large proportion of foreign funding, NGOs and donors also increasingly face the twin challenges of demonstrating both efficient and effective delivery of services and accountability in their relationships with various stakeholders. Reflecting on the relevance of NGOs for community development, and the merits, challenges and limitations of NGO activities, this book provides a comprehensive study of NGO participation in community development in Bangladesh and Third World countries more widely to highlight a global concern with international implications.

In modern times, political and social reform often starts at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder; common people with ordinary lives enact change through community organization and the desire to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. Governments that support such movements can experience great advances and achievements in the long term. Cases on Grassroots Campaigns for Community Empowerment and Social Change presents a series of real-world studies on political and social activism in the information age, focusing on how empowerment of minority or underserved populations can serve to enact sweeping reforms regionally, nationally, or globally. This book is a critical resource for political and private actors, including government agencies, community organizers, political parties, and researchers in the social sciences. This reference work features research on timely topics such as women’s empowerment, poverty, social activism and social change, community building, and empowerment of individuals in a variety of socioeconomic settings and roles.

The current economic crisis with its gloomy implications for lost generations leaves many disadvantaged young people with ever-diminishing opportunities. The Youth Empowerment Partnership Programme (YEPP) is a fully evaluated on-going international programme focused on disadvantaged areas in eight European countries. It aims to empower young people and the communities in which they live by making them central to new decisionmaking processes involving partnerships between public, private and independent sectors. This book provides the theoretical context for the programme, gives a full account of the process and outcomes of over 10 years of joint effort in its unique development and research process and reflects on the lessons learnt for future policy. It will appeal to practitioners, researchers, policy-makers and decision-makers in foundations.

Contents: ideas matter: reflections on the new regionalism; central cities' loss of power in state politics; inside-out: regional networks and industrial adaptation in Silicon Valley and Route 128; specialization vs. diversity in local economies: the implications for innovative private-sector behavior; crime and community: continuities, contradictions, and complexities; community empowerment strategies: the limits and potential of community organizing in urban neighborhoods; and comprehensive neighborhood-based initiatives. Charts and tables.

ICHSS is an international seminar that is held every two years organized by the Research and Community Service Institute of the State University of Malang. The meeting aims to discuss the theoretical and practical developments of Social Sciences and Humanities in Indonesia and other countries with a view to build academic networks by gathering academics from various research institutes and universities. Community empowerment serves as a trigger to increase community independence and to cope with the challenges resulting from the rapid development of technology. An important aspect of the community empowerment effort is to link the results of innovation research for the benefit of community. The results of research should not only be limited to publications in the academic environment. Open Access to various forms of the existing literature is one of the requirements for innovative research to develop optimally. Therefore, this seminar has also served as a place for field researchers from various geographical areas to socialize, to discuss and to find solutions to current issues in the field of social sciences and humanities, as well as to build cooperation and synergy in creating ideas for mutual collaboration and to create joint research.

This book presents an innovative approach to public archaeology in a rural community, which has had powerful results in terms of empowering a village community in Crete to become long-term guardians of their cultural heritage. Highlighting the theoretical and local contexts of the Philioremos Peak Sanctuary Public Archeology Project, this book explores the methodology and the project outcomes, and assesses best practice in the field of public archaeology within a rural community. As well as expanding the research on Minoan peak sanctuaries, the volume contributes to a greater understanding of how rural communities can be successfully engaged in the management of heritage, and is relevant to archaeologists and other heritage professionals wishing to understand the latest developments in public archaeology.

Many people want to help bring about changes in their neighborhoods, workplaces, and communities. Leaders and scholars of change efforts are likewise eager for insights into what makes some organizations and coalitions capable of building and exercising power. Why are some groups successful in making changes in policies and systems and in sustaining their momentum over time, while others struggle or never really get off the ground? With Community Power and Empowerment, Brian D. Christens brings the most comprehensive analysis of empowerment theory yet conducted to bear on these questions, taking aim at many of the longstanding weaknesses and ambiguities of empowerment theory, research, and practice. For example, one major hindrance is that most notions of empowerment have not been coherently connected with community power. In addition, research has emphasized psychological aspects of empowerment over organizational processes, and has neglected community empowerment processes to an even greater extent. By linking empowerment and community power, Christens constructs a holistic framework for assessing and comparing community-driven change efforts. This book offers new guidance for inquiries into outcomes and impacts of empowerment processes on health and well-being, providing a resource for researchers, organizational leaders, practitioners, and anyone interested in collective action for change.

This book deals with the issue of Digital Participatory Platforms (DPPs) for urban governance. It explains the role and potential that ICTs play in the decision-making processes of the Public Administration and citizens' participation. The book also illustrates the main technologies that encourage innovation and social inclusion, with particular focus on use of DPPs in urban regeneration programs and projects. It presents international best practices from local to European level and it describes the process of creation, development and testing of a DPP project with reference to the Italian case. The book is divided into three parts: the first one gives a framework of neighborhood urban and civic engagement through ICTs, studying in depth the role of ICTs in support of Public Administration’s processes and citizens participation; the second part investigates the topic of Digital Participatory Platforms (DPPs) with the description of their potentialities, the presentation of some international best practices and a specific focus on the Italian context; the third part draws the conclusions of this path by asking which are the main challenges in the adoption of Digital Participatory Platforms, in order to increase citizen participation and collaboration via technology.