Empowerment is a term that has grown in use dramatically in community development and the business world in recent years. Until now, however, few books have actually detailed the processes that individuals and groups can use in order to behave and act in a more empowered way. This thought-provoking book demystifies power and challenges the narrow ways in which it has been described in the past.
Empowerment is about choice and this well-researched book is packed with proven techniques and numerous exercises that will enable adult learners to analyze their past experiences, change accepted definitions of power and empowerment and develop strategies to address problems and projects in a more 'empowered' way.
The author encourages facilitators, trainers and individuals to adopt and adapt the wide variety of tools included in this book-tools that include:
- card sorts;
- stories and myths;
- exercises to practise new skills;
- film analysis; and
- the author's personal experiences.
The book also includes detailed case studies from a variety of settings (business, education, healthcare and social work) and a sample empowerment workshop framework, complete with instructions for workshop participants.
The processes have been used to great effect in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australasia. They have also been very successfully applied within a number of different cultures including Abroiginal groups in Australia, Moslem women in Malaysia, cross-cultural groups in South Africa, Danish and Nepalese development workers in Kathmandu, and lecturers in Mongolia!
About the Author: Previously published in hardback by Kogan Page as Facilitating Empowerment: A Handbook for Facilitators, Trainers and Individuals, but now out of print.
Christine Hogan is a consultant in community development and organisational change. She is also an Adjunct Professor with the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute (CUSP). Christine has worked in Kiribati, Senegal, Abu Dhabi, Myanmar, Bhutan, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, and Hong Kong. Christine is now focussing on cross-cultural communication in development work, climate change adaptation and sustainability projects. Previously, she taught full time as a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Development for 12 years at Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
