Community Empowerment
As a complement to our casework, we develop tools to inform communities and build the power of social movements and local advocates on the front lines of the fight for just and inclusive development.
Communities threatened with forced displacement or environmental harms in the name of development face formidable barriers to accessing critical information about their rights and avenues for defending those rights. Affected people are often unaware of the identities of the companies, investors, multilateral institutions or government actors behind the projects that threaten them, much less the legal and policy obligations that bind those actors. Communities also often lack information about the struggles of other communities, and the range of judicial and non-judicial avenues available to challenge development or business-related harms and seek redress. In response to this need, Inclusive Development International develops global, regional and country-specific practitioner and popular education materials that aim to empower communities and grassroots organizations to advocate for just and inclusive development. We deconstruct and demystify the complex layers of international financial flows and accountability frameworks, and break down the information and skills barriers people face in defending their rights.
Our educational tools are designed to be accessible and simple to use. Complex subject matters are unpacked into bite size illustrated components, making them understandable for everyone. Our training resources contain interactive lesson plans so that lecturing is used as little as possible. The activities are aimed at stimulating imagination and critical thought. The teaching methods recognize that participants come to training workshops with knowledge and experience from their own lives and that they have much to contribute to the learning experience. We develop materials in partnership with local groups who best know the context in which they are operating.
You can read more about and download our tools below: