Three questions for social change(rs)
Submitted by Estefania_Salazar on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 19:58
Right now, different groups from the workshop are tackling three questions posed by the day´s first presentator, Juan Manuel Casanueva (Mexico) which -he suggests- every person interested in social change should ask about themselves.
1. Why do you work for/in social change?
2. What is incidence (influence)?
Through conversation, six of the participants (from Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica and Venezuela), along their facilitator (Pedro Markun, from Brazil) came up with several conclusions related to the questions.
The participants´ personal experiences with Latin America´s inequalities are a main factor in their personal motivations in their work in social change. "We cannot stand aside and do nothing", said Diego Fino (Colombia).
"But would you work in change if there inequalities (or the reason you´re working for) did not exist?", commented Pedro Markun. "If it makes you happy, first and foremostly, you should not quit your activity, suggested Roberto Bustamante, from Peru. It is a matter where money is not the priority (even though, he recognised, it is a common concern in Latin America). "If you start with the question -how much will my project cost?- then it will not work", said Pedro Markun. Money is not the main trade element, they agreed.
We should, instead, exchange knowledge and look forward to joint work with people from different fields, the group continued.
(to be concluded...)
Thanks for sharing Estefania.
Thanks for sharing Estefania.
Our group also came up with something similar to "we cannot stand aside and do nothing": We said frustration often times leads to motivation for social change.
But we also said that tragic powerful events can lead to motivation, like in the case of Karl from Haiti with the earthquake, which sort of consolidated his commitment once he had returned to Haiti.
What did your group think?
Hi! I´m the process of
Hi! I´m the process of finishing up the post. When it´s totally done I´ll reply to your comment.
Samuel, actually we did not
Samuel, actually we did not think about such extraordinary events such as the Haitian earthquake but rather in the consensus how how we feel about social inequalities in Latin America. But they can happen at any time, anywhere. From a power outage to a -as we saw in Egypt- a complete internet shutdown.
Perhaps there should be a space for scenario planning on our digital projects, I´m thinking. A reflection on the "what-if" scenarios. And it does not apply only to extraordinary events, but to "simpler" occasions such as "what will I do if a third party speaks ill about my project? How would I answer to public opinion and/or my stakeholders?
Everyone is also welcome to add their extra comments, if you wish so.
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