Participation and Empowerment in Germany How can the parents be activated ?

1. Participation and Empowerment in Germany How can the parents be activated ?

2. Partizipation and empowerment in Germany • General information about participation in Germany • General information about empowerment • Basic conditions for participation and empowerment • model of participation • Concrete examples Caritas im Erzbistum Köln

3. 1. General information about participation • 871.000 entries via Google • participate = to take part in something; participation, attendance, co-operation, assistance, co-management, comprehension (Wikipedia) • Participation as an academic definition is used in sociology, science of education and political science • There is no definite and concordant definition. • Participation can either be done and experienced in an active or in a passive way. • In connection with reports about poverty and richness both on the European and federal level, participation normally means political participation (elections, participation in political alliances). Participation: (source: Schubert, Klaus/Martina Klein: The political dictionary: 4th edition Bonn: Dietz 2006 (latin.: participation) means the active participation of people when solving common political matters respectively members of organizations, of a group, of associations when concluding affairs. special.: 1) P. means participation of the population at political decision-making processes, especially during elections and referendum. 2.) juridical meaning is the participation of the population at administrative processes. • But here we always declare that political participation depends on income and educational background of the persons. Caritas im Erzbistum Köln

4. General information about empowerment • „Collecting term for working approaches in psychological work encouraging people to discover their own strength and assisting when acquiring self-determination and life autonomy. The target is to consolidate the existing skills of social services for autonomic life organization and to set free resources in order to create own ways of life and spaces of life in self-determination.“ (Lexicon for social work). Caritas im Erzbistum Köln

5. Models for participation und empowerment From heteronomy to self-administration 9. self-administration 8. self-determination 7. co-determination 6. co-operation 5. assigned, informed 4. participation 3. alibi-attendance 2. decoration 1. heteronomy Caritas im Erzbistum Köln

6. Joint responsibility Co-operation in partnership Participation To involve others To take active part The co-decision is a further step to ensure that during decision-taken processes a consensus can be found in order to co-ordinate the measures and the needs and reflect the priorities of all people involved in the decisions. So all people involved are „joint owners“ of the final results. Participation comparably accepts the contribution of all people involved in the decision-taken process, thus single persons and groups are able to influence the process and to build in the aspects to the final result. To open decision-making process To co-decide To co-operate participation Consultations offer the possibility for single persons and groups concerned by projects to have a co-determination and to raise one‘s voice. At least, the final decision is taken by the political decider and the collected contributions will closely be taken into consideration. Consultations can only work if the persons which are being consulted have well-founded information. To raise one‘s voice consultation information Information and exchange of knowledge are essentially important for each and every kind of inclusion because if complete information is not availabe, broadcasted and learnt in advance each and every kind of consultation or participation is absolutely useless. To inform oneself heteronomy exclusion According to 4 levels of participation, worked out during the transnational european project, mainstreaming social inclusion of Combat Poverty Agency; complete text under www.europemsi.org

7. The target of empowerment – How it should be! Caritas im Erzbistum Köln

8. How to reach the target? • information • listening • specific support on the basis of the information learnt • acceptance of the real situation • creating actions/events/meeting places (low-threshold, on-site), for participation e.g. network www.gesundheit-sport-erlebnis.de • further education and information for professionals, e.g. further education online „resilience advancement within the bounds of educational practical experience“www.elearning-kita.de • network early assistance Caritas im Erzbistum Köln