Comment

Comment by Jennifer Lentfer on May 24, 2011 at 12:25am

So glad Sen's words spoke to you Olivia and revived your own capacities to see where change is possible and reach for it! You might be interested in this post I wrote last year: 

http://www.how-matters.org/2010/07/28/heartbreaker/

Comment by Olivia Munoru on May 23, 2011 at 5:37pm

Hello.....

Thank you so much for sharing this. Not only was it a refreshing bit of Friday afternoon viewing, but I really love the way Sen simplifies what can sometimes seem to be such an overwhelmingly complex issue. Removing unfreedoms so that human capabilities can be developed. It's beautiful.

A little sharing: My current consultancy is for the development of a global advocacy model for fragile contexts. It can be extremely top-down in nature with the global HQ having the last call on most policy decisions. Whilst I try to incorporate and spread SALT principles through my work, it does sometimes feel that we are not really listening to communities nor appreciating their strengths, despite a general appreciation that it is important to do so. We need to move beyond the rhetoric but obviously this is not easy.
To be honest, a few times I have questioned if I am doing the right thing or if I am compromising my beliefs and values.

But then I see this video and reflect on Sen's idea of expanding human freedoms. He talks about fragile contexts, where crises prevail and thus where people are deprived of their freedoms. His words comfort me, because it reminds me how necessary it is for policy change to occur in these dire situations, so that people are free to develop their own capabilities. We might still be learning the best way to acheive this, but at least our project has the right goal at heart.

Challenging unjust systems and structures leads to greater freedoms so that people can live to their greatest potential, like this wonderful Ugandan woman who became a role model in her community.

Now I can see the forest through the trees.

Uplifting! Thank you.

Liv

Comment by Jean-Louis Lamboray on May 20, 2011 at 11:57am

Support public reasoning: isn't that we do through the stimulation of  Community Conversations?

How could we get in touch with Amartya Sen?

 

JL

Comment by Gaston on May 19, 2011 at 11:49am

Nice video. Sen certainly inspired the Community Life Competence Process and its values. That's why we are now exploring to use his approach and Nussbaum's articulation of Central Capabilities to actually measure the impact of our process in terms of capabilities. More here: http://aidscompetence.ning.com/group/inspirationbox/forum/topics/22...

Comment by Jennifer Lentfer on March 23, 2011 at 4:29pm

Good Fortune is a PBS documentary and a provocative exploration of how massive international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit. You can find a link to it here.