Charles Courtney presented the Triglav Circle contribution to the 51st session of the UN commission for Social Development in February 2013.

Provisional Agenda, Priority Theme, Item 3(a)

STATEMENT OF THE TRIGLAV CIRCLE by CHARLES COURTNEY

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have the privilege of addressing the Commission on Behalf of the Triglav Circle which was created to promote the core message of the Copenhagen Declaration of the World Summit for Social Development. The Declaration asserted that “our societies must respond more effectively to the material and spiritual needs of individuals, their families, and the communities in which they live” and made a commitment to a political, economic, ethical, and spiritual vision for social development that is based on human dignity, equality and full respect for all people. It is fitting, then, for us to participate in this Fifty-First Session focused on empowerment of those people living in poverty and experiencing social exclusion.

We find our concerns echoed in the priority theme Report of the Secretary-General. That document highlights the importance of participation, freedom, respect for human dignity, and the full development of human capacity. The Report shows in detail how millions of people in all parts of the world are deprived of a full life. It calls for changes in institutional structures and policies and gives examples of the progress that has been achieved. The Report shows some results of empowerment and social integration but is silent on specific ways to make progress.

We have some suggestions for filling that gap. We can start from a telling statement in the Report. “It is people’s own actions that empower them, rather than those of others.” (¶23) This statement recognizes that people living in poverty have power. The problem is that their power, that is, their life energy, is consumed by the effort merely to survive. The shame is that they must act with drastically limited resources and deal with formidable barriers erected by society. Thus, as the Report recognizes, it is not a matter of giving power to those who have none. Rather, it is removing barriers so that “people living in poverty can . . . use their own skills and talents to work their way out of poverty.” [Recommendation (e)]

We believe that crucial to filling the gap is to have allies who get to know and stand with those living in poverty. The first advice to those who want to eradicate poverty might well be, “Don’t just do something; be there.” This can be illustrated by several examples from the experience of the International Movement ATD Fourth World, begun in France in the 1950s and since spread around the world. When Joseph Wresinski, the Movement’s founder, arrived at an emergency housing camp outside Paris he first listened to what the people wanted. The used clothing depot and the soup kitchen, sites of humiliation, were shut down. Working together, they soon created what fed their minds and hearts, a library and a chapel. In Madagascar the poor felt alienated by the medical services and did not go the clinic or relied on traditional remedies. A Fourth World Movement volunteer encouraged a nurse to meet the people in their villages, and the situation changed totally. In France a union member reached out to the non-union cleaning staff at a hospital. After years of hard work they achieved recognition and became active participants for themselves. In New York City Fourth World volunteers brought together, teachers, school administrators, researchers, and parents of students. Meeting face to face, they overcame their prejudices and found new ways to support the children. This project, appropriately, was called Unleashing Hidden Potential. In each of these cases people crossed a boundary. The wider society met poverty, and transformation occurred.

Since the Triglav Circle holds that all human needs, material and spiritual, must be met, we conclude that empowerment, social integration, and participation of the poorest are best achieved when society draws on all of its resources: public officials, academic experts, activists, and, perhaps most important, the poor themselves.

Thank you for your attention.

References:

Artisans of Democracy: How Ordinary People, Families in Extreme Poverty, and Social Institutions Become Allies to Overcome Social Exclusion, Jona M. Rosenfeld and Bruno Tardieu, University Press of America, 2000.

Participatory Approaches to Attacking Extreme Poverty: Case Studies by the International Movement ATD Fourth World, edited by Xavier Godinot and Quentin Wodon, The World Bank, 2006.

Unleashing Hidden Potential: How Parents, Teachers, Community Workers, and Academics Came Together to Improve Learning for Children in Poverty, Fourth World Publications 2007. CD-ROM included.