Nalini's session by Rebecca M - Friday, 31 August 2012, 06:40 PM

What a fascinating session today, Nalini was full of funny anecdotes and lived knowledge and experience! Would anyone have any objections to me bringing along a small audio device to record next weeks session? Kristin is going to be away for 3 weeks and I mentioned I could potentially do this. Alberto would you have Nalini's email so i can run this idea past her also...

A couple of thoughts... Nalini mentioned policy change is only effective if the people involved understand the issues and follow through with implementing the specific policy changes. One of the readings (Making Change Happen: Power) elluded to the fact that far too much social activist energy is spent on advocacy and directed at effecting policy change, and the people campaigning are so far removed from the sphere of influence of actually setting agendas or having any real impact on national/ global policy change. (Although she did mention some positive examples today of changes in land rights legislation for women). Is time better invested in working with people in communities to create awareness and understanding power structures and empowering people or is this work in conjunction with building local, regional and global networks, social movements and advocating for policy change possible all together?

Also I keep having the same conversation with people about social change. Friends and people I speak with do really want to make a difference but feel powerless against larger national and global structures and power. Someone said to me the other day "we need someone to tell us how to change and we'll do it!". How do we engage, educate empower people (even and maybe especially people with power in the West who think they don't have any other options that economic pursuit and survival) to realise they have agency to change and as a collective we are indeed powerful? Huge questions, not expecting definitive answers but just some thoughts.

Good questions. Nalini's email addy is #####@####.##

I suggested to Kristin that she could join the class via Skype if she wished.

I found Nalini's session very enlightening as well. What particularly struck me was when she mentioned that working in development was not just a profession but really a vocation, in that it was something that you didn't just pick up and do from time to time, but something that you lived and dedicated your self to.

I think your point (and Nalini's) about empowering people on the ground to take charge of their own development and futures by centrally including them in the development process is essential to make lasting and meaningful changes. It seems that many main stream development institutions have lost sight of the point that (even with noble intentions), development projects and programs are often intrusions and interventions into the lives of people with little power to resist. Development in itself is a process of social engineering, and the real question becomes who is doing the process of engineering and who directs its paths and outcomes? Ultimately, I believe that it has to be the populations and communities themselves and it is the role of development practitioners to aid, strengthen and support this process-and not impose their own ideals of what a 'better' life is on others.

I really liked your last point Rebecca about needing to empower the masses (especially those in the West) to realize that they can affect social change. It seems that the biggest hurdle in this is what Alberto said in the first lecture for this subject about "breaking psychological hegemony". As you said, it seems that many people see themselves as having little other options in life apart from economic pursuit and survival. I think central to fueling this hegemonic discourse of riches vs poverty is the concept that we are all locked in a cycle of unending competition. When people and populations compete against one they are distracted from the fact that they do have the agency and means to unite and affect change. Unfortunately, when people are consumed with the act of racing against one another, they seem to loose track of the fact that the race is never ending, that it mainly benefits the ones in the lead, and that if they worked together they wouldn't need to race so hard in the first place.

Nalini’s class was inspiring and showed how change can be created by individuals and communities when they are empowered and have the relevant tools to go about challenging power relations. Nalini’s statement about development work being a vocation not just a profession really resinated with me as well, as I think it would have for most. As was said, for change to occur, positive relationships need to be built based on both trust and accountability. If communities are seen as being the primary stakeholders of a particular policy change then it is more likely that it will successful and sustainable. I believe that change needs to come from within the communities and not from outsiders and that this takes time and dedication from all parties involved. I am looking forward to hearing more from Nalini on Friday!

I enjoyed Nalini’s class too. Something I have been grappling with lately is the ethics of development intervention - what gives development practitioners the right to intervene in local communities to promote social change? Nalini’s class reassured me that intervention can be something positive, as long as you genuinely want to help and are able to give back to the community.

James I agree with you about the fact competition is a problem, why don’t we just work together? Why is not that simple in practice? The answer is easy we are not willing to share. The problem is how can we change this? It is so immerse in our society’s life that is sometimes really difficult to think outside the box. Even at the University we are expected to compete. I was amazed about what Alberto said the first class: ‘everybody can get an A’. I haven’t heard that before… professors generally don’t do that. That is why students don’t generally share information among each other; they don’t share because the system makes them compete against each other. This is a simple and basic example. But it is a concept thought an educational level; and something that students take with them to the ‘real life’.

What can be done? Difficult answer… I imagine start individually in our day to day life?

Thanks everyone for your comments. definately nalini's session was very interesting and it is similiar or at times identitical situations in almost all developing countries such PNG. Yes, changes have to come from within in and upheld by the communities but the challenge is that within each community it has its own hieranchy that is the main problem because the few in controll there are interested in self-gain first then the others and thats where competition as mentioned by Giovanna & James comes into play.

The other issue is that donor and NGO programs are time bound and mostly driven by the funders therefore its hard in most cases to achieve intended outcome. However, the approaches engaged by Nalini and her team is very different to the common practices engaged by the development workers. She mentioned four important things to do,(1) earn the community trust, (2)to be accountable to them, (3)working around the usual practice (such as the caste system and form groups with people of all levels) which is a very good strategy but difficult to implement in many communities. (4) Finally, the targeted people must be able to accept and willing to work with you.

Nalini also said that these changes are seen today which took them many years to work in that community. All in all, her persentation was interesting and am looking forward to it again tomorrow.

I think we're onto something important here people! James you make a great point about breaking down the 'pyschological hegemony', that we are so consumed with compteting against one another that we miss the simple fact that if we worked together we wouldn't need to fight it out in the first place! And I agree, it was refreshing to hear Alberto say we can all get an A through cooperation. It's important to keep reiterting it, as it is inherent in our education system, our other insitutions and society at large, we are so indoctrinated in this way of thinking.

So what can be done individually and as a collective to begin to break this dominant way of thinking? It would be great to get a list going. Giovanna, yours is a good start - sharing more information with one another at Uni. This forum is a great example too, sharing ideas on our end of year projects.

I always think about the people in my life who are most consumed by economic pursuit and material possessions. Maybe I could find a way of presenting ideas on coperation that chellenge the concventional way of thinking. Like Nalini's example in the community of deconstructing power relations so that they become the norm, ie. putting someone of previously low status in the positon of manager so that everyone has to enagge and interact with them

There is a brilliant concept called 'Lentil As Anything' you may have heard of. They have kitchens in SkKilda, Abbotsford & Footscray (my neck of the woods!). Their founder Shanaka challenges the conventional economic model by having no set prices, you pay what you wish. The idea is everyone deserves a seat at the table. Their restaurants are mostly run by migrants and they are a generous and supportive community who help people get settled when they first come to Australia, with visas, housing, setting up driving lessons, that sort of thing. A great example of inspiring and inclusive social change operating effectively within the current system!

Re: Economic pursuit and materialism - I just have to bring Osho up again, in case you didn't read it in the Paralympics post...

“To know anything, you have to begin with yourself. I want you to be just simply selfish. You discover so many treasures within yourself.

In the ordinary economics, if you give something you will have less. The treasures I am talking about have a different law. If you cling to them, they shrink.

But if you want to grow your treasures and share them; don’t even bother if this is a friend or a foe. Simply give. The more you go on sharing, the more goes on entering in you from unknown sources. A man is just like a well.”

Let us work together, share our treasures, share our love, break down the barriers!