Speaking Out: How the Voices of Poor People are Shaping the Future

This set of 12 papers intends to bring together experiences, lessons, and good practice from Oxfam Great Britain (GB) and its partners’ global programme work on the theme of ‘the right to be heard’. The papers describe different ways to strengthen the participation of people in economic poverty so that they become active citizens and contribute to shaping policy decisions. These papers cover different approaches, lessons learned, and useful case examples on issues ranging from local community budget monitoring to popular mobilisation and media work. The purpose of the collection is to show that addressing a lack of voice and ability to speak out against injustice, as well as the more tangible issues, can make a difference to people’s ability to achieve greater well-being and to rise out of poverty. Case studies from Honduras, Malawi, Bangladesh, Georgia, Guatemala, United Kingdom (UK), Indonesia, and Peru are included.


The issues dealt with in the chapters include:
• establishing legal identity and citizenship;
• developing personal power in terms of confidence and self-esteem;
• developing collective power that enables the individual voice to be amplified and projected
• increasing transparency and accountability of governments and institutions;
• developing a state that is capable and responsive to the needs and priorities of its citizens;
• changing the attitudes and beliefs that underlie poverty, discrimination, and prejudice.

The lessons described and adapted for implementation in these chapters, according to the editor of this collection, include the following:
1. “Recognise that change is long-term. Encouraging voice and supporting active citizenship happen over time. Institutionalising the participation of economically poor men and women as part of government structures requires regular follow-up action and forward planning in order to institutionalise change.
2. Understand that attitudinal change about the use of power and accountability is a key entry point for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) into work on governance and accountability. A culture of respect and inclusiveness promotes the participation of marginalised groups in decision-making.
3. Put local priorities first. Priorities must be built from local, regional, and national contexts and then draw on international frameworks. Local communities have lots of energy and know the details of the issues that affect them. What they lack are mechanisms to effectively engage and hold their representatives accountable.
4. Work at a number of levels and build alliances. Such alliances must be built with people in economic poverty, with people in power, and with those who have the responsibility for implementing policy. The work also needs to happen at local, national, and international levels. The links between popular mobilisation, awareness-raising, policy change, and implementation are important. Adequate attention must be given to issues of implementation as well as policy change.
5. Bring people face to face. Formal power-holders and policy makers often have limited direct contact with economically poor and marginalised people.
6. Use a range of strategies to build success. Information, research, and training are all important. Many of the papers show how capacity-building of local-level organisations is often crucial in achieving the desired impact. A number of projects among the 12 collected in the document used participatory methodologies. The methods used matter: disempowering methodology, however unintentional, can invalidate the best-laid plans; empowering methodology contributes positively to change.
7. Take different perspectives into account. The national framework has to take account of the perspectives and voices of groups that are marginalised in social and economic terms, as well as groups cutting across gender and age (for example, children) in order to seek their support and build their capacity. The different needs and views of different groups must be accounted for.
8. Acknowledge gender differences. Paying good attention to gender differences and gender power relations can enable more effective change to happen.
9. Use the right language. It is possible to create excitement and enthusiasm for issues such as health, education, and even budgeting. The key is to articulate these in a language that people understand and want to respond to.
10. Monitor and evaluate projects. This shows how far bringing policy makers face to face with those who are affected by the policies they design can influence these policies, and what else has an influence on change processes.
11. Recognise that international agencies can play an advocacy role. They can influence the United Nations and other donor agencies to comply with their own policies and commitments to support development projects that encourage voice. Besides building technical capacities, international agencies can play a significant role in building links to civil society, governments, and private-sector stakeholders inside and outside the country.
12. Understand that NGOs are important as role models of accountability and integrity. If NGOs successfully demonstrate good practice, this not only shows people an example of how accountability can work in action, but also lays foundations for relationships of trust and mutual respect.”