Exploring the dynamic workshop report (1)

Exploring the dynamic between economic citizenship and political citizenship Coady International Institute St. Francis Xavier University Antigonish, Nova Scotia June 22 - 25, 2014

Exploring the Dynamic between Economic and Political Citizenship

Coady International Institute June 23-­‐25, 2014

Dear citizen: If economic security I mean agency I mean justice is not bred to move in political realms is it because the path is simply one of snakes and ladders, spirals because we don’t find the right balance of love and power, between growing trees and navigating jungles or we chickegg the poor thing into parts until it’s dying or stuck and failed to watch how it moved. Is it because we miss in it the moral power, the imagination, intoxication, the trust, the critical intangible of the townhouse, the gathering, the dialogue, this dialogue, our kite and our stars.

Nanci Lee

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Introduction

Development work has often been artificially separated into economic and political strategies to bring about change. Yet in practice, these strategies are interlinked or sequenced intentionally. A micro-­‐finance program, for example, may result in women asserting themselves as decision-­‐makers in the household, and to become engaged in local government decision-­‐making. Rural food producers in a cooperative may organize to influence political decisions about the direction of economic policy. Political action, on the other hand, may be necessary to achieve the very basic building blocks of an economic livelihood. At a time of democratic deficit and deepening inequalities, the nature of this “chicken-­‐egg” relationship is important to understand.

Co-­‐hosted by IDRC, HIVOS, IAF and CORD and the Coady International Institute, Exploring the Dynamic between Economic and Political Citizenship was convened as a workshop to:

1. Unpack the relationship between economic agency or citizenship and political agency or citizenship through illustrative case studies; 2. Draw on academic and practitioner perspectives to develop a framework for exploring this dynamic in more depth and understand its gendered dimensions; 3. Identify areas of further research of relevance to continued efforts to strengthen economic and political citizenship.

It was attended by 28 invited participants from South Asia, South-­‐East Asia, Sub Saharan Africa, Latin America, Europe and North America. Nanci Lee’s poem highlights the creativity and insight they brought with them. 16 participants wrote brief cases about this interaction between economic and political citizenship, drawing on their own work experience, and these formed the basis of small group discussion and analysis. Cases included examples of women’s economic and political empowerment in a micro-­‐finance program in Indonesia; the role of cooperatives in shaping participation in economic and political spheres in Uganda, Nepal and Bhutan; the solidarity economy in Mexico and its relationship to the banking sector in North East Brazil; women and the informal economy in Ghana, India and South Africa; the land reform movement in Nepal; and the experience of indigenous peoples, new immigrants, urban migrants and people in post-­‐conflict situations as they assert their claim on an economic livelihood.

Holding this workshop at the Coady Institute was itself significant. Coady’s history in the Maritime provinces in Canada is rooted in farmers and fisher-­‐folk organizing for economic agency or “citizenship” through the cooperative and credit union movement in the Depression years and beyond. Continuing to promote citizen-­‐led approaches to sustainable livelihoods in its educational programs, the Coady Institute’s themes of Strengthening Local Economies, Promoting Accountable Democracies, and Building Resilient Communities speak to the political, economic and environmental forms of citizenship discussed at the workshop.

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Rationale

The rationale for exploring this dynamic during the workshop was discussed with participants at the beginning of the workshop. Five reasons emerged. First is the current global context in which the role of the state as a guarantor of basic livelihood is under increased pressure, while decentralization offers – in theory -­‐-­‐ opportunities for more engaged citizenship and greater democratic accountability:

The old literature assumed that the state provided an economic floor and this enabled political participation. With the collapse of states, that safety net is being dismantled. How is that being re-­‐created in new ways?1

Second is the intensification of the social inequalities in the wake of market liberalization and the questions this raises about strategies for social inclusion:

Political agency and economic agency reinforce one another. But sometimes they can be contradictory or exclusionary.

Political mobilizations can produce new exclusions and often those exclusions are economic.

Third is the rising concern about the environment if existing mainstream models of economic growth continue:

How can we include that third type of citizen as stewards of sustainability and the idea that nature has its own rights?

And fourth is the promise of innovation in the practice of various forms of citizenship – economic, political, and environmental – that are combining to resolve some of these dilemmas. Exploring the dynamic between these different forms of citizenship can point the way forward for collaboration at the level of development practice, and ways of opening up the space for creative solutions at the level of policy:

We’re interested in testing what works best in building agency; exploring ways to build communities of practice and help identify best ideas and have them go viral.

Finally, insights into this dynamic can benefit from the “interdisciplinary turn,” bringing together economic, political, environmental and cultural knowledge as well as bridging between academics and practitioners.

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Italics indicate an edited quote from the workshop.

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A preliminary framework for analysis

The idea of citizenship is closely connected to the concept of agency, or having the capacity to act. In this sense it overlaps with ideas of empowerment and inclusion. However, while the status of citizenship confers agency, it is the practice of citizenship in relationships of solidarity, mutual obligation and civic responsibility that translates that capacity to act into action itself.

A preliminary framework for exploring these issues was presented on the first day of the workshop, as illustrated below. It distinguishes between economic and political forms of citizenship along both vertical and horizontal dimensions. To explore the dynamic further, we would want to know how people move from one box in the matrix to another. For example, does activity in the cooperative sector make you a more engaged citizen? Is it a training ground for political participation or does it create another form of exclusion?

We also need to look at the private space/domain. Let’s look also at what’s happening at the home, in the family…. In considering citizenship, it is important to name intersectionality of power relations. It’s not only class and gender; it’s all the ‘isms.’

At WIEGO we think about 2 other things. One is the context behind all this (capitalism, the state of the state). Secondly, the preconditions to achieving inclusion which we think of as voice (organizing), validity (sees as having legitimacy) and visibility (in research and statistics).

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How can we include that third type of citizen as a steward of sustainability and the idea that nature has its own rights? … There’s also the cultural dimension. I work in a context where ethno-­‐political dynamics are very vigorous.

What about those who are stateless? What about global citizenship, how does that interplay with the economic and the political?

[What comes first, the chicken or the egg?]The problem is the chicken. We take the chicken and we ask “How does the chicken live? Why is the chicken moving?” So I kill the chicken and look at all the elements that constitute the chicken. But once I have understood the anatomy of the chicken, I see that the chicken is dead. We define and separate all the elements of the chicken but still don’t understand the process of living.

For people living the economic it is something they’re doing, but the political is too. They aren’t separate.

Alternative visualizations of the dynamic between economic and political citizenship Having discussed the preliminary framework for analysis, participants were invited to visualize the dynamic in a way that was meaningful to them. These are the results of these group discussions:

It starts with people at the center with 2 pathways. One is focused on individuals coming together in collectives almost in spite of the state or to mitigate against the state or provide what the state doesn’t. A secondary process is about political agency in the stricter sense.

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Passion is at the center. It’s what drives and inspires people to go from the individual to the collective. Passion is colored by external forces, those forces are colored by the individual. The web is the context, the reality that reflects an exercise of power over. How can we capture and change the paradigm (the web has to be changed)?

Is there a spider in that web?

Does it bite?

The economic/market/corporate force is the largest and growing. It is capturing and controlling the state. Civil society/citizenship is between this and the state. We want to expand that circle But how do we go from individual matters -­‐-­‐ needs, private issues and conscience-­‐-­‐ to a collective view, with perspectives of needs like radical needs/rights, public issues and action?

Did you deliberately not draw civil society pushing outside of the state?

What about economic citizenship and the power we have as consumers?

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We begin with a pyramid of power where you have the vertical and the horizontal dimension. The state and the global markets are making decisions.

Communities at the bottom, cultural/political/gender dynamics isolated, trying to influence the decision-­‐ making process, but decisions are imposing themselves into communities. Mother Nature is here as a base but not recognized as an actor.

Now we invert the pyramid. Mother Nature is an actor, there are organized inclusive communities, a change in power relations, different indicators such as happiness. We have a cord and the cord is gender inclusion. This cord is the cord of a kite, carried on the winds of change.

Just as in the game of snakes and ladders, there are moments of opportunity to move ahead in the journey towards citizenship, increasing and decreasing in agency both individually and collectively.

Who sets the rules of this game?

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The cases

During the afternoon of Day 1 and the morning of Day 2, participants discussed 4 cases in each group. With an hour per case, informal presentations were followed by discussions around questions such as

1. What is the starting point of this case -­‐-­‐ the concern with political or economic citizenship? Why was this the starting point?

2. How did the sequencing of economic and political agency evolve over time? What was the interrelationship between economic and political agency?

3. What were the consequences of this evolution for the participants? Who were the winners and losers? Whose ability to participate politically and economically was enhanced? Whose was diminished?

4. What enabled and what blocked political and/or economic agency in this case?

5. What 2 things do we know, what more 2 things do we need to know about this dynamic between economic and political agency from this case?

Be#na&von& Lieres&and&Aly& Khan&

Yogesh& Ghore& Rihana,& Riyawala&

Sarah&Shima&

Malena&de& MonIs&

Carlos&Ruiz&

Tshewang& Dendup&

Asier&Ansorema&

Simeen& Mahmud&

SebasIan& Jarrin& Gord& Cunningham&

Jagat&Basnet&

Yehualawork& Mengistu& Rhonda&Douglas&

Nani&Zulminari& and&Valerie& Millar&

Mohammed& Sharriff&

Nanci&Lee&

Emily&Sikazwe& Be#na&von& Lieres&and&Aly& Khan&

Pablo& Lumerman&

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A case illustrating the relationship between economic and political citizenship: Solidarity Economy and Fair Trade organizations, Mexico Carlos Cortez

This case describes different social organizations working to develop a “Solidarity Economy” and “fair trade”. Through collective organizations people create economic spaces, like cooperatives, but also achieve the economic rights that they did not have before. Some of the areas in which these organizations have worked are production for local consumption and market-­‐oriented production such as coffee, honey, spices; handcraft production, savings and credit services.

These organizations have helped develop economic agency, and some have mobilized different kind of resources from NGOs, Governments and the Academy. During recent years some of these indigenous organizations have had to develop different kinds of political actions to demand their rights, such as establishing community radio even without official permission, as they consider that current prohibition violates their right to communication. They have also actively resisted attempts that try to privatize natural resources to establish mining, dams, wind projects.

Latin American experiences of political and economic empowerment in popular sectors Malena DeMontis

Fodem/Cenzontle’s (Nicaragua) mission was to develop economic and political empowerment processes for women through two programs: credit (economic empowerment) and citizenship-­‐ building (political empowerment). It arose with the intention of opening financial opportunities for women entrepreneurs who had been participating in Cenzontle´s citizenship program. It advocated for possibilities to solve women’s economic problems so that they could continue to pursue political action. Credit and microfinance were therefore used as tools to improve the living conditions of women and their families and increase their economic autonomy in general.

These programs resulted in the development of an agenda for women to negotiate with local government. Several women were also elected to office, selected to sit on municipal councils, or become managers of municipal projects. Among the dilemmas encountered in this experience were: the gradual co-­‐optation of leaders who reached positions of local power by political parties; corruption; and weak accountability mechanisms to other women in the community from those same leaders; and the need for more systematic training on technical aspects.

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Exploring changes in the economic and political agency of medicinal and aromatic plant producers in Ecuador over 15 years: the case of Jambi Kiwa Gord Cunningham Jambi Kiwa is a cooperative producing medicinal and aromatic plant products run by indigenous women. Leadership of the cooperative rotates on a regular basis to build the capacity of emerging women leaders. In addition to the plant processing and exporting business, the cooperative has established a School of Andean Medicine (where traditional healers pass on remedies to younger community members), school herbal medicine gardens (to teach children the value of medicinal plants) and women’s literacy and domestic violence prevention programs. Jambi Kiwa members see themselves as part of a social movement as well as a social enterprise, and they believe that Jambi Kiwa is a vehicle that will enable them to ensure the survival of their Indigenous communities.

According to one of its leaders, over the past decade and a half government officials have moved from treating “indigenous people like children that needed to be helped” to people with knowledge that should be respected and consulted, suggesting the achievement of a considerable measure of political citizenship.

Increased financial literacy and participatory budgets as mechanisms of economic citizenship that translate into political citizenship in the context of the distribution of revenues from non-­‐renewable natural resources, Ecuador Sebastian Jarrin Increased financial literacy and participatory budgets are mechanisms of economic citizenship that translate into political citizenship as citizens demand from elected authorities the implementation of budgets as planned, expect more transparency and evaluate and elect candidates with a different perspective than before.

The work of Grupo FARO in the Amazon region aims to strengthen capabilities of elected officials and public servants of subnational governments to understand and apply the rules about distribution of revenues from oil production and exports, and to become aware of the importance of promoting transparency of the use of oil revenues. Simultaneously, at the communal leaders’ level, efforts are focused on budget literacy capacity-­‐building and empowering citizens to demand more transparency on the generation and use of oil revenues.

By tackling the demand-­‐driven and supply-­‐driven sides of transparency, this project bridges the gap that obstructs the translation of transparency into accountability.

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The Case of Banco Palmas, Brazil: Understanding the value of economic and political mobilization.

Asier Ansorena

This case illustrates how the residents of a very poor neighborhood in the city of Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil, organized in local associations to build their own neighborhood from scratch, right in the middle of the dictatorship, therefore risking a lot to exercise their right to political agency. After a decade of mobilization and organization during the 80’s and a decade of urbanization in the 90’s, the lack of economic opportunities (jobs and income) in the neighborhood, which was causing many in the neighborhood they had built to leave, mobilized the community once more to exercise the rights to economic agency and inclusion. After more than 90 assembly meetings lead by the Local Residents Association (ASMOCONP), it was decided that during the next 10 years, the association would focus on income generation and job creation. In order to achieve this, the community decided to build their own bank and eventually their own currency. This would be the first Community Development Bank (CDB) in the history of Brazil, called Banco Palmas, which was inaugurated in January of 1998.

Toward a strategic socio-­‐environmental evaluation of the impacts of the promotion and development of unconventional hydrocarbons and the development of public policies aimed at social inclusion: How to protect human rights and promote sustainable development in the Comahue region, Argentina Pablo Lumerman

This case study analyzes political and economic citizenship in the context of extractive industry expansion in indigenous territories, in the case the four Mapuche communities2 directly affected by petroleum activities in Argentina.

Most of the communities have no legal title or official recognition of their communal property rights. The provinces concede those territories and natural resources to third parties (petroleum companies; mining companies; forestry/timber companies; and farmers) without indigenous consent. Their claim concerns obtaining recognition of their status as native peoples, recovering and maintaining their ancestral lands, and negotiating, with the State, the conditions for entry and continuation of development projects in their territories. Without 2

Maripe, Katripayin, Paynemil, and Piñaleo fields and one that, while not directly affected, is fully involved because it is in Neuquén Capital, Newen Mapu.

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rights to land, the fundamental claim of the Mapuche People, the exercise of other rights that have a bearing on their survival as a people are at risk.

Addressing the occupational health and safety (OHS) needs of informal workers: A case study of market traders and street vendors in Accra, Ghana Rhonda Douglas

Accra, the capital of Ghana, is the largest city in the country with a population of approximately 1,848,614 (as of 2010 Population Census) (Dzidinyo, 2). 73.8 per cent of the workforce is in the informal sector. Over half of these traders (57 per cent) are female. Despite this, there is little legislation regarding informal work within the city and the informal workers face many roadblocks in making their livelihoods.

The membership-­‐based organizations that are the focus of the study are The Ga East and the Makola Market Traders Unions. The traders established these unions in hopes that their collective voices would be heard by the city. WIEGO supported this through awareness raising on legal and policy frameworks affecting them and capacity building for more effective dialogue with local authorities. Before the intervention, their ability to engage with their municipality was non-­‐existent, but over the course of the project, the workers became aware of their own significant economic contributions to the city and gained the skills and confidence necessary to engage with the local authorities.

Economic and political citizenship in Community Based Saving and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) of WISE, Ethiopia Tsigie Haile and Yehualawork Fithawok WISE focuses on 51 woredas within seven sub-­‐cities of Addis Ababa. The major economic empowerment approach of WISE is organizing women in Saving and Credit Cooperatives, the provision of various trainings and disbursing loans for business initiation and development.

A recent study revealed that a remarkable number of members are participating in Woreda Councils, Community Development Committees, Women Associations, the Women’s league, Idirs (burial societies), etc. It means, as women are economically empowered, they are becoming self-­‐empowered; becoming more confident and assertive in public places that lead them to join political institutions. On the other hand, as the SACCO members are taking more part in the political sphere, much of their time that would be used for business advancement is spent in meetings and mobilizing community members for social or other activities. Their situation is further aggravated by multiple responsibilities at home and in their community.

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Stimulating political agency through economic organizations of small scale farmers in the Rwenzori Region, Uganda Mohammed Ahamed Shariff

Most of the analysis of agency among small-­‐scale farmers has focused on economic organizations of farmers, in the form of cooperatives. It is widely accepted that even very small-­‐ scale farmers, if organized into an effective organization, can do well economically. In Western Uganda, small scale farmers who have organized themselves in cooperatives and marketing associations have been able to access better local /national markets and incomes from their produce. Focusing on the right product, getting the quantity and quality right and organizing farmers, are all important factors than can guarantee access and long term participation in the market for many small-­‐scale farmers.

But agency extends well beyond economic organizations of small scale farmers to encompass the capacity of farmers to organize and the ability to take effective action for self-­‐ determination. In the worlds of agriculture and food where so many actors intervene, strengthening the economic agency of small-­‐ scale farmers will enhance their capacity to analyze their position and the wider policy environment and to participate effectively in ways that have a direct bearing on their social and economic wellbeing.

How social empowerment using adult education methodologies enhances women's political, social and economic leadership: The case of Women for Change, Zambia Emily Sikazwe

Women for Change (WfC) is a Zambian rural-­‐focused non-­‐governmental organization that has worked with over 1,000 rural communities reaching over 600,000 women and men. It has been involved in working on the empowerment of rural communities, especially women and girls, using gender analysis and popular education methodologies. Social empowerment is important as a first step in giving women their voices and evoking their power from within. As a result of employing adult education principles to create active citizen participation in the political, social and economic spheres, WfC has now embarked on an action-­‐research initiative to determine the extent to which social empowerment contributes to enhancing women's leadership in its operation areas.

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The Intersections between informal economic activities and political participation amongst immigrant communities in Toronto and Johannesburg Aly Karam and Bettina von Lieres

This planned research study focuses on the intersections between informal economic activity and political participation amongst immigrant communities in two cities: Toronto, Canada and Johannesburg, South Africa. The aim of the study is to explore how different forms of informal economic engagement map onto emerging forms of local political participation amongst immigrants in high-­‐poverty neighbourhoods in both cities.

It will examine the differences and/or similarities in histories and patterns of immigration in both cities, and how variances in political context, city management and social mobilization shape emerging intersections between economic and political citizenship.

Complex enough to capture, simple enough to use: integrating gendered asset and coping strategies into a management information system Nanci Lee

FIDES is a microfinance organization that supports rural microfinance organizations in Africa and Eastern Europe. While many microfinance programs consider aspects of financial poverty, they rarely look at the households in terms of their coping and asset strategies. If they do, it is a one-­‐off study, often by an external consultant. This case-­‐study shows how asset and coping strategies were integrated into their Management Information System in a way that all staff and field staff, some with little education, could manage and analyze. Analysis included how women and families use animals, jewelry and textiles as forms of savings and insurance often in complex ways. The monitoring also included how women and families use social networks and groups.

Women’s economic groups and its influence on the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India: A case study on SRIJAN’s work in the Bundelkhand Region Yogesh Ghore This case looks at the influence of women’s economic groups (such as self-­‐help groups, federations, producer companies) on the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) -­‐ the system of local self-­‐governance in India. SRIJAN’s work in the Bundelkhand Region has focused on the participation of women, including those from marginalized scheduled tribe and scheduled caste communities in the PRIs. The case demonstrates that creating economic agency of women helps in their increased participation in PRIs and thereby improves local governance. The case demonstrates the creation of women’s agency both at the individual and the collective level.

There are examples where women have not only participated in the local political process but have also contested for political office.

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The case of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Rehana Riyawala

The Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a trade union of 1.9 million poor women workers from Informal Economy across 13 states of India. SEWA’s goals are (a) full employment -­‐ employment that provides work, income and food security and (b) self-­‐reliance – economical & decision-­‐making. SEWA follows integrated approach (a) Organizing for collective strength that brings visibility, recognition and rightful place in the economy, (b) Capacity building to stand firm in competitive market, (c) Capital formation for risk mitigation & fighting poverty, (d) Social security to enhance well-­‐being & productivity.

A recent victory was the Street Vendors Act that came into force in May 2014 enabling 40 million vendors across the country to achieve their rightful place in society and much needed Voice, Visibility and Validation. SEWA is now advocating for a Disaster Policy related to livelihood in the most vulnerable trades in view of the fact that hard earned income gets washed away during disasters and poor informal workers get into the debt trap time and time again and thus are not able to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty. In light of threats to livelihood brought about by climate change, this is considered a pressing issue.

Case Example from Nepal: The Land and Agrarian Reform Movement Jagat Basnet The Community Self-­‐Reliance Centre (CSRC) has facilitated a strong people's organization called the National Land Rights Forum (NLRF) whereby landless and smallholder farmers can secure their economic rights, especially land. The National Land Rights Forum (NLRF) organized more than 2741 village land rights forums (VLRFs) and 47 districts land rights forums (DLRFs) and emerged as a powerful people's organization. The government has been compelled to change their policies and implement land reform on behalf of landless farmers, tenant farmers and smallholders who are now securing their economic rights (Upreti, 2013). As a result, more than 25,000 households have received legal land certificates and 93,000 households have been organized (CSRC, 2014). Economic and political citizenship are integrating with each other and there is a strong relationship between the two.

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The Maoist, the SACCO, and a camera – The impact of economic agency on credit union members’ political citizenship during and after a civil war, Nepal Sarah Shima

During the armed conflict in Nepal, women’s savings and credit co-­‐operatives (SACCOs) were one of the few institutions able to continue to provide financial services, especially in rural areas.

In conditions of armed conflict or in conflict-­‐prone settings, co-­‐operatives have been shown to be practical and effective models of economic and social development. As locally owned and autonomous organizations, they provide: transparency, flexibility, pride of ownership (wherein members are more likely to protest external interference) and local economic advantages, providing profits to members, affordable interest rates, and services suited to the local economy. Co-­‐operatives also teach democratic principles, instructing members about the characteristics of democratic institutions and their roles and responsibilities within such institutions.

CCA and the Centre for Micro-­‐Finance Nepal (CMF)3 worked together with women’s SACCOs to provide civic education on the first Constituent Assembly elections and the development of the new constitution in Nepal. This work not only brought about active participation in the democratic process, but also enhanced the knowledge and leadership of the women for the long-­‐term benefit of their communities, and improved the SACCOs’ democratic practices.

The case of Dewathang Milk Marketing Cooperative (DMMC) in Bhutan Samdrup Jongkhar and Tshewang Dendup

The Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative is a project of the Lhomon Society, a civil society organisation in Bhutan designed to foster genuine Gross National Happiness (GNH)-­‐based development in harmony with government goals. Its purpose is to raise living standards in the South-­‐Eastern dzongkhag of Samdrup Jongkhar and beyond by establishing food security and self-­‐sufficiency, protecting and enhancing the natural environment, strengthening communities, stemming the tide of rural-­‐urban migration, and fostering a cooperative, productive, entrepreneurial and self-­‐reliant spirit grounded in a rights-­‐based approach to development, particularly focusing on women and youth.

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The Centre for Micro-­‐Finance Nepal was established on July 21, 2000, to strengthen the capacity of microfinance institutions and enable them to provide savings, credit and other financial services to the poorest-­‐of-­‐the-­‐poor families, especially women.

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The DMMC experience has reinforced the idea that including the disadvantaged sections of society can lead to wealth generation and more inclusive political agency in Bhutan’s fledgling democracy. Through collective economic empowerment and the development of financial literacy, women and the poor get equal opportunities to participate in the decision making process. At the same time, children who previously did not have access to education, are now included in the school system and have the potential to become well informed and engaged economic and political citizens.

Does economic agency/inclusion contribute to political citizenship? Case study from south west Bangladesh Simeen Mahmud

The PRIME intervention for economic inclusion has evolved into a package of financial and non-­‐ financial services where beneficiary households are supported with flexible micro-­‐credit, emergency loans, skills development and vocational training, technical assistance for income generating activities (IGAs), and primary health care services. More recently, to make livelihoods more secure and sustainable and to break the cycle of poverty, PRIME has identified as one of its core responsibilities the motivation of beneficiary households to send their children to school and initiated a pilot subcomponent to facilitate overseas employment of the willing and able members of the target ultra-­‐poor households. There are also provisions for seasonal interventions like cash for work and emergency loans to ease seasonal and other kinds of vulnerability.

However, there are no direct interventions that support beneficiary households to mobilize politically around their livelihood concerns, or to support collective action and participation in political spaces at the local level. What are the implications of this in terms of achieving political as well as economic citizenship?

PEKKA: Forging Women’s Economic and Political Empowerment in Indonesia Nani Zulminari and Valerie Miller PEKKA, a women’s savings and loan cooperative movement, has expanded from a few Indonesian villages in 2002 to over 700 communities, from a handful of women living in conflict zones to over 25,000 members participating in some 800 cooperatives that also mobilize women’s economic and political participation in communities spread across 19 of the country’s 33 provinces.

PEKKA’s vision is strengthening women’s economic possibilities and solidarity to improve their lives and build their individual and collective capacity to participate as dynamic, caring citizens, capable of navigating the twists and turns of power that shape their contexts. At the outset, PEKKA’s leadership made a strategic choice to use women’s economic empowerment as an entry point (economic citizenship) with the clear belief that it enables them to take care of their families while developing the skills, leadership and networks necessary for poor women to participate as citizens with dignity, rights and respect (political citizenship and agency).

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Developing research themes/lines of inquiry: A summary of group feedback.

Based on the discussion of the cases themselves, participants regrouped to develop emerging themes. The following summarizes their conclusions:

The themes that warrant further study are (i) the “big picture” context -­‐-­‐ economic growth models, inequality, globalization, environmental threats – and (ii) the local contextual factors such as decentralization, and local and regional economic policies that shape opportunities for economic and political participation. Within these contexts are (iii) pathways for achieving economic and political citizenship, often designed by civil society organizations or coalitions of actors, including strategies to challenge economic models that allow economic and political actors to shirk from responsibilities for social equality and environmental stewardship. These pathways include specific strategies for ensuring (iv) women’s participation, and must also consider (v) the most effective ways of sustaining momentum for change.

1. Micro-­‐macro/context linkages for structural transformation We know that global inequalities and a globalised economy have direct consequences in the livelihoods of people at the local level. We also recognise that citizenship activism related to local economic issues can be dangerous work, partly because the state is less focused on social protection and more on facilitating large scale economic investments and equipped to exercise control to secure those interests. Also, in many places, religion, education, and the media are additional macro forces that are threatening the basic freedoms of citizenship.

Considering this reality we need to define complex strategies that include multi-­‐level approaches and actors.

At the micro level we know that there are personal/psychological dimensions of exercising power and agency. When that agency is channeled towards a particular purpose (such as land reform) often with a sense of civic responsibility (for future generations, for example, or to support others in the community), this is “citizenship”. What we need to know is how local level, micro change translates into larger structural changes.

Structural transformation is not a sum of micro projects, but a process where innovative ideas for change filter up.

There are local resource management practices in Argentina, for example, that accommodate different stakeholder models of development, achieving “win-­‐win” settlements, and these have influenced new policies. In a different setting, the PEKKA process in Indonesia challenges consumerism and individualism and creates alternative ideas about economic agency – the consequences over time on shaping the larger economy needs exploring. The question is whether the spaces to have influence are 18

sufficient and effective at local levels. The examples of decentralized governance structures or participatory budgeting are cases in point. Are they really open to citizen input?

We need to know more about examples where the micro and macro levels merge around particular set of issues. For example:

•

Under what conditions do micro economic political, social strategies weaken and shift the macro structural context?

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What are new forms of political citizenship? What are the new kinds of alliances that are taking shape and that we need to understand?

How do we deepen our understanding of the shifting dynamics of power, moving away from the political-­‐ economic dichotomy and examining intersectionality (class, ethnicity, gender, culture, and other dimensions) in the private and public spheres?

What are the strategies that will guarantee the promotion of human development considering the presence of international extractive capital? What kind of alliances at different levels is needed for such transformation?

•

•

To gain this deeper understanding, it would be helpful to study cases where rapid change, driven and impacted by macro forces, is being resisted, or where there is conflict between endogenous and exogenous models of development. The analysis would focus on how the micro and macro intersect; on how people are organizing and what kind of alliances are taking place.

Local Contextual Factors Several of the cases illustrated the importance of local contextual factors that affect local economic and political participation. Opportunities to participate can be conditioned by gender, economic status, religion, cultural identity, and even different definitions of “citizenship,” as suggested by the Bangladesh case.

The visibility and validity of the informal sector vary according to these local contextual factors.

In turn, the local context influences the role of mediators between informal and formal sectors.

As the case comparing Toronto and Johannesburg aims to explore, informal economic actors are concerned about the consequences of political activity. It follows that their illegal/legal status and informal/formal type of activity will shape political participation.

The implementation of decentralization policies also varies from context to context with consequences for the opportunities for local political participation and the type of economic activity encouraged at local levels. The connection between cooperative membership and local political engagement in the decentralized government context of Bhutan, where democratic institutions are relatively recent, is likely to have a unique character. Similarly the character and effectiveness of participatory budgeting varies with different decentralization policies and implementation, as well as the strength of accountability mechanisms, as illustrated in the Grupo FARO case.

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We need to know: • • •

How gender, education, religion, culture, identity and size of community (of informal economic actors, for example) shapes political participation?

How people define their sense of citizenship and community identity ( or “collective citizenship”).

How “illegal”/”legal” status of economic actors shapes political participation.

2. Pathways

We know there are specific pathways making the link between economic and political agency.

For example, PEKKA’s work in Indonesia shows how the bonds among women as they address economic issues together leads to broader collective action. Similarly, focusing on economic empowerment of scheduled castes and tribes is shown to be the precursor of involvement in panchayati raj institutions in India in the experience of SRIJAN. WISE and CCA’s work shows how SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperatives) are capacity builders for other democratic forms of engagement, as has also been the case with rural cooperatives in Uganda. As WIEGO points out, for women traders in urban markets in Accra, the trust building that goes along with organizing around economic activity and building capacity for economic citizenship is equally important for political citizenship. Similarly, in Bhutan, the cooperative experience has had significant influence on civic engagement in the early stages of its parliamentary democracy.

Nonetheless, as the Bangladesh case highlights, the transition from economic to political empowerment is by no means inevitable without direct support and capacity building. Even with basic economic security, citizen’s political engagement can be frustrated by insufficient basic education, as well as political interference.

Economic and political forms of citizenship are often inextricably intertwined. The Mexican case shows that defence of economic resources can be the driver of political engagement, and that the achievement of ownership and control is at the heart of the confidence with which people mount that defence. The Argentinian case is another example that shows how conflicts between extractive industries and rural producers can result in rights-­‐compatible co-­‐ management of resources for local livelihoods, an alternative outcome to either continued resistance or to passive acceptance of the extractive agenda. Where people don’t have control over resources, as in the Nepal case, a non-­‐violent strategy for land reform shows citizens taking the lead in championing fairer distribution of resources, securing strategic support from academics, CSOs, and journalists.

We need to know:

We need to understand more clearly the degree to which women’s participation in both private and public situations have really changed as a result of economic agency, and under what conditions. Also, does strengthening financial literacy translate into greater economic and political agency? Do cooperatives have a distinctive role to play in linking the economic to the political? Does experience in cooperatives or collective economic activity provide unique 20

experience for effective participation in a participatory budgeting process, or do these economic entities act only in their own self-­‐interest?

Also, the connection between economic outcomes that result from political engagement needs further testing. For example, as SEWA begins to advocate for basic income support during times of disaster, how does the economic and political agency of its members come into play? In other contexts, what kinds of political strategies are most effective in resisting large corporate incursions? There are cases where building economic power is the fuel for such resistance, as suggested in the Nepal case .

3. Women’s participation

Women play important roles in both the economic and political spheres but continue to be marginalized in both. Their engagement in the informal sector is more visible, but we need to understand how best to ensure equity and rights as citizens. Experience suggests that social norms may be less of a barrier for the ultra-­‐poor, and that women heads of households have relatively more autonomy to become economic and political actors in their own right. Women-­‐ only spaces where trust and social capital are built are key to making this a reality. However, women’s increased political and economic participation has led in some instances to targeting women with violence, harassment, and ostracization at both personal and public levels. We need to examine the strategies to engage women more meaningfully and how to prevent such negative consequences.

We need to know:

• Do women SACCO members have a political identity because of their collective economic identity? And, when is a political identity dangerous to the members of the cooperative itself?

• What is the connection between women’s economic empowerment and the weight of women’s political participation?

• What is the value and what is lost where women are behind-­‐the-­‐scenes political influencers-­‐leaders rather than in a more public role?

• What difference does it make to have safe places for women to discuss core issues, and how does leisure play into it?

• What is the relation between the “black box” of the household (power relations, decision making between husband and wife) and women’s economic and political participation?

• Does economic citizenship change the dynamic in the household, and then in the public sphere?

• Does economic identity/agency really lead to political agency and in what context?

What can we learn from where the economic is political and women are giving voice?

• How is the movement between formal and informal economic activity (flowing in either direction) understood as a gendered phenomenon, and what are its political dimensions?

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• •

In state-­‐building/peace-­‐building contexts what influence have women had as a result of their engagement in rebuilding the state on both horizontal and vertical axes?

What is “Big P” and “Big E” learning from “small” and informal economy successes by women?

4. Sustainable Strategies for Economic-­‐Political-­‐Social Engagement

Systemic change takes time; it is important to have a long term view of how historical events have shaped the current situation and a broader understanding of the contextual factors that influence change. The history of Banco Palmas, for example, began long before the establishment of the Bank and needs to be situated in the solidarity movement in different periods of Brazil’s economic and political history. Sustainability therefore has to do with being able to organize around complex systems that are constantly evolving and changing.

Yet, while potential for sustainability and replication are context specific, many places are facing similar challenges of religious politics, financial crisis, land grabbing, migration etc. and these have impacted economic and political agency and citizenship in similar ways, suggesting that strategies can be shared across different contexts. For example, the Mexico case illustrated how people organize in a solidarity economy to resist the major economic actors, such as in the mining and agri-­‐business sectors, while the SEWA case showed how political influence by women was achieved through an increasingly strong member-­‐based organization of the poor (MBOP).The Nepal case illustrates the power of alliance building to support people’s movements, in this case among CSOs, journalists and others. But unless that “power from within” is ignited as the level of the individual and group, such movements are hard to sustain, as illustrated in the Zambia case.

What do we need to know

We need to understand the factors that either promote/proliferate or restrict/slow down great ideas or successful interventions in political and economic agency. There are several areas of specific interest:

• • •

Microcredit vs. Microsavings and other tools of microfinance.

Participatory Budgeting Solidarity Banking.

In addition, it is important to understand the link between “small p” political agency and “ big P” political agency or gains in economic citizenship. What role does training in democracy have for stronger political participation for women, if women are not also able to negotiate power 22

within the household? The answers to these questions may help us guide the role of outside agencies to support this work .

Summary Over the three days of the workshop, using the 16 mini-­‐case examples as starting points, the group generated a series of questions for which further research would be useful to inform both policy and practice. Core questions included: 1. What can we learn about the effective sequencing of strategies for achieving empowerment and acting as citizens? This question would explore movement from one “category” of citizenship to another in the framework illustrated above, based on concrete examples. For example, is a focus on economic empowerment through a cooperative the basis on which political empowerment and engagement are built? Or is the solidarity of political action the building block for economic agency? In so far as these strategies are interconnected, how are decisions made about which pathways to pursue?

2. How are these pathways, linking economic and political strategies, influenced by horizontal forms of citizenship embedded in local cultural and social practice?

3. In the informal economy how do gender, education, religion, culture, identity and size of community (of informal economic actors) shape political participation?

4. With regard to women’s participation, what can we learn about the exercise of power (“p”) in the household or at the local community level and how this translates into the big “P” political agency? How does the degree of economic agency influence this?

5. Under what conditions do micro-­‐economic and political strategies influence policy and shift the macro context in favour of equitable and sustainable development? What types of coalitions and collaborations have been effective?

Strategies for moving forward

Members of the workshop were very enthusiastic in their desire to pursue these questions through a range of strategies, ranging from an ongoing conversation and community of practice, to more in-­‐depth, structured case study research. There was also an expressed desire for the commitment to engage collaboratively with communities affected, to look across north and south, and to ensure that results are widely shared in ways that are accessible to multiple audiences. A number of researchers and representatives of differing potential cases volunteered to participate in an ongoing research effort, representing a good mix of researchers and practitioners, across a wide range of contexts, geographies and issues.

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Next Steps

The Coady Institute has agreed to take the initiative to consolidate participant suggestions and approach potential supporters with suggestions for a short term strategy to synthesise learnings from this three day workshop and a longer term research proposal for deeper explorations into the questions raised.

Acknowledgements The Coady Institute acknowledges the financial and intellectual contributions of partners represented on the steering committee: International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada; Inter-­‐American Foundation (IAF), USA; Hivos, The Netherlands; and the Collaboration on Research and Democracy (CORD) network. Appreciation also goes to all case study writers and to the participants who contributed to discussions so enthusiastically. Particular thanks go to Nanci Lee for her poetic rendition of a summary report for the workshop, and to Betsy MacDonald for coordinating the note takers – Maggie Edwards, Lisa Gunn, Erin MacDonald and Isaac Turner -­‐ and compiling the full length documentation from which this summary is drawn.

Appendices Workshop Schedule List of participants

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Program, Draft June 17, 2014

Exploring the dynamic between economic citizenship and political citizenship Coady International Institute, St.Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, B2G 2L2 June 22-­‐25, 2014: DRAFT program Workshop Objectives: 1. To unpack the relationship between economic agency or citizenship and political agency or citizenship through illustrative case studies 2. To develop a framework for exploring this dynamic in more depth and understand its gendered dimensions, drawing on participant experience 3. To identify areas of further research of relevance to continued efforts to strengthen economic and political citizenship

Sunday, June 22 Monday, June 23 Tuesday, June 24 Wednesday, June 25 8.00 Breakfast for Breakfast Breakfast Breakfast early arrivals 9.00

Introductions and agenda setting Deepening understanding of the Defining research questions

dynamic between economic and Clarifying research purpose The relevance of understanding the political citizenship: Research design considerations links between economic and political Group discussions of the case studies

citizenship: Why? Why here? Why now? (Round 3) 10.00 Steering Break Break Break Committee

Unpacking the concepts: Deepening understanding of the Being a citizen in collaborative research meeting Using our own examples to explore dynamic between economic and Roles and responsibilities in collaborative

different dimensions of economic and political citizenship: research political citizenship and their Group discussions of the case studies

interactions.

(Round 4) 12.30 Lunch Lunch, Plenary discussion Lunch, Preparation of vision statement 1.30 Arrivals and Setting the scene: An overview of Organizing themes and questions Working groups: settling in to summary cases submitted emerging from the cases 1. Literature review and rationale residences Deepening understanding of the

2. Research design dynamic between economic and 3. Norms for collaboration political citizenship: 4. Community engagement Group discussions of the case studies (Round 1) 3.00 Break Break Break 3.15 Deepening understanding of the Developing research themes/lines of Evaluation and Wrap up dynamic between economic and inquiry Departures political citizenship: Group discussions

of the case studies (Round 2) 6.30 pm Dinner: Lobster dinner: Dinner: Maritime Inn Crystal Cliffs The Townhouse

Name Alison Mathie Asier Ansorena Bettina von Lieres Carlos Cortez Ruiz Eileen Alma Emily Sikazwe Gord Cunningham Ireen Dubel Jagat Basnet Jeremy Coon John Gaventa Lisa Veneklasen Loredana Marchetti Melana De Montis Mohammed Sharif Nanci Lee Nani Zulminari Pablo Lumerman Rehana Riyawala Rhonda Douglas Sarah Shima Sebastián Jarrín Simeen Mahmud Stephen Cox Tshewang Dendup Vicky Schreiber Yehualawork Mengistu Yogesh Ghore

Organisation or affiliation Coady/CORD Banco Palmas CORD, University of Toronto Autonomous Metropolitan University Coady Women for Change Coady Hivos Land /rights movement/CSRC IAF Coady/CORD Just Associates

Country Canada Brazil

Email amathie@stfx.ca asier@bancopalmas.org.br

Canada

bvonlieres@sympatico.ca

Mexico Canada Zambia Canada Netherlands Nepal US Canada US

IDRC Just Associates Kabarole Research and Resource Centre Microfinance consultant Just Associates ACCESS, Cambio Democratico, UNDP SEWA WIEGO Canadian Co-­‐operative Association GRUPO FARO CORD, BRAC University IAF SJI, Bhutan Coady

Canada Ecuador Bangladesh US Bhutan Canada

WISE Coady

Ethiopia Canada

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ccortez@correo.xoc.uam.mx ealma@stfx.ca emilysikazwe@gmail.com gcunning@stfx.ca idubel@hivos.org

jagatb@csrcnepal.org jcoon@iaf.gov jgaventa@stfx.ca lvk@justassociates.org

Canada Nicaragua

lmarchetti@idrc.ca malenademontis9@gmail.com

Uganda Canada Indonesia

shariffmadi@yahoo.com nancilee@eastlink.ca naniz@centrin.net.id

Argentina India Canada

plumerman@gmail.com rehanariyawala@sewa.org rhonda.douglas@wiego.org

Sarah.Shima@coopscanada.coop sjarrin@grupofaro.org simeen.mahmud@gmail.com SCox@IAF.GOV tshewang@sji.bt vschreib@stfx.ca

yehualawork1@gmail.com yghore@stfx.ca