Frankfurt Open Courseware

Objective: Learners get to know the theoretical term “community participation” and form an individual definition of it.
Learning outcomes: Learners are able to form an own definition of an abstract term and to evaluate those definitions.
Previous knowledge: none
Duration: 40 minutes
Materials / Conditions: Definition of “community participation” by the Council of Europe.
Methods / Techniques: reflecting, formulating, assessing oneself
Learning subject: Citizenship/ Module 1: community life and participation/ Advanced Learning

Introduction:
Community participation is a term which is being defined differently by people and organizations with different backgrounds. Therefore developing a personal definition which considers cultural and ethical settings can be helpful.

Instruction:
1.) State your personal answers to the following questions:
- What does community mean to you?
- How does community relate to participation?
- Which reasons could render community participation necessary?

2.) Based on your answers in the previous task, create your personal definition of community participation and illustrate important points.

3.) Read the definition of community participation given by the Council of Europe provided in the resources.
3.1: Compare your definition of community participation to the definition the Council of Europe uses. Name the similarities and differences which can be found!
3.2: Assess the definition of community participation by the council of Europe and explain why or why not you would add new points to your own definition.
3.3: If you found new points to add to your definition of community participation in 3.2, revise your definition including the new points.

Resources:
“Community participation can be loosely defined as the involvement of people in a community in projects to solve their own problems. People cannot be forced to ‘participate’ in projects which affect their lives but should be given the opportunity where possible. This is held to be a basic human right and a fundamental principle of democracy.“ (Council of Europe)
altered from: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/evaluation/watsan2005/annex_files/WEDC/es/ES12CD.pdf (04.08.2016)

Possible results / Results:
The definitions can include information on what the separate terms “community” and “participation” mean to the learners and how the terms are intertwined. It is also possible to include examples for areas in which the community can participate or points giving reasons for the positive effects of community participation. Relating community participation to the sphere of human rights and democratic principles is also possible.

Related activities:

Author:
Isabelle Muschaweck