Las ONG como vía al desarrollo y a la transformación social: Un estilo de intervención y participación

Abstract

In analyzing the concept of development it is useful to consider the relationship between poverty and community. From psycho-pedagogical and political dimensions this thesis explores how these concepts interact from psychosocial interventions aimed at liberation and social transformation. The study focuses particularly on the actions of organizations from Spain and Latin America. The main objective is to analyze the type of social interventions carried out by small and medium Non-Governmental Development Organizations of Catalonia, through the methodological strategies used and to determine if the people and communities involved experience transformation and liberation as a result. Six focus areas were identified for the systematization of the study as follows: integrity, participation, contextualization, methodology, intervention and guidance, and these were used to determine the types of interventions deployed and the resulting actions. The political-pedagogical interventions are analyzed following the framework created by the Brazilian educator, Paulo Freire, and the psychological character of the community is analyzed with reference to different authors working in the area of Community Social Psychology. Concepts such as community development, participatory development, empowerment and community enablement are directly related to questions on how to intervene, to bring about change and to facilitate significant changes in the lives of individuals and communities. However, most emphasis is on participation, as a singular form of transformation - participation as an essential condition of living and often surviving. The thesis concludes with results that challenge the performance and the real need of aid and international cooperation. What is it that actually transforms? What is it that really brings freedom? Who really wants to transform or bring freedom to people?

Date of Award	14 Jul 2009
Original language	Spanish
Supervisor	Gabriela Luna Lara (Director), Veronica Morais Ximenes (Director) & Joan Subirats Humet (Tutor)