Concept (E-Journal)
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Popular Education, Health Inequalities and Resistance to Stigma
Full text linkIntroduction
A special issue of Concept in December 2018 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the publication of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and many contributors reflected upon the way his work retains relevance. This article echoes those sentiments by describing how his work continues to offer inspiration and hope for radical community development, particularly in today’s world which has seen marginalised populations \u27pulverised beyond the ambit of established instruments of collective voice\u27 (Wacquant, 2008)
Sue Kenny, Jim Ife and Peter Westoby (2021) Populism, Democracy and Community Development
Full text linkAbstract
The book explores the relationship between the current growth in populism, the crisis within liberal democracy, and the implications of this for communities and the practice of community development. After an introductory overview the book is comprised of 14 individually authored chapters. The chapters are presented in 2 parts: Part 1 offers a framing of the macro issues; Part 2 explores populism and community development in different contexts
Community Education and Foodbanks: A Recipe for Dignity?
Full text linkIntroduction
Dignity is a concept that many of us will have had little reason to contemplate. We go about our daily lives taking for granted that we deserve respect whilst showing it to others throughout all our interactions; it is a notion likely unquestioned by most of us, or thought too deeply about. When considering those experiencing food poverty, however, and for those delivering food parcels through foodbanks, it is a difficult notion to uphold. As I will come to argue, a different approach is needed if a lasting impact is to be made; one that can truly value and uphold dignity, a concept that should stand front and centre for community workers developing approaches towards addressing food poverty. Indeed, with the UK experiencing a ‘ballooning of foodbanks’ (O’Hara, 2015, p23) combined with the widespread anxieties connected to the current COVID-19 pandemic, there has perhaps never been a more crucial moment in which to examine their place in society
TEN Team: Transformative Engagement Network
Full text linkThere is a growing realisation that to better understand and intervene in the interconnected political, cultural and psycho-social dynamics that constitute the contexts for these current global challenges requires transdisciplinary and intersectoral approaches; approaches that include and value diverse perspectives and pay particular attention to the perspectives and experiences of those who are the most vulnerable and those who are currently excluded from the knowledge creation processes. This article discusses the learning gained from an inter-disciplinary and inter-institutional project entitled Transformative Engagement Network (TEN).
 
Three Cheers for Airy Freire!
Full text linkThis is the edited text of a short talk given at a Concept seminar to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed which took place in Edinburgh on 7th December 2018
The significance of affective social relationships in preventing gender-based violence
Full text linkViolence against women (VAW) is a reality affecting many young women and girls today in Europe and across the world. The Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) survey on VAW distributed among 42000 women found that 33% have experienced physical or sexual violence before they turn 15 (FRA, 2014). Consistently, UNICEF (2014) reports that more than 120 million girls worldwide (more than 1 in 10) have experienced forced intercourse or other sexual acts at some point in their lives. In 14 of the surveyed countries, at least 1 in 5 girls who reported at least one incident of sexual violence said it occurred for the first time between the ages of 10 and 14. These figures unveil an alarming reality: victims of VAW are increasingly younger, and the spaces where these violent acts occur are widespread, surrounding many girls’ lives. The creation of communities free of gender violence is urgent and necessary in order to guarantee the proper fulfilment of basic rights. Previous studies have already shown that a preventive socialization model based on zero violence from zero years (0 from 0) - which rejects any sort of violence (Mayes and Cohen, 2002) from the very early years - is evidencing promising effects to reduce violence rates during children’s whole life, and therefore improving quality of education (Rios-Gonzalez, Puigvert, Sanvicen and Aubert, 2019; European Commission, 2011)
Laurence Cox, (2018) Why Social Movements Matter: An Introduction
Full text linkWhy do social movements matter? Cox draws on his own extensive experience as an activist and academic to argue for the enduring importance of social movements in our lives. This accessible book urges us to build alliances across the particularisms of specific movements and learn from the \u27struggles of others\u27 to help us to \u27keep stepping out\u27 into the streets and, ultimately, to help us keep going
When staying at home can mean danger
Full text linkLockdown measures leave no life unaffected. The world is in unchartered territory, and many of us are struggling to adjust to a life that seemed unimaginable a few short months ago. While all of us are impacted, we know that when the whole world shifts, the burden is not distributed equally. Instead, those already marginalised and at risk are often placed in further danger. For women, children and young people experiencing domestic abuse, it is not an exaggeration to say that lockdown measures may truly be a living nightmare. As well as the numbers of new covid cases and deaths each day, countries are reporting other devastating figures – increases in domestic abuse. The first indication was from Hubei province in China, the heart of the initial outbreak, where one county reported a three-fold increase in calls to their domestic abuse helpline (The Guardian 28 March 2020). As the virus sweeps across the world, other countries are showing a similarly alarming story. (New York Times, 6 April 2020) Domestic homicides in the UK are believe to have more than doubled since the beginning of the outbreak. (The Guardian, 15 April 2020
\u27Something that, actually, I could do\u27: Community education in service of everyday human rights
Full text linkIntroduction
Human rights are \u27struggle\u27 concepts and people engage in this struggle through theory and practice; people encounter prejudice and discrimination as ideas and actions. Although this is often depicted as a dichotomy, our everyday encounters with prejudice and discrimination make it clear that this struggle requires that we dismantle the false divide between theory and practice if we are to truly achieve the rights and freedoms that belong to us. Community education projects that enable people to contribute both ideas and action have much to teach us about how to weave together theory and practice in ways that enable people to contribute to the human rights struggle within local communities. I offer this article as a contribution to this task. In it I analyse participants’ perceptions of their involvement in a method of community education known as The Human Library, and I discuss what these perceptions teach us about community education projects that enable people to contribute their ideas and actions to the human rights struggle
Lived experiences of ESOL provision: English learning by Syrian refugees in Aberdeenshire
Full text linkThis article is based on empirical data collected as part of a PhD research study that explores the lived experience of language learning by New Scots Syrian refugees in Aberdeen. The analysed data suggest that ESOL provision is arranged in such a way that the educational background of the language learners will play a decisive role in their learning journey. For example, ESOL provision can make learning less accessible for those learners who lack a formal educational background