Participation of people in poverty in social policy making : a historical study of the rhetoric of self-advocacy organisations
Year: 2020
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Mind the paradoxical tension in the above sentence: on the one hand people are expected to be independent and speak for themselves, on the other hand they apparently need to subject themselves to the empowering interventions of the non-poor voluntary advocates or professional social workers, in order to succeed.This thesis exactly scrutinises this conceptual tension and examines therefore what the roles of advocates and self-advocates in the so-called shift to self-advocacy then were.I focus and question underlying assumptions like the idea of a so-called power shift towards people in poverty, as well as the promise that participation and self-advocacy would foster social justice and human rights.That being said … back to the 25 th anniversary of the GRP in 2019.This time the King has decided not to come, the Prime Minister 'in running affairs' has also other besognes and it remains to be seen how the regional and local politicians -who nowadays have much more policy tools for the eradication of poverty -will grace this federal event with their presence.Especially as the federal level is for some political parties in Flanders, a level of the past, a level that should be undressed onto the level of Belgium as a confederation.However, I am quite sure that at least a few researchers will be there, as already three of them will be speaking, even so with the Children Rights Commissioners of the regions (Flanders and Wallonia) as poverty is nowadays predominantly addressed as 'child poverty'.Children are after all innocent and thus still 'deserving' to human rights.Unfortunately for many other groups in our society this has become a big question mark, not in the least for those thousands of refugees who have fled their countries from war, prosecution or sheer misery.Especially as my father died on the 19 th February 2014.We buried him on a Wednesday and the next Monday, I found myself at the department, at a new desk, with al new young colleagues, who all seemed preoccupied with their research.My university's godmother, Lieve -nowadays better known as prof.dr.Lieve Bradt -has made a huge difference.She embodied from the first day on, the warmth and personal connection you also need to find within a working environment.My young colleague Freya also cared for me during that first difficult year.And, as people learned to know me better and see a little bit past first appearances, I developed many warm relations with colleagues within and also outside the department.To all the current and former colleagues of the department of social work and social pedagogy: a BIG thank you for the many supportive and fun talks, but also for the proofreading during the last weeks.Special thanks also to prof.Hilde Van Keer, with whom I often shared the train from Aalst to Ghent and Laura van Beveren from the department of Educational Studies.Both have hearts of gold.I am also indebted to many colleagues from the supportive services: Naima, our floor hostess and Bart and his team from the faculty's Library, who have gone great lengths to provide a tailored service for me as I needed so many books of the 1990s at the same time.I also have only good words for the members of my guidance committee: prof.Kris Rutten from Education and Culture Studies, prof.Baldwin Van Gorp (yes, they are brothers ) from Media Studies of KU Leuven and prof.Ian Grosvenor from the History of Education department from the University of Birmingham.These three men were every year again very supportive and constructive in their feedback on my work and trajectory, and they have encouraged me to embrace my background as an asset.I am also very much indebted to my 'master-in Rancière', philosopher Raf Debaene.I have great respect for his wealth of knowledge and his willingness to guide me in my thinking.And of course I have to thank everybody, advocates and self-advocates, from "the Vierdewereldgroep Mensen voor Mensen", the (self-)advocacy organisation where I worked for so many years and still voluntary am engaged in.My heart has never left the building.I also occasionally worked there, at my old desk, while writing up on my research.It inspired and motivated me to Acknowledgements | 15proceed, to hold on, even when I was sometimes completely lost in conceptual woods.The people of the Vierdewereldgroep have educated me on so many levels in life: injustice and change, coping and survival, failing and starting over, friendship and solidarity, living in the moment, dreaming and succeeding.I shared an intense trajectory with many of them: they know it and I know it.Thank you all, for trusting me, for sharing this trajectory, for teaching me on survival, for teaching me on change.Finally, I also want to thank Joke, who was my first "boss" and had her hands full with me early on when I started on the age of 23.In those first years, she regularly had to pull the breaks more than once and had to convince people in poverty not to run away screaming from me as I am famous for making an 'overpowering' negative first impression with many (poor or non-poor for that matter).The past 20 years we have become close friends and her attic was my preferred writing spot the past few months.She 'took' me in and had to deal with all my nerves the past months and weeks.Thanks Joke for the emotional and practical support, for being my friend.My hope is that this thesis and its findings inspire all the diverse stakeholders to open their minds, to pose new questions and re-evaluate their positions and possible contributions to the struggle against povertytogether we will have to come up with new ways forward.Every day anew.Heidi 83 Jean Tonglet quotes himself in his notes, written in French.Personal notes of Jean Tonglet, 26 March 1992, p. 2 (AATD, 16/5/Box RGP/AVA n°1).131 Minutes of the 4 th management committee, KBF, 23 February 1993, p. 2 (AKBF).132 Minutes of the 7 th management committee, KBF, 19 May 1993, p. 2 (AKBF) 133 Idem, p. 1.
Author: Heidi Degerickx
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3111303722