Empowerment.

The term "empowerment" has different meanings in different sociocultural and political contexts. Broadly speaking, empowerment refers to the expansion of assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect people's lives. The paper explores each of these aspects and identifies access to information, inclusion and participation, accountability, and local organizational capacity as the four main elements of empowerment. These elements are closely intertwined and act in synergy, in order to create more effective, responsive, inclusive, and accountable institutions. The paper also highlights the crucial role empowerment plays in providing access to basic services and improved local and national governance. This will enable poor people to develop their own capabilities, increase their assets, and move out of poverty.

The International development goals: Strengthening commitments and measuring progress

Background note prepared by the World Bank Group for the Westminster Conference on Child Poverty. Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, encompassing inability to satisfy basic needs, lack of control over resources, lack of education and skills, poor health, malnutrition, lack of shelter, poor access to water and sanitation, vulnerability to shocks, violence and crime, lack of political freedom and voice.

Poverty is powerlessness and voicelessness

The world looks different when viewed through the eyes of a poor person. In preparation for the World Development Report 2000/ 2001: Attacking Poverty, the World Bank conducted a research study that brought together the experiences of over 60,000 poor women and men from 60 countries around the world. Using open-ended qualitative and participatory research techniques, the Voices of the Poor study aimed to understand poverty from the perspective of poor people and to illuminate the human experience behind the poverty statistics.