APPLYING EMPOWERMENT APPROACH IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This paper attempts to illustrate on how the empowerment theory can be applied as a critical approach to increase power and capacity of community development. Empowerment is not seen only in the theoretical and philosophical perspectives, but it is an alive approach and can be applied to increase the well-being of life to a better state at the individual, organisation and even community levels. Many community issues were discussed by academicians using the empowerment approach such as the issues of poverty, health, women, people with disabilities, single mothers, youths, leadership, organisations and so on. It is because this approach is an effective approach to resolve issues by empowering target individuals or groups to take effective actions through the capabilities and potentials developed. The discussion will begin with a review of the definitions of empowerment, which is closely related to the concept of power. In the context of community development, empowerment refers to the mechanisms that individuals, organizations and communities gain to control over life and issues related to them in the economic, social, psychological and political aspects. In order to understand the concept of empowerment clearly, an in-depth discussion will be done by looking at its definition from two dimensions; on whether empowerment is a process or an outcome. Using a qualitative approach to analyze content, books, journals and so on, several steps or processes have been developed to apply empowerment as an approach that can be practiced in the context of community development, especially in rural areas.  
 
Keywords: Empowerment, Community Development, Power, Capacity Development.