Mobilizing for active citizenship : lessons from Indonesia, Nepal and the Philippines / Ledivina V. Cariño.

The report "Mobilizing for Active Citizenship" by the distinguished researcher, Ledivina V. Cariño, presents case studies from three Asian countries that contain in-depth insights into the psyche of the "community" in these countries in a way that is relevant to the entire Asia continent. It highlights the vision of countless citizens who through participation, responsiveness and caring for people's rights have helped themselves and others in terms of transparency, accountability, advocacy and development. Asia is a continent in transition. Participation takes place within the limits of institutional structures that are transformation. Hence the other side of the equation is how to strengthen the transparency, accountability, and responsiveness of these institutions and policies through changes in policy, formal and informal rules, incentives, and culture. However, changes in political processes and legal systems will be insufficient without new forms of engagement by poor people themselves that generate bottom up demand. Participation therefore is the way in which poor people exercise voice through new forms of inclusion, consultation and mobilization designed to inform and to influence larger institutions and policies. Most Asian countries have and others still are in the process of recovering from colonial subjugation, authoritarian rule, underdevelopment, and systematic and endemic corruption. In this atmosphere of change as this report points out, poor citizens are undertaking rich initiatives. Exploiting to the fullest potential of local government frameworks, citizens have become empowered and proactive, seizing opportunities that can bring about positive tangible change to the lives of their community. Utilizing local traditions, customs, cultures, and combining them with innovative initiatives, citizen participation has succeded in bringing forth home grown localized success. Deepening spaces for citizen participation in local governance is an on-going process. Ways of participating in governance processes have to adapt to new developments and contexts. With the onslaught of globalization, for instance, many government functions, especially in the economic sphere, tend to be internationalized and therefore, access to decisionmaking processess becomes more difficult. Citizens must not be misled into thinking that governments cannot and must not perform certain functions because governance in now increasingly globalized. Rather, voices must be raised so that they can be heard and heeded at all levels of governance. Ledivina V. Cariño's report compliments other Paragon products. The study was launched under the UNDP Paragon Regional Governance Programme in the area of Decentralization and Empowerment. Due to the wide scope of the report, it also supports Paragon's other governance thematic areas. This report will undoubtedly be of great value to community participation practitioners, civil society and goverment in general, as well as to researchers.