Transforming Society: Strategies for Social Development from Singapore, Asia and Around the World 1138636770, 9781138636774

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We each face new challenges in our own societies, as well as new global challenges that affect all of us. But whatever we do in social policy, we can never lose sight of the social values and norms that make for an inclusive society in the fullest sense. Our whole approach must be to empower aspirations. Never leaving people to fend for themselves, but keeping a compact that both strengthens what we aspire to be collectively and encourages personal and family responsibility. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister & Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, Singapore The authors thoughtfully address the challenges of social and economic development and issues faced by development workers, as well as the individuals, families and communities in which they work. The importance of this work cannot be underestimated, as it affects the well-being of individuals, families, communities and societies. This book will be invaluable to social work and social development practitioners and educators alike. Professor Barbara Shank, President, International Consortium for Social Development, USA The editors of this important new book are to be congratulated for compiling a collection of thought-provoking contributions by leading scholars in social welfare and social development. Ranging over diverse topics, they address some of the most critical issues in the field today. The book’s global perspective and focus on interventions that can address some of the world’s most pressing problems is particularly noteworthy. The book will be a vital resource for scholars, students and practitioners everywhere. James Midgley, Harry and Riva Specht Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Transforming Society

Social change affects all quarters of life and human society whether in individual neighbourhoods, communities or nations, or in the world as a whole – encompassing many issues of gender, age, social class and ethnicity. This book examines both the conceptual as well as operational aspects of social transformation and social development. It examines societal transformation at the individual, group, community, national and international levels using a range of case studies from Singapore, Asia and around the world. The four parts of this book highlight the challenges of social development; issues concerning workforce and migration; welfare, women and social care; as well as, community development and capacity building. Social development and social transformation are presented as intertwined concepts that affect citizens in profound ways from social care to social well-being, construction of social relationship as well as community life, capacity building and nation building. Ngoh Tiong Tan is Professor of Social Work and former Dean of the School of Human Development and Social Services, SIM University Singapore, recently renamed as Singapore University of Social Sciences. Prof. Tan is also Chair of the Global Institute of Social Work (GISW), past President of Singapore Association of Social Workers, immediate past Chair of the Commonwealth Organisation for Social Workers (COSW), past Vice-President of International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). He led IFSW and COSW’s FAST (Families and Survivors of Tsunami) Project as an international social work response to the Asian tsunami disaster and chaired the recent International Consortium for Social Development conference in Singapore. He is currently President of ConneXions International, a non-profit society with the mission to assist international students, scholars and new residents in Singapore.

Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series

79 Political Institutions in East Timor Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation Lydia M. Beuman 80 Religious Violence and Conciliation in Indonesia Christians and Muslims in the Moluccas Sumanto Al Qurtuby 81 Identity Politics and Elections in Malaysia and Indonesia Ethnic Engineering in Borneo Karolina Prasad 82 Rethinking Power Relations in Indonesia Transforming the Margins Edited by Michaela Haug, Martin Rössler and Anna-Teresa Grumblies 83 Indonesia and the Politics of Disaster Power and Representation in Indonesia’s Mud Volcano Phillip Drake 84 Nation-Building and National Identity in Timor-Leste Michael Leach

85 Visual Media in Indonesia Video Vanguard Edwin Jurriëns 86 Maritime Security and Indonesia Cooperation, Interests and Strategies Senia Febrica 87 The King and the Making of Modern Thailand Antonio L. Rappa 88 Society in Contemporary Laos Capitalism, Habitus and Belief Boike Rehbein 89 Migrant Workers and ASEAN A Two Level State and Regional Analysis Anisa Santoso 90 The Political Economy of the Agri-Food System in Thailand Hegemony, Counter-Hegemony, and Co-optation of Oppositions Prapimphan Chiengkul 91 Transforming Society Strategies for Social Development from Singapore, Asia and Around the World Edited by Ngoh Tiong Tan with Steve Chan, Kalyani Mehta and David Androff

Transforming Society Strategies for Social Development from Singapore, Asia and Around the World

Edited by Ngoh Tiong Tan with Steve Chan, Kalyani Mehta and David Androff

First published 2017 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 selection and editorial matter, Ngoh Tiong Tan; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Ngoh Tiong Tan to be identified as the author of the editorial matter, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Tan, Ngoh Tiong, editor. | Container of (work): Shanmugaratnam, Tharman. Social policy issues and social development in Singapore and around the world. Title: Transforming society : strategies for social development from Singapore, Asia and around the world / edited by Tan Ngoh Tiong. Other titles: Transforming society (Routledge (Firm)) Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Routledge contemporary Southeast Asia series ; 91 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016055873 | ISBN 9781138636774 (hardback) | ISBN 9781315205755 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Social change–Asia. | Social change–Singapore. | Human services–Asia. | Human services–Singapore. | Asia–Social policy–21st century. | Singapore–Social policy–21st century. Classification: LCC HN652.5 .T733 2017 | DDC 303.4095–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016055873 ISBN: 978-1-138-63677-4 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-20575-5 (ebk) Typeset in Galliard by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear

Contents

Notes on contributors Foreword

x xv

HEE KIAT CHEONG

Foreword

xvii

BARBARA W. SHANK

Preface

xix

NGOH TIONG TAN WITH STEVE CHAN, KALYANI MEHTA AND DAVID ANDROFF

Prelude Social policies: some issues that merit greater attention

1 3

THARMAN SHANMUGARATNAM

Introduction 1 Transforming society: social leadership, social development and social change

9

11

NGOH TIONG TAN

PART I

Challenges of social development 2 Sustaining social development in the twenty-first century

21 23

NOELEEN HEYZER

3 Fifty years of social innovation: reflections on social policy in Singapore MICHAEL SHERRADEN

31

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Contents

4 Government’s approach towards social policies in a digital age

44

LAWRENCE WONG

5 Social development in Asia and the Pacific: major trends and issues

53

MANOHAR PAWAR

6 Social development and social research in Africa

68

LEILA PATEL

PART II

Workforce and migration 7 Measuring transformative workforce activation using the Comprehensive Employment Hope Scale

79

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PHILIP YOUNG P. HONG AND SANGMI CHOI

8 Transforming Thai–Myanmar borderland: de facto statelessness, indigenous minorities and internally displaced persons

97

STEVE CHAN

9 Social work and social welfare preparations for ASEAN economic community integration

110

PUCHONG SENANUCH

PART III

Welfare, women and social care

129

10 Towards a synergy of tripartite empowerment for older persons

131

ALVIN MAK AND JIANBIN XU

11 Transforming long-term care of the elderly in three Chinese societies SHIYU LU AND MATTIAS G. OTTERVIK

144

Contents 12 Flood disasters in Malaysia: psychosocial care and social work intervention

ix 169

NOREMY AKHIR, AZLINDA AZMAN AND TAUFIK MOHAMMAD

13 Women in household decision-making and their contribution to agriculture and rural development in Nigeria

179

HUSSAYN IDRIS, IMAJI O.Z. SULE, ISMAIL BABA AND RAJWANI M.D. ZAIN

PART IV

Community development and capacity building

195

14 Social development in agrarian and non-agrarian communities in the Philippines

197

VIOLETA R. HUNT-ENGRACIA

15 Host organisation perspectives of volunteer traits: implications for selection and training

214

SARITA BARTON, BRAD TUCKER AND BENJAMIN LOUGH

16 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD): an alternative path for community development

229

AISSETU BARRY IBRAHIMA

17 Social work education for social transformation

241

VIMLA V. NADKARNI

Index

253

Contributors

Noremy Akhir is a social work lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and a PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. Her areas of research interest include disaster management, crisis intervention and community development. David Androff, PhD, is Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University, where he chairs the Policy, Administration and Community Practice programme. He is the author of the book Practicing Rights: Human-Rights Based Approaches to Social Work Practice (Routledge). Azlinda Azman, PhD (New York University), is a professor in social work and is the Dean, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains, Penang, Malaysia. Her areas of research interest include social work education, curriculum, poverty, HIV/AIDS and drug-related issues. Ismail Baba is a lecturer at the School of Social Development, University Utara, Malaysia and former Associate Professor at University Sains, Malaysia. He received his PhD in Social Work from Barry University, Florida, Master in Social Work (Columbia University, New York) and Bachelor in Social Work (McGill University, Montreal). Aissetu Barry Ibrahima is part of the Clinical Faculty at Miami University, Ohio, and teaches a range of social work courses. She received her PhD in Social Work from University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research areas includes international policies, community-based development, indigenous knowledge and methodologies, and culturally competent practice. Sarita Barton is a PhD candidate in social work at the Washington University in St. Louis. She studies international volunteer service, interpersonal trust formation, social development and international social work. She is a returned Peace Corps volunteer and has experience working and conducting research in Africa and Asia. Steve Chan is an Affiliated Researcher of the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development, Chiang Mai University. He is the principal

Contributors

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investigator of the research projects, titled “Transnational ethnic networks on informal cross-border trade in the Golden Triangle”. Before that, he taught at the School of Human Development and Social Services, Singapore Institute of Management University as well as the Department of Political Science, Lingnan University of Hong Kong. His research interests cover public policy, environmental politics, development studies, ethnicity and migration. He obtained his PhD at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Melbourne. Hee Kiat Cheong is Professor and Founding President of SIM University, recently renamed as Singapore University of Social Sciences. He joined Nanyang Technological University and was Dean of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Deputy President. He has served on the boards of several tertiary education institutions, the Public Utilities Board and Building and Construction Authority and public committees. Sangmi Choi is Researcher at The Seoul Institute, Seoul, Korea. She is a nonresident faculty fellow of the Center for Research on Self-Sufficiency (CROSS) at Loyola University Chicago, USA. Noeleen Heyzer, PhD, served as Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations. She was the first woman to head the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. She was the first Executive Director from the South to lead the United Nations Development Fund for Women and is widely recognised for her work on women, peace and security. She was also the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser to Timor-Leste. She obtained a BA(Hons) and MSc from the University of Singapore and her PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK. Philip Young P. Hong is the Lucian and Carol Welch Matusak Endowed Professor in the School of Social Work and Director of Center for Research on Self-Sufficiency (CROSS) at Loyola University Chicago, USA. He is also a faculty associate of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis. Violeta R. Hunt-Engracia is the Dean of the College of Public Affairs, Mindanao State University, Marawi City, Philippines. She obtained a Certificate in Governmental Management and the degree of Master in Public Administration. She holds the degree of Master of Science in Community Development and Doctor in Philippine Studies. Idris Hussayn is a principal lecturer at the Department of Social Development, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna Nigeria and a PhD candidate at the School of Social Development, University Utara Malaysia, and Consultant Communication for Development, UNICEF on projects in the Kebbi state. Benjamin Lough is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and Faculty Director of International Service at the Center for

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Contributors Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis. He also works as Senior Research Associate for the Center for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg.

Shiyu Lu is a PhD student in the Department of Social Work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her main interest is social policy and long-term care for the elderly in Chinese societies. She was the principal investigator and co-investigator of a number of consultant research on social policy issues and evaluation projects of social services. She co-authored the book, The Challenge and Choice of Long-Term Care for the Elderly in China: A Case Study of Nanhai (with W.K. Chan, Sun Yat-Sun University Press), exploring the current challenges and future options of long-term care system in China. Alvin Mak is a social worker with AMKFSC Community Services and is involved in initiatives that seek to build and strengthen community ties. His research interests include the reintegration needs for isolated families and the elderly, participation of community-based programmes and culturally sensitive approaches in programme development. Kalyani Mehta is Head of the Gerontology Programme, SIM University, Singapore, recently renamed as Singapore University of Social Sciences. She received her PhD degree from the National University of Singapore and specialises in the field of social gerontology. She started her career in direct practice as a School Social Worker, and later as Manager of a Children’s Centre. Dr Mehta was a Nominated Member of Parliament from January 2007–July 2009. Taufik Mohammad, PhD, is a senior lecturer in the social work programme at School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. His area of research interest includes the well-being of victims of crime and juvenile delinquency. Vimla V. Nadkarni is a renowned social work educator and Immediate Past President of the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). She was the first Indian President of IASSW from 2012–2016 as well as the Founder Dean and Professor of the School of Social Work at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. Mattias G. Ottervik is a PhD student in the Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His principal interest is comparative politics and the Greater China region. More specifically, his work examines governance and development. He earned a BA in History from Yale University and an MSc in Political Science from the University of Gothenburg. Leila Patel is Professor of Social Development Studies and a former chairperson of the Department of Social Work at the University of Johannesburg, as well as Director of the Centre for Social Development in Africa. She is a research fellow at the Centre for Social Development, Washington University and

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Yale University; she was a visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and a Fulbright Scholar at West Michigan University. Manohar Pawar, PhD, is Professor of Social Work, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia, and President-Elect, 2017–2021 of the International Consortium for Social Development and a member of the Institute for Land Water and Society. His books include: Future Directions in Social Development (Palgrave Macmillan) and Empowering Social Workers: Virtuous Practitioners (Springer). Puchong Senanuch obtained his PhD at University of Sydney, Australia. His research interests cover social policy, social welfare and international social development. Currently, he is a Chair of Master of Social Work Program, Faculty of Social Work and Social Welfare, Huachiew Chalermprakiet University and served on the board of the Thailand Association of Social Work and Social Welfare Education. Barbara W. Shank is the President of International Consortium on Social Development. She graduated from Macalester College with a BA and then earned her MSW and PhD from the University of Minnesota. She is the founding Dean and Professor of the School of Social Work at the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University. She is also Chair of the Board of Directors of Council on Social Work Education and on the Board of Directors of International Association of Schools of Social Work. Tharman Shanmugaratnam is Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies in the Singapore Cabinet. He has spent his working life in public service. He served as Minister for Finance for eight years until 2015, and Minister for Education for five years. He is Chairman of the Group of Thirty, an independent global council of leading economic and financial policy thinkers. He was previously appointed by his international peers as Chairman of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the key policy forum of the IMF, and was its first Asian chair. Michael Sherraden is the S.R. Nathan Professor of Social Work at National University of Singapore and the George Warren Brown Distinguished University Professor at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) in the United States. He is Founding Director of the Center for Social Development at WUSTL and was listed by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Imaji O.Z. Sule is Assistant Registrar at the Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, Nigeria, and a PhD candidate of the College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia. Ngoh Tiong Tan is Professor and former Dean at SIM University Singapore, now renamed as Singapore University of Social Sciences. Prof. Tan is also

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Contributors Chair of the Global Institute of Social Work, past President of Singapore Association of Social Workers and former Vice President of International Federation of Social Workers. Prof. Tan received his PhD from the University of Minnesota, his MSW from University of Pennsylvania and his BA from University of Singapore.

Brad Tucker is a PhD candidate at the Washington University in St. Louis. He conducts research in organisational sustainability and capacity building of local NGOs. Just prior to beginning his PhD, he served as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development. Lawrence Wong is the Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, Singapore. He was formerly the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth. He has a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School. Jianbin Xu holds a PhD in social work from the National University of Singapore. His research interests include religion and ageing, ageing policy, gerontological social work, mindfulness-based therapies, logotherapy and Jungian psychology. He has published a number of peer-reviewed journal articles. Rajwani M.D. Zain, PhD, is a lecturer at School of Social Development, University Utara, Malaysia. She has a Master’s in Medical Social Work from the University Kebangsaan Malaysia and a Bachelor in Social Science (Social Work) from the University of Malaysia, Sarawak.

Foreword

SIM University (UniSIM, in short), now renamed as the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), was privileged to host the 19th Symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD) in July 2015. It was especially meaningful to us, as we celebrated not only Singapore’s golden jubilee, but also UniSIM’s tenth anniversary that year. The development of expertise in community leadership and social development is increasingly necessary in a rapidly changing world. One needs only to look at the challenges confronting communities worldwide: rapidly ageing populations, social divides, poverty, widening income gaps, issues of social integration, longterm unemployment that takes away the hopes and dreams of an entire generation, environmental mismanagement and so on. Faced with these challenges, leaders of community and social development do well to arm themselves with a multidisciplinary understanding and approach in order to be effective. It is apt, then, that a key thrust of the conference theme was an emphasis on leadership for social change and societal transformation. Universities have a significant role to play in this area – to serve society by training leaders who will make a difference and change the world for the better. While individual institutions may do this in different ways, the underlying effectiveness is the provision of quality tertiary education of the right type and tenor to steer graduates towards serving the community well. Also, providing education that is flexible, continuing and professional – developing the skills that are necessary to meet needs as they evolve. At UniSIM/SUSS, we strive to do just that – equipping learners for a better future and serving society through lifelong education. To address the growing need for effective leaders who can play a progressive role in Singapore’s social development, UniSIM/SUSS offers a Master programme in Community Leadership and Social Development, in partnership with the National Community Leadership Institute of the People’s Association. We also offer undergraduate programmes in a host of areas such as social work, sociology, gerontology, counselling and human resource management that help raise the professional manpower needed for good social development. Institutions like UniSIM/SUSS will need to partner with other like-minded organisations, the government, industry and social entities to develop good leadership programmes and conduct applied research on social issues.

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H.K. Cheong

But then, leaders are not made in the classroom. They need to have the knack of turning theory into practice, to get their hands dirty, as it were, to know the issues on the ground, to connect with the stakeholders, and they will also need to learn from other leaders and practitioners who have experience to share. Many generic social development issues are nuanced by local socioeconomic contexts, cultural, religious and ethnic slants; we can all learn principles and good practices from one another, and adapt them for our own use. Conferences like the ICSD symposium are thus great events that bring likeminded people together to share experiences and new knowledge. Some of the proceedings from our conference, contained in this book, will enable many who were not at ICSD2015 to avail themselves of the rich insights and experiences shared by the many authors, which include an eminent set of invited speakers who tickled the minds of delegates and challenged their thinking on how to transform society. I hope that through this book, the vigorous, meaningful sharing and debate that played out at ICSD2015 will continue for many years to come. Professor Hee Kiat Cheong President, Singapore University of Social Sciences

Foreword

The theme of the 19th International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD) Biennial Symposium ‘Transforming Society: Trends and Models in Community Leadership and Social Development’ and its sub-themes, including community organising, neighbourhood and grass-roots leadership, migration, social equity, poverty and income disparity, ageing populations, sustainable development and the environment, and innovative social enterprise projects are relevant for all of us, as the world is getting more complex and conflict-ridden and lives are being rapidly changed as we move further into the twenty-first century. The ICSD, in collaboration with Routledge Press, provides you with the highlights from our 19th Biennial Symposium held in Singapore in 2015. The authors of the different chapters compile original insights on transforming society through strategies for social development, both in Singapore and around the world. This book represents a snapshot of transforming society from a number of vantage points and perspectives, and demonstrates the richness of the scholarly work that was presented at the Symposium. In Part I, Chapters 2 through 6 articulate the challenges faced in Asia and Africa in doing the critical work of social development in the twenty-first century, reflecting on sustainability and innovation. In Part II, Chapters 7 through 9 address workforce and migration issues. These chapters explore use of the Employment Hope Scale, statelessness and community integration. Chapters 10 through 13 in Part III focus on empowerment and care. Authors address the challenges of older adults, transforming long-term care in China, Malaysia and Nigeria. The collection concludes with Part IV, Chapters 14 through 17, addressing community development and capacity building, volunteer training and asset-based development. This part concludes with a look at social work education with the goal of social transformation. In their chapters, the authors thoughtfully address the challenges of social and economic development and the issues faced by development workers, as well as the individuals, families and communities in which they work. The importance of this work cannot be underestimated, as it affects the well-being of individuals, families, communities and societies. This book will be invaluable to social work and social development practitioners and educators alike.

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B.W. Shank

I am honoured to serve ICSD as its President. Thank you for this opportunity and congratulations to Professor Ngoh Tiong Tan and the publications committee for their leadership in pulling together this collection. Barbara W. Shank, MSW, PhD, LICSW President ICSD

Preface Ngoh Tiong Tan with Steve Chan, Kalyani Mehta and David Androff

Introduction The main theme of this timely book is societal transformation with a focus on strategies for social development in Singapore, Asia and other developing countries around the world. Singapore celebrated fifty years of national development in 2015 and hosted the International Consortium for Social Development’s international symposium with the theme: ‘Transforming Society’. Social transformation is conceptualised as social change at the individual, group and societal level. The impact of social change must be observed at various groups, levels and sub-cultures of society, as society may be organised along gender, age, social class and ethnic groupings. Thus, social transformation can be observed in the various strata of society and especially so in the poor and marginalised groups. Social development and social transformation are parallel concepts and may be operationalised as social change at various levels of society. This will impact the workforce and migration, welfare and social care, women and peace, as well as community and capacity building. The role of social leadership is also central to change and social transformation. This book consists of invited papers as well as edited key presentations from the international symposium. Pertinent social development issues and strategies on the theme of transforming society have been identified. Singapore has developed effective strategies for economic development and social change. The rapid social development in Asia provides diverse models and perspectives for advancing society. From case studies to practice, as well as policy interventions, the book displays a myriad of perspectives for social transformation.

Four key parts This book focuses on the conceptual as well as operational aspects of social transformation and development. Key social development issues and social change in different countries are highlighted. It distils from the myriad of issues and practices from the various countries and focuses on specific patterns and models that cut across nations.

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N.T. Tan et al. The book is organised into four key parts:

I Challenges of social development II Workforce and migration III Welfare, women and social care IV Community development and capacity building Each part addresses different aspects of social development approaches, issues and programmes, but all the chapters converge as varied perspectives of societal transformation. The Preface and lead chapter set the conceptual framework for the book and present the various parts in a holistic and integrated fashion. Prelude The Prelude by Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, identifies the issues and provides the framework for the social transformation of communities and nations. The challenges that are common across the world, some of which have not been sufficiently focused on, are raised and discussed. The focus is on measures taken to preserve and develop a sense of equity in our societies, which are similar to the core of social policies as well as the core of economic policies. These challenges include intergenerational transfer, the evolution of values and norms, policy effectiveness and public-private people partnership, neighbourhood mobility and social equity, education and social mobility. The emphasis of government, as that of Singapore, is not only to steer collective responsibility, but also to encourage and reinforce personal, family and social responsibility. The holistic approach for developing a wholesome society is thus to empower the aspirants and, rather than substitute their responsibilities, to reward responsibility throughout their life so as to build a participative and cohesive society. The introductory chapter by Ngoh Tiong Tan highlights the importance of leadership in a troubled world as well as the key social agendas for social policy, research and emerging social development practice in the global arena. The modern era has witnessed an increase of problems of and in the world, not just numerically, but also in complexity, that threatens the welfare and survival of the human race. There is an increase in disasters, whether natural or man made, in the form of earthquakes, cyclones, armed conflicts, terrorist activities and nuclear fallouts. Ethnic tensions and cultural and religious conflicts have led to national emergencies and socio-economic hardship, causing mass migrations of people and disruptions to social and political life. Social leadership, targeted policy development and strategies for intervention in disasters and peacemaking must take a long-term developmental approach in enabling informal structures and support networks to deal with the real problems. Besides engaging and empowering communities both for developmental and preventive intervention strategies, and the reintegration of marginalised communities into mainstream society, there must be tangible outcomes of real positive change.

Preface xxi Part I Challenges of social development In Chapter 2, Noeleen Heyzer suggests that some progress has been made since the World Summit for Social Development, which was held in Copenhagen in 1995 and the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000. A smaller proportion of the world’s population now lives in extreme poverty, compared to 15–20 years ago. The Asian region has already achieved the MDGs on the reduction of extreme poverty. But our world has been changing since the MDGs were adopted in 2000 and will continue to change towards the year 2030. We are becoming more urban, more middle class, older, more connected and mobile, more interdependent, more vulnerable and more constrained in our resources and planetary boundaries. She identifies five challenges that have arisen in our work of transforming societies, namely: increasing wealth inequality, precarious jobs and lives, changing demographics, managing our eco-systems and weak governance in an interdependent world. Transforming society means addressing these issues head on. In Chapter 3, Michael Sherraden reviews half a century of social innovation and gives his reflections on social policy in Singapore. He also proposes asset building as an effective strategy for dealing with inequity and poverty. The case of Singapore is a transformed country, from one of fishing villages and squatter settlements to one with among the highest rate of home ownership in the world. Singapore enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and has tackled poverty with wealth enhancement and redistributive social policies and programmes. Lawrence Wong, in Chapter 4, explains the evolution of social policies in Singapore in the digital age. These include the city state in a global city context and the technological challenge with its threats and opportunities. Uber and Airbnb are examples of reducing stable jobs on the one hand and bringing down the cost of transaction on the other hand. The Singapore government has to respond to the global trends in education and social welfare. These include strategies to enhance lifelong learning for an ageing society, reviewing retirement benefit programmes for the changing employment market, maintaining a safety net for the very poor and the like. Besides the engagement of the people to map out the future of the nation in a national community building exercise, the ‘can-do’ spirit of Singaporeans is also vital in the further development and transformation of Singapore. In Chapter 5, in dealing with the concept and a perspective of social development, Manohar Pawar discusses the major trends and issues and argues that it is critical to follow a social development approach. He highlights seven major trends and issues relating to poverty and inequality, demographic dividend, balancing economic development and sustainable development, increasing demands on limited resources, local-rural neglect and growing urbanisation, the use and impact of technology and the digital divide, as well as the critical governance factor. Pawar introduces social development education and training in a range of courses in educational and training institutions to prepare trained

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personnel and professionals, who will contribute to changing society in order to enhance the well-being of the whole population and the Asian and Pacific region. In Chapter 6, presenting the African experience, Leila Patel examines social research in South Africa from a social development perspective. The applied nature of this research is pertinent to the search for evidence-based social interventions, as well as in shaping the research-policy nexus. The chapter draws conclusions about the common elements that emerge from the examples and identifies some of the distinguishing themes of social development research. Of special interest is the experience in the South, which could lead to more South– South and North–South knowledge exchange that is both constructive and critical, leading to transformative understandings and actions. Part II Workforce and migration Some of the key issues besetting modern society are those of international migration, social integration and employment. In Chapter 7, Philip Hong and Sangmi Choi employ the Employment Hope Scale to measure the transformative workforce activation of community-based organisations (CBOs) providing job training and employment support services, and addresses the struggle when the system of evaluating their effectiveness becomes too market-driven. This chapter reconceptualises self-sufficiency to best reflect client development and empowerment using the Employment Hope Scale (EHS). EHS provides a process-driven interim tool for evaluating community practice, by which CBOs can become empowered as social change agents vis-à-vis the market. It can serve as a bottom-up organising tool to nudge employers to compete equally for motivated and empowered jobseekers. A productive citizenry is key in transforming society. In Chapter 8 on statelessness in the Thai–Myanmar borders, Steve Chan deals with the indigenous groups living as stateless people and constructs a framework of de facto statelessness and partial deprivation of citizenship in his conceptual paper. They are the marginal citizens, permanent residents, temporary residents and tolerated migrant workers in a hierarchy, who guarantee a continuous supply of low-wage labourers for the growing of the border economic zone. The chapter’s findings contribute to the further development of citizenship theory and to the understanding of different categories of migrants. Dealing with this issue of social integration of stateless people is a key to transforming the borderlands of many countries. As to the response to the regional integration of the ASEAN states, Puchong Senanuch investigates the social work and social welfare preparations for the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community. This chapter, Chapter 9, reflects the goals of the ASEAN community: situations, obstacles and opportunities, including population, human development, religion, culture, language and history, as well as politics and government. Conflict among member countries and social problems are also discussed, to name a few: poverty, health and

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ageing, migrant workers and human trafficking, drug problems, disaster, gender and inequality and social welfare investment. The author suggests that social work, social welfare and social protection should play a crucial role in growing the ASEAN Economic Community and social integration of the region. Part III Welfare, women and social care In social transformation, strategies for social care and enhancing citizen’s wellbeing as well as the eradication of poverty are key thrusts of the progressive societies. This involves various actors and different target populations engaged in social change and community development. The study of Alvin Mak and Jianbin Xu examines the role of an aged empowerment programme in a community in Singapore. The community-based programme: COMNET@Sengkang is committed to the maintenance and enhancement of health and well-being among older persons residing in the community. Chapter 10 reviews how the project forges a synergy of tripartite empowerment for elderly users of the programme and goes on to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Findings suggest that such an empowerment strategy was instrumental in enhancing physical, psychological and social wellbeing of the seniors in the community. Next, in Chapter 11, Shiyu Lu and Mattias Ottervik compare the long-term care (LTC) of the elderly in three Chinese societies: in Guangdong province, China, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan. These societies have very different political systems but are directly influenced by Confucian culture and Chinese history, which are comparable from a developmental perspective. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the influence of the political systems on the development of LTC in three Chinese societies, providing strategies to effectively meet the needs of the elderly. From Malaysia, Noremy Akhir, Azlinda Azman and Taufik Mohammad discuss the psychosocial issues and social work interventions after the flood disasters in Malaysia. As a consequence of flood disasters, people might experience psychosocial problems in addition to the severe property damage. Based on social work perspectives, psychosocial support should be seen as a process of facilitating resilience within individuals, families and communities, helping to build social support networks after disasters. This chapter further develops the social work perspective of psychosocial interventions provided to affected communities after floods, which further enhance the social and psychological wellbeing in the community. Women are key to any social political development and social transformation. Peace and development are built on the premises of social justice and empowerment for social change. Idris Hussayn, Imaji O.Z. Sule, Ismail Baba and Rajwani M.D. Zain analyse the participation of women in household decisionmaking in rural communities in Nigeria. These include the socio-economic empowerment of the women and their emancipation from political mediocrity and stagnancy through taking responsibility for their lives. Women are highly

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involved in agricultural production which is the main activity in rural Nigeria. The case examples illustrate the strategic role played by women in social transformation. Part IV Community development and capacity building Community development and capacity building strategies, whether grass-roots empowerment, training or volunteer development, enables sustainable growth and the progress of nations. In Chapter 14 Violeta R. Hunt-Engracia compares the development in two Mindanao communities in the Philippines, one with the intervention of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP), another without. CARP is a land acquisition and distribution programme operated by the Department of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines Government. Accompanying support services are provided to its poor communities, enabling them to cope and building up their capacities and fostering social justice. Next, Chapter 15 by Sarita Barton, Brad Tucker and Benjamin Lough considers the international volunteer programme in Kenya. Qualitative data from a study of local field personnel was employed to examine the community impact of international volunteers. Through their insights, critical volunteer traits such as commitment and flexibility are identified. Volunteers are key forces mobilised for social change. The implications of these traits for volunteer selection and training are then discussed. In the case of Ethiopia, Aissetu Barry Ibrahima explores the alternative development experience using the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model. This allows people in the local community to invest themselves and their resources to develop their community. The Awramba Community that is found in the South Gondor Zone of Amhara Region in Northern Ethiopia was used to demonstrate successful indigenous initiative, which resulted in mobilising and building strong societies. In the final chapter, Chapter 17, Vimla Nadkarni, the President of International Association of Schools of Social Work, declares that: ‘All pedagogy is transformative’. One moulds impressionable minds, one develops character, one imparts (or at least tries to pass on) skills where there was before only raw potential and talent. However, this is only one aspect of the transformation. By implication, education leads to social transformation at a macro level, which leads in turn to systemic change. The transformative upheavals associated with globalisation and modernisation have not solved the problems of poverty, inequality or social injustice at the fundamental level. Only by addressing structural problems at their roots can social work education hope to lead social transformation towards a more equitable, compassionate and inclusive society. Current challenges and strategies to re-orientate social work education into a transformative discipline and profession are discussed. Social workers build capacity and leadership and are harbingers of change in their societies. They are truly advocates for self-development and social transformation.

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Conclusions Social transformation is multifaceted, multidisciplinary and multidimensional, as illustrated in the seventeen chapters of this comprehensive and ambitious book. In our complex world, the goodwill, leadership and the resolve of government, the private sector, professionals and ordinary citizenry are needed to help with social transformation, to make the world a better place for all, not just for this generation, but also for many more to come. March 2017

Prelude

Social Policies1 Some issues that merit greater attention Tharman Shanmugaratnam

The central challenge, among countries advanced, emerging and developing, is that of achieving inclusive growth – in other words, economic growth with broad-based benefits that preserve a sense of social equity. We have now had more than half a century of social policy experiments aimed at achieving growth with social equity, with important lessons coming out of these efforts. Yet in many ways, inclusive growth has remained elusive and a number of key challenges remain unresolved. In this regard, I’d like to touch on five issues that I believe deserve more attention in policy-making, and in civil society and academia.

The enigma of social norms and values The first issue has to do with social norms and values: how they constrain and affect policy effectiveness and, very importantly, how the policies themselves have a way of shaping social norms and values. It’s a complex issue, not easily studied, but we have seen how social norms and values in a range of countries, particularly in the most advanced countries, have changed in ways that were not anticipated. They were rarely the intended outcome of policies. And they now constrain the effectiveness of policies aimed at achieving social equity. These are behavioural shifts that can only be observed over long periods of time, but history teaches us important lessons. To start with the most obvious, or the example of the sharpest experiment we’ve seen over the last century, it is clear that communism, quite apart from its eventual economic failure, reshaped social culture. And importantly, it has left a legacy of social values and norms that continue to affect the countries in which it was practised. It’s an example of how social values and norms rise in response to one system of incentives, but they also live on and constrain what you can do thereafter. At the other end of the spectrum, a culture of free market capitalism, where individuals and families have to look out for themselves, itself breeds social mores that live on and influence what we can achieve in modifying the free market system.

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The other major experiment has been social democracy, largely in Western Europe. Social democracy was aimed at responding to the communist challenge, by offering an alternative that tempered free market capitalism. But it has in practice evolved in ways quite different from what the original vision of social democracy intended. Social democracy started in countries which were highly industrious. Take Sweden for example – one of the most industrious countries in the world a century ago, even half a century ago. They were a nation of small farmers and made remarkable progress in industry, despite the country’s small size. But Sweden has seen quiet, unintended changes in social values and norms in the last fifty years – changes that many Swedes are concerned about it. For example, in the early 1980s, about 80 per cent of Swedes agreed that it was never justifiable to claim government benefits to which you are not entitled.2 Twenty years later, in the early 2000s, that figure had fallen to 55 per cent. That’s a big shift in two decades, on an issue that is fairly basic – should you be claiming benefits that you know you are not entitled to? Likewise, attitudes have shifted significantly from one generation to the next, on whether it’s acceptable to declare yourself sick and not turn up for work although you’re healthy. I say this not to criticise Sweden. It has also happened in a range of countries and Sweden is still a very impressive country in other ways. I choose Sweden because it’s an example of how even the most industrious societies have changed, and how the changes in social norms have themselves been shaped by policies in ways that were quite unintended by social democracy’s founders. There is another type of example of social norms that constrain policy effectiveness. Fertility is a real challenge in the higher-income East Asian societies. In spite of different social policy mixes in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, there has been a sharp decline in fertility rates through the decades. No one fully understands why and it’s an area that is fertile – forgive the pun – for social science research. In Singapore, we’ve been trying very hard with new and expanded incentives. We have succeeded in stemming the decline in fertility, but it’s an open question as to whether we can turn the trend around. Are the trends in fertility influenced by other policies in each of our societies or are they independent of policy, as suggested by the differences across these same countries? It’s a further example of why we have to come to grips with the enigma of social norms and values. They strongly influence the societies we will become.

Education: differentiating without segregating The second issue has to do with differentiation in education. We know that education is still the most powerful shaper of what we want to achieve in a better society: social mobility, equal opportunities for all including girls, in every society, and a culture of reason and moderation that can mitigate the polarising forces that now exist around the world. Public education matters. In Singapore, for example, we have a public school system. But the key challenge is to organise public education in a way that can

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cater to different needs, different learning styles and the different pace of learning that different students need, whilst at the same time putting people through a sameness of experience as they grow up. It’s a challenge that we all face. In other words, how much customisation and how much sorting into different groups, versus how much commonality of experience and interaction. In some countries, there are exceptional private schools that provide both variety and a high quality of learning experiences at some expense, while public schools are standardised and of very uneven quality. The United States is one example. It produces high-performing individuals, highly innovative individuals from one part of their system, and typically an exclusive part, but leaves very wide variations in outcomes across the system as a whole. The system does little justice to a large segment of the population. There are also systems that are wholly public and fully accessible, but where schools are required to do the same thing with the same pace of learning and the same curriculum for all students. The French system is that way. It achieves an appearance of sameness while the children are still in school, but results in very different outcomes when they leave school. An alarming proportion of French students either drop out or leave school without having passed their examinations or without having absorbed what it was hoped they would. The lesson here is that while systems might appear egalitarian in form, they can be quite inegalitarian in their outcomes. No system has achieved the ideal in a way that we are perfectly happy with. We each need to find the right balance of customisation, of providing students with a different pace or approach to learning based on their abilities, so as to help them achieve their fullest potential over time, but at the same time trying to minimise the downsides that come when we segregate students. There must be enough commonality or sameness of experience as children are growing up, so they develop enough of a sense of having been together in the same boat.

The importance of neighbourhoods The third issue is the importance of place and of housing neighbourhoods in particular. Some of the most fascinating research done in the United States in the last few years has sought to figure out why some districts have much higher social mobility than others. We know what happens when we have low mobility and when people know that they have little chance of moving up from where they start off in life. Think of Baltimore. The results coming out of this recent research have pointed to the importance of family structures and neighbourhoods, more than the traditional issues of taxes and transfers or of how much redistribution the local or federal government is doing. Neighbourhoods that are more segregated, have a concentration of single-parent families or of families where there is no stable set of parents, have tended to have lower mobility. The literature over several years also shows

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that who your peers are, who your friends are, who you interact with, are critical in determining what you achieve in life. There are hence significant differences in social mobility outcomes between cities, even adjusted for income levels and redistributive policies. The same is true for districts within the same city. The social composition of neighbourhoods and the degree of segregation matters. In Singapore, housing and education policies have been the key foundations in our efforts to promote mobility and to build an inclusive society. Our housing policy allows us to integrate people of different ethnicities and social backgrounds in ways that encourage daily interaction: along the corridor in the same apartment block, in the playgrounds, at the same bus stops or MRT stations, or going shopping on weekends at the same wet markets and hawker centres. It’s a somewhat neglected area of policy discussion internationally, but it’s extremely important. When we think of urban planning and housing policies, it is social mixing and composition that must be at the centre of our thinking.

A fair deal between generations The fourth issue has to do with ensuring a fair deal between generations. We often talk about getting a better distribution of incomes and wealth in today’s society. That’s important, but it’s only today’s snapshot. The looming issue, as in in the most mature societies, is that of achieving a fair deal between generations and hence also of being able to sustain social equity within each generation, across generations. The systems that were built up after the Second World War in most advanced countries were basically systems for today but not for tomorrow. They have now reached their limits and are living on borrowed time. The challenge of tackling large, unfunded liabilities, due to promises made in health care and pensions without committed means to finance them, has barely been addressed. I’m not going to get into the details, but suffice to say that a younger generation in a whole range of advanced countries will have to pay more than the baby boom generation has paid, but will themselves receive less benefits than those which the older generation will enjoy. Further, the measures that will have to be taken to bring the finances into balance may themselves be inequitable – and we see some of this already in the cutbacks in educational spending in several states in the USA, or in the cutbacks in initiatives to spur social upliftment elsewhere. The essential point here is that we have to think of social policies not just for the purpose of achieving social equity today. We have to aim for a fair deal between generations and to sustain what we believe today are equitable policies well into our children and grandchildren’s generations.

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Left or right, policy effectiveness matters The fifth and final issue I’d like to touch on is policy effectiveness. It deserves a lot more attention. Regardless of the slant of your policies, left or right, effectiveness is critical. The problems of corruption and clientelism that still beset so many countries are typically compounded by the sheer lack of effective public administration. This is especially a challenge in many developing countries and even in OECD countries like Greece today. In an era where national budgets are constrained and development aid is not going to be on as easy supply, what’s critical is going to be how governments can maximise effectiveness within finite budgets. Private-public-people partnerships are interesting opportunities in this regard and indeed some of the most useful lessons come from developing countries themselves. India provides examples of private initiatives that complement government efforts, with impressive results at a local level. One of them is Unilever’s Project Shakti, which empowers rural women by providing them with basic entrepreneurial skills – accounting, sales – and smartphones, while providing tips on health and hygiene. Since 2000, they have trained 70,000 Shakti entrepreneurs. Sometimes these initiatives arise because of the failure of government. But the best examples involve pro-active efforts by governments to work with and leverage the skills and passion of the people or community sector, and the technologies and management systems of the private sector.

Keeping a compact of individual and collective responsibility Let me conclude. We are all evolving our social policies, as we must. We each face new challenges in our own societies, as well as new global challenges that affect all of us. There will be lessons to be drawn from around the world. Certainly Singapore, a small country, will have to continue learning from experience both here and elsewhere, as we adapt our policies to the needs of a changing society. This brings me back to the point I made earlier. Whatever we do in social policy, we can never lose sight of the social values and norms that make for an inclusive society in the truest sense. For the first few decades of Singapore’s development, our society revolved around self-reliance. The social safety net was scanty, but everyone could better their lives by taking advantage of new opportunities in education, the job market and home ownership. It worked. There was much social mobility, both in the relative and absolute sense. A whole generation moved up and vastly improved standards of living. We are now maturing as an economy and our society is getting older. In this new phase of development, we are strengthening the role of collective responsibility. We are doing this through greater government social spending and

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interventions, greater pooling of risks among citizens, and stronger and tighter networks of support on the ground involving both government and community organisations. But it is not about government and community taking over responsibility from individuals and families. It is about a compact that both strengthens what we aspire to be collectively and encourages and rewards personal and family responsibility. That compact is being reinforced through all our social policies in Singapore – from interventions in the early years to helping those who start with less, to helping every individual develop through education, to home ownership for all, to enabling everyone to work and contribute to society in their own ways, to enabling second and third chances in life, and to helping families look after our seniors. Our whole approach must be to empower people and empower aspirations. Never leaving people to fend for themselves, but keeping that compact of personal and collective responsibility alive.

Notes 1 Edited transcript of extemporaneous lecture delivered at the 19th International Symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD 2015), 7 July 2015. 2 World Values Survey, at: www.worldvaluessurvey.org

Introduction

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Transforming society Social leadership, social development and social change Ngoh Tiong Tan

Transforming society Transforming society is a social movement, not only for leaders but also for all strata of society. Social transformation, in this book, is conceptualised as social change at the individual, group and societal level. The impact of social change concerns all quarters of life and human society, whether in neighbourhoods, communities, nations or in the world at large, encompassing many issues, including gender, age, social class and ethnicity. Social development and social transformation, being intertwined concepts, will impact citizenry in profound ways – from social care to social well-being, in the construction of social relationships as well as community life, in capacity building and in nation building. The role of social leadership is also central to change and social transformation. Leadership is about identifying trends, harnessing resources and making choices concerning the various challenges that beset humankind, bringing it forward in unity to build social solidarity.

Changing world, changing needs The agendas for social policy, research and emerging social development practice in the global arena involves the practical problem-solving of key issues faced by different societies today. The modern era has witnessed an increase of problems of and in the world, not just numerically, but also in complexity, that threatens the welfare and survival of the human race (Tan 2016b). Freedom enhances human well-being We all seek liberty from oppression and the eradication of all kinds of discrimination. To be free, not only of hunger and physical needs but also to have the freedom to choose and freedom in spirit to be is fundamental to a meaningful life. Many problems beset us as a human race. However, not all problems are man-made or induced by social organisations, many of them are natural disasters. Sometimes the distinction between man-made and natural occurring

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disasters is difficult to make as their causalities are often complexly intertwined. There has been an increase in disasters, whether natural or man-made, in the forms of earthquakes, winter storms, cyclones, armed conflicts, terrorist activities and nuclear fallout. Ethnic tensions and cross-cultural and religious conflicts have led to national emergencies and socio-economic hardship, causing mass migration of people and disruptions to political and social life (Tan 2016b), leading to further escalation of problems faced by humanity. Policy development and strategies for intervention in natural disasters and preparedness will need to be implemented. Disruptions to social life and community well-being has promulgated emerging areas of social work and social development practice in disaster management and peacemaking. For example, developing strategies for conflict resolution and mediation social workers take a long-term developmental approach in building relationships, enhancing informal structures and support networks to deal with disasters, as well as engaging communities in non-violent ways of conflict management. Social development professionals have entered the domain of preventive intervention on anthropogenic disasters such as ‘the war on terror’. Rather than adopting a militant strategy, their focus is on counselling and re-education. The strategy, as will be discussed later in this chapter, is to reintegrate terrorists and marginalised communities into mainstream society. The problems of our modern era call for resolute and enlightened leadership, not just from political and economic elites and thinkers, but also from people from all walks of life and at all levels of society.

Social leadership Leadership involves making tough decisions for the good of the people. Social solidarity (Durkheim 1977) requires a vision of a better, more just and equal society. It includes the building of resilient communities to deal with adversities. Leadership is vital in adversity as it can bring out the finest of attributes in people as the leaders put aside various personal, social and political agendas and constraints to deal with the problems at hand, to resolve conflicts and rebuild nations. Communities that are cohesive and compassionate are more able to deal constructively with problems, as was observed in Asian countries during the SARS crisis (Chan and Chan 2006). Leadership is vital to the solving of problems, and integral to that are the value choices and commitment to dealing with the problems, be they earthquakes or plagues, conflicts, wars or terrorist activities. It is the will to rebound that makes for a better society. Leadership is thus about change for the better, moving forward in terms of social mobility and progress. Social leadership is harnessing hope for humanity. It is the courage to make a difference regardless of circumstances or adversities. It pleads the cause of peace and liberty, progress and unity. No community or nation can develop in isolation without impacting or being impacted by others. There must therefore be a call for social solidarity not only

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of local communities but also in the area of global or international collaboration. The leadership call is not for just the elites, but also for ordinary citizens as potential leaders who want to make a difference in their lives and their nation. People and communities can make a profound difference when they arise, not just to speak up to challenge the status quo with courage, but also to harness people resources and do something good for their neighbours and community (CSL 2016). Leaders of the future are able to take a leap of faith to do what is necessary to challenge injustice or structural inequity if perpetuated by the status quo. For example, by refusing to accept war and fear as a fact of life but to challenge instead the establishment and to do something constructive, like forming a lobby group as in the case of ‘Women Against Military Madness’ (WAMM 2016). Likewise, it is courageous to advocate for migrant workers and to enhance their livelihoods in the midst of massive economic challenges. Social entrepreneurs have also risen worldwide to deal with oppression and poverty, to advocate for peace, promulgating shared prosperity and the quest to be free in both the economic and political arenas. As trail blazers, they have sought to bring their social mission of equity and access into businesses and social organisations. Average citizens can and must rise to greatness, transcending their weakness, anger or fear rallying to promote the common good. The vision is that ordinary citizens, united together, can do something great, replacing conflict, poverty, discrimination and hunger with peace, safety and security. Similarly, saving planet Earth requires a massive community effort. It is only by working together, every person and organisation, that we can save ‘Gaia’. Finally, leadership is a process with a goal to make the world a better place. The journey begins when one accepts the responsibility and ownership for change and, with others alongside, sustains the quest (CSL 2016). Indeed, all human beings are called to participate in the movement for social change and progress. And, ‘if the movement persists then social leadership will become the norm, rather than the exception’ (CSL 2016: 1).

Social development If the goal is an improved society, then social development has a key role in this venture. Social development is viewed as both theory and practice. As an approach, it holds good promise as it espouses social change and positive growth, simultaneously. Social development is a multidisciplinary venture, which seeks a holistic and comprehensive approach to bringing about compassionate and vibrant societies. The practice of social development is also multifaceted, encompassing economic and social development, as well as engaging the political structures in the process of change. As social change is experienced holistically, social development entails multilevel collaboration. For example, in Singapore, the economy is structured as a tripartite partnership of labour, government and the market. Harmony of the

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three working together brings stability and growth (Soh 2012). It has been noted that businesses which are increasingly engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have shown good potential to contribute to society and usher in positive social change. CSR has instrumental, relational as well as moral motivations and the businessmen and various stakeholders, including the customers, can all provide the impetus for doing social good (Aguilera et al. 2007). Social development requires government, civil society and the businesses to work in tandem, with each playing an active role in engendering economic and social well-being. As with the entrepreneurs, ordinary citizens must be empowered for community participation, to contribute towards nation building. The many helping hands approach in Singapore (The Next Lap 1991) means that civil society and the government have complementary roles for making social investments, along with the informal sectors of individuals, families and businesses. For social development to thrive, it is vital to develop a sound basis for crosscultural awareness, social acceptance and social integration as key interventions at the policy as well as the practical level. Dis-welfare of fragmented societies can be replaced with greater understanding, citizen participation and enhanced wellbeing. Working at the systemic level, social development and intervention must reinforce social networks and multi-party as well as multi-professional collaborations. Social influence and leadership is a key underlying force in the exercise of power and change within a society. Often, conflict within the systems becomes the impetus for change, exerting pressure for social innovation and creative transformation (Coser 1957). Perhaps the recent global economic crisis can also act as a call for leaders and social development experts to help chart new directions for the well-being of various societies, especially those in the emerging economies (Yi 2011). Fiscal austerity measures have crept into the policies of many governments in response to the recent economic crises and some welfare states have cut back on social spending. It is especially in the developing countries, ‘mostly lower and middle income countries, together with international agencies … where the debates on social policy are taking place’ (Yi 2011). The call is for a balanced growth, not sacrificing social development in favour of stringent economic measures. Perhaps there is really no conflict between economic growth and egalitarian social policy, as some believe. The economic and socio-political upheavals may then be an opportune time to consider different perspectives and thinking, and move forward with a long-term vision for a more just and equal world.

Migration, refugee and cultural crisis A recent global problem is the Syrian crisis, which has given rise to a mass exodus of refugees. It may, moreover, be a symptom of the underlying fragmentation of the social fabric of society. The crisis has been exacerbated by the purported use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against ‘rebels’ and

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civilians (Straits Times 2015). International diplomacy and pressure eventually resulted in Syria agreeing to surrender its chemical weapons stockpiles to international control for destruction. The approach to dealing with the Syrian situation was one of diplomacy and collaboration, to find opportunities to address the problems and build an interdependent system to address the issues (Hogue 1994). As with nations, collaboration is vital for the growth of communities. In collaborating, there is a need to build both interpersonal as well as international relationships and trust, to facilitate shared communication and decision-making (Hogue 1994). Terrorism is a worldwide problem and not just one that is experienced by a few countries. Enhancing liberty and security as a perspective to dealing with this crisis seeks to bring about order and harmony instead of yielding to fear and war. The War on Terror model has been criticised as alienating segments of society and feeding greater violence (Gearty 2013). A peace approach, on the other hand, builds bridges and collaborative relationships across cultures. Building bridges of communication should be the way forward; instead of erecting walls of prejudice, hatred and animosity that hinders crosscultural understanding. It is reported that the recruitment strategy of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is based on an alternate reality and a narrative of anger and hate, where the recruits’ families reinforce the perception of being stereotyped and discriminated against by those in the society at large. Being vulnerable and feeling the injustice of their lot in life, there are reportedly 50,000 ‘glory fighters’ (Hindustan Times 2016) joining the rank and file of ISIS. The strategy for peace must break the pipeline for recruitment of new members through social networks, friends and family. The constructive approach is to assist with employment and build helplines for vulnerable and disenfranchised groups within the society. The ideological approach to rehabilitation and reintegration by religious rehabilitation groups in Singapore is an example of building bridges in the community effort against radicalisation (Shanmugam 2016). Jemaah Islamiyah detainees undergo religious counselling and social rehabilitation as part of a comprehensive approach to restorative peace and reconciliation (Umbreit 2016). Social workers have been working with leaders and elders in the Somali community in Minnesota, USA, to help youths from their community who have been recruited into Jihadist activities in Africa. Several of these youths are in federal detention awaiting their day in court. Local Muslim leaders and Imams are participating in research and have been actively involved in the process of rehabilitation. The research has focused on ‘developing a culturally grounded adaptation of restorative justice practices’ and training (Umbreit 2016). From the social system’s perspective, instead of marginalising sub-groups, actively accepting and incorporating them into society will eventually foster greater social solidarity. The emphasis is on a rule of law, with just laws that work towards promoting constructive forces for social integration rather than following a divisive or destructive orientation. It is expected that rule of law can

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promote greater order and thus allow freedom within its constraints. After all, people from all nations aspire to liberty in their lives, but people would want to enjoy security (Gearty 2013).

Environmental crisis With the way economy and society is organised, along the lines of consumerism, the resultant effect may be climate change and an impending environmental crises. Rather than the economy dictating how to handle the environment, we could use a rational ecological approach (Spaargaren and Mol 1992), a theory of social change for the management of environmental crisis. This management approach sees nature as being the source of sustenance. The view ‘intuited nature’ and constructively ‘deal with’ the environmental crisis is vital not just for everyday life but also for sustainability in living for future generations. Environmental and weather changes have resulted in certain natural disasters. These disasters in turn have caused economic damage to property and social and psychological problems within the community (Green 1995; Norris, et al. 2002). Besides physical and environmental intervention, there is a need for a sound social and community response to disaster. Resilience is enhanced when there is support from others in the group or community (Tan 2016b). In disaster recovery, support from those who have experienced disaster is especially needed. Studies have been conducted to examine the factors associated with the psychological status of disaster survivors. ‘One of the more effective approaches for internalising change has been with those who have volunteered to help others’ (Zhao 2014). Associations between financial strain and both life satisfaction and depression among disaster survivors were also found (Webley and Nyhus 2001; Weich and Lewis 1998; Huang, Tan and Liu 2015). Mental health or social welfare professionals can collaborate with financial professionals and development workers to implement strategies that impact on income and both life satisfaction and depression (Huang et al. 2015; Tan 2016a). Social work’s contribution to building individual and community resilience is helpful for disaster management and recovery. Empowerment in terms of helping affected people and communities to make choices in rebuilding enhances resilience. Dealing with vulnerability at the individual, community or environmental level involves disaster preparedness and the participation of all citizens including children and women, in different cultural contexts (Tan 2016a). Social capital helps with disaster recovery, in terms of bonding in groups and community through community involvement and linkages with resources. The building of social capital through volunteering and leadership development is also vital for developing resilience. A social inclusion approach, such as accepting those who are handicapped or isolated, provides for greater social cohesion and social integration (Tan 2016a).

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Social development and social change at all levels The recent years have witnessed an increase of problems of and in the world that threatened the welfare and survival of the human race. Increased in disasters, in the various forms, have impacted the people and disrupted political and social life. Policy development for new social issues and fields of social development, such as in disaster management and peacemaking, involves inventing new structures and network as well as innovative peace approaches to negotiate conflict and social problems. Building cross-cultural awareness, social acceptance and social integration are key social interventions at the policy as well as the practice levels. Dis-welfare of fragmented societies are replaced with greater understanding, citizen participation and enhanced well-being. Cultural context and its relevance in peace building and the use of social technology for change are incorporated. Application of cross-cultural intelligence and skills for community leadership are needed. Plans and strategies aim at enhancing community social structures for social equity and justice, especially in resource development and distribution. Social Leadership is the key ingredient for peace building and international social development. This vital chapter approaches concepts for social development practice and involves the operationalising of the theory of social leadership and peacemaking, incorporating the process for change and the future of sustainable social development. Dealing with global and community issues and problems necessarily involve multilevel and multi-sectorial approaches. Working at the systemic level, social policy and intervention must reinforce social networks and multi-party as well as multidisciplinary or multi-professional collaborations. Social change and transformation occurs at all levels of society. Individual change involves cognition and self-reflection as well as the self-regulatory processes in psychosocial functioning, incorporating behavioural, environmental and societal factors (Bandura 1986). This theory of social diffusion and innovation involves modelling and social network, transforming the nature and scope of human influence and impacts on leadership for personal and social change. Social transformation is based on the values social justice and human rights (International Federation of Social Workers [IFSW] 2016). Social change and social development approaches, procedures and paradigms must be both empowering and sustainable. The perspective for social development and social transformation must thus be people-oriented, respectful of all cultures and traditions. At the organisational and societal levels, businesses, NGOs and governments are all engaged in social transformation and development. However, the grave responsibility for social transformation lies not only with the government or social development experts but also with all fellow sojourners of our beautiful planet earth.

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References Aguilera, R.V., Rupp, D.E., Williams, C.A. and Ganapathi, J. (2007). Putting the S Back in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Multilevel Theory of Social Change in Organizations. Academy of Management Review, 32(3): 836–863. Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Chan, J. and Chan, E. (2006). Charting the State of Social Cohesion in Hong Kong. The China Quarterly, 187 (September): 635–658. Coser, L.A. (1957). Social Conflict and the Theory of Social Change. The British Journal of Sociology, 8(3) (September): 197–207. CSL. (2016). Social Leadership: Fresh Vision for Old Problem. Center for Social Leadership. Retrieved on 1 July 2016 from www.thesocialleader.com/wp-content/uploads/ 2009/03/socialleadership.pdf. Durkheim, E. (1977). The Division of Labour in Society. Trans. W.D. Halls, Introduction. New York: Free Press. Gearty, C. (2013). Liberty and Security. Richmond, VIC: Wiley. Green, B.L. (1995). Long-Term Consequences of Disasters, in S.E. Hobfoll and M.W. de Vries (eds), Extreme Stress and Communities: Impact and Intervention. Amsterdam: Kluwer Academic, 307–324. Hindustan Times. (2016, 15 November). At Least 50,000 Europeans Are Fighting in the Ranks of ISIS’ Rajesh Ahuja. Retrieved on 15 July 2016 from www.hindustantimes. com/world/at-least-50-000-europeans-are-fighting-in-the-ranks-of-is/story-VKyCR4 qdrglznv5PMeEkPJ.html. Hogue, T. (1994). Community Based Collaborations – Wellness Multiplied. Oregon Center for Community Leadership. National Institute of Mental Health. Rockville, MD. Huang, Y.N., Tan, N.T. and Liu, J.Q. (2015). Support, Sense of Community and Psychological Status in the Survivors of the Ya’an Earthquake. Journal of Community Psychology, 1: 1–18. International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). (2016). Retrieved from www.ifsw.org. The Next Lap. (1991). Singapore: The Next Lap. Singapore: Published for the Government of Singapore: Times Editions. Norris, F.H., Friedman, M.J., Watson, P.J., Byrne, C.M., Diaz, E. and Kaniasty, K. (2002). 60,000 Disaster Victims Speak: Part I. An Empirical Review of the Empirical Literature, 1981–2001. Psychiatry, 65: 207–239. Shanmugam, K. (2016). Speech by Mr K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law at The 12th Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) Retreat 31 May 2016. Retrieved on 15 July 2016 from www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/speeches/ Pages/The-12th-Religious-Rehabilitation-Group-(RRG)-Retreat-Speech-by-Mr-KShanmugam,-Minister-for-Home-Affairs.aspx. Soh, T.M. (2012). The Future of Tripartism in Singapore: Concertation or Dissonance? Ethos. Civil Service College: Issue 11, August. Spaargaren, G. and Mol, A.P.J. (1992). Sociology, Environment, and Modernity: Ecological Modernization as a Theory of Social Change. Society & Natural Resources: An International Journal on Ecological Modernization as a Theory of Social Change, 5(4): 323–344. Straits Times. (2015, 18 August). UN Official ‘Horrified’ as Syrian Air Strikes Kill Scores of People. Retrieved from www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/un-officialhorrified-as-syrian-air-strikes-kill-scores-of-people.

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Tan, N.T. (2016a). Community Approach to Disaster Assessment and Intervention. Paper presented at the Symposium on Research, Practice and Teaching Related to Disaster and Developmental Social Work Practice, 18 and 19 July 2016, University of Wollongong, Australia. Tan, N.T. (2016b). Emerging Challenges of Global Communities: Social Work Response in Policy and Practice for Social Well-Being across Global Cultures. Paper presented at the International Conference on Social Work, Global Social Work Communities: Emerging Challenges, Interwoven Solutions, 5–6 May 2016, Minneapolis, MN. Umbreit, M. (2016). Personal communication and via email. WAMM. (2016). Women against Military Madness. Retrieved on 15 July 2016 from http://womenagainstmilitarymadness.org/about/about.html. Webley, P. and Nyhus, E.K. (2001). Lifecycle and Dispositional Routes into Problem Debt. British Journal of Psychology, 92(3): 423–446. Weich, S. and Lewis, G. (1998). Poverty, Unemployment and Common Mental Disorders: Population Based Cohort Study. British Medical Journal, 317(7151): 115–119. Yi, I.C. (2011). The Future of Social Policy. UNRISD. Retrieved on 10 April 2017 from: www.unrisd.org/viewpoints/yi-future-sp. Zhao, J.M. (2014). Interview with Social Worker from Beichuan SW Station. Sichuan: China. Unpublished records.

Part I

Challenges of social development

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Sustaining social development in the twenty-first century Noeleen Heyzer

Introduction Singapore has given importance to people-centred development and to strengthening the social fabric of our society. By investing in people and the well-being of society, Singapore has transformed itself from a colonial Third World entrepôt to a prosperous First World City State. It is an honour therefore to deliver this keynote address at the ICSD2015 conference held in Singapore. This chapter emphasises the social progress that has been made since the World Summit for Social Development, as well as the changes since the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted in 2000. Five challenges that have arisen in transforming societies: increasing wealth inequality; precarious jobs and lives; changing demographic; managing our eco-systems; and weak governance in an interdependent world, need to be addressed in transforming society.

Why is sustainable development needed? The year 2015 was a milestone for Member States and the Peoples of the United Nations – a year of global action for inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. It invites us to look at what we have achieved and what remains to be done in promoting social progress, social inclusion and social justice. Hence, this symposium gives us an opportunity for reflection on the social progress of our countries, the contemporary challenges of social development in the changing landscape of the twenty-first century and contributes to the road ahead as 193 Member States of the United Nations are shaping a transformative sustainable development agenda post-2015 to end poverty, provide human dignity to all and to protect our planet. In 1995, over twenty years ago, the World Summit for Social Development was held in Copenhagen. The largest ever gathering of world leaders at the time reached an important consensus. It was agreed that we must place human beings at the centre of our development efforts in the spirit of the first three words of the UN Charter 1945, ‘We the Peoples’. The Member States pledged to make the conquest of poverty, the goal of full employment and the fostering of social

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integration the overriding objectives of development. This consensus has helped shape our development pathway to the present day. The objectives of Copenhagen 1995 (United Nations 1995) set deep roots in decades of development thinking and practice, driving policies and actions at the national and international levels, including with regards to the 2000 Millennium Development Goals (Millennium Development Goals 2000). Also, already in 1995, Member States were clear that sustainability should be an integral part of development efforts, recognising that to secure social progress we must also give due attention to the nature of economic development and environmental protection.

Where are we on our development journey? Progress has been made. A smaller proportion of the world’s population now lives in extreme poverty compared to fifteen to twenty years ago. More people live longer and healthier lives. We have seen important advances in health and education. The Asian region has already achieved the MDG on the reduction of extreme poverty. It is also an early achiever on other MDGs, including: access to safe drinking water; gender parity based on school enrolment; and reducing the prevalence of HIV and TB (MDG Report 2015). In addition, Asia has made achievements beyond the MDGs, due largely to the Asian miracle which generated shared prosperity through the developmental role of the state and the market investing in people-centred development, creating middle-class societies by reducing poverty and addressing inequalities through job-led growth; through quality health and education; and building the productive sectors of the real economy, including through technological and social innovations. However, despite our achievements, Asia-Pacific countries still account for the bulk of world’s deprived people, including: more than 60 per cent (or 763 million people) of those living in extreme poverty (less than $1.25 a day); nearly 70 per cent of underweight children under the age of five; and more than 70 per cent (1.74 billion people) of those without proper sanitation (MDG Report 2015). There are wide variations between our sub-regions and between and within countries in terms of MDG achievement (MDG Report 2015).1 There are also variations across goals, with many countries and sub-regions of Asia making slow progress on the reduction of child and maternal mortality. It is clear that despite the MDGs, we still have a great deal of deprivation and insecurity. Hence, the MDGs are unfinished business in Asia and the Pacific and we are in a race against time to achieve this basic human development agenda. I believe that much can still be accomplished with a last big push to accelerate progress by the end of 2015.

Challenges in a changing world Our world has changed since the MDGs were adopted in 2000 and will continue to change by 2030. We are becoming more urban, more middle class,

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older, more connected and mobile, more interdependent, more vulnerable and more constrained in our resources and planetary boundaries. The path ahead is neither easy nor does it require simply doing more of the same. In my view, there are five challenges we must urgently address if we hope to sustain social progress in a changing development landscape. 1 Increasing wealth inequality Experts have been observing that there is relative wage stagnation for ‘the bottom billion’. Inequality is rising rapidly due to wealth and asset concentration as increasingly profits are made through the financial channels rather than in the real economy. There are glaring social inequalities, including access to basic social services and inequality of opportunities. The form of inequality generated today can threaten the ‘unfinished agenda’ as the current inequality makes it more difficult to reduce poverty and increase social upward mobility. The rising inequalities and disparities within and between countries could alter the political and social fabric of our region. It could intensify existing inequities and tensions along the fault lines of ethnicity, religion, geography and gender, and exacerbate discrimination against women and girls. 2 Precarious jobs and lives While many parts of Asia are upbeat and modernising, many countries and communities fall short of their potential because of the precariousness of jobs and the inability to generate secure and meaningful lives for too many people. With ‘Factory Asia’ producing cheap goods for the world market, ‘the right to work’ often sacrifices ‘rights at work’. This has led to the precariousness of work, as we saw with the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh in 2013, killing 1,138 garment workers, mainly women. The informal economy is also expanding as employment growth in the formal sector has been less than the economic growth rate. Formal sector work is becoming increasingly casual, flexible, outsourced, unregulated and contract based. In Thailand, in 2010, informal employment accounted for 63 per cent of total employment, in Indonesia 66 per cent, in Philippines 75 per cent and in Vietnam 85 per cent (Rigg 2014). This has real implications for workers, most of whom are women, migrants from rural or low-income countries in terms of security of employment, conditions at work, and health and safety concerns. In addition to precarious jobs, the world faces a humanitarian emergency. Wars, conflicts and persecution have forced more people than at any other time since records began to flee their homes and seek refuge and safety elsewhere. According to the UNHCR report (2015), the number of people forcibly displaced at the end of 2014 had risen to a staggering 59.4 million compared to 51.2 million a year ago and 37.5 million a decade ago. The increase represents the biggest leap ever seen in a single year. This situation is likely to worsen still

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further as more people are forced into precarious lives linked to the inability of the international community to work together to stop conflicts, and to build and preserve peace. 3 Changing demography Rapidly changing demographic trends are also affecting employment and human well-being. The challenge is how our economic systems can accommodate the emerging youth bulges appearing in many countries. Between 2012 and 2020 almost 1 billion young jobseekers are expected to enter the job market making job generation urgent. Currently, global unemployment remains high after the 2008 global financial crisis that has hurt the real economy. Our youth are bearing the brunt. Seventy-three million young people are looking for jobs (International Labour Organization 2015). Young people are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed. Many more are trapped in jobs where they are objects of exploitation. When young people become frustrated and angry at the glaring lack of opportunity, they are more likely to lose faith in governments and in institutions. In many parts of the world, this leaves young people marginalised, increasing their vulnerability and exposure to the criminal economy, including that of trafficking and people smuggling as we have seen recently in the fishing industry, and in the crisis at sea in Europe and in Asia. Related to this lack of opportunity today is an alarming growth in extremism and receptivity to radicalisation by people, especially the young, who feel discarded and that they do not belong. The principle and practice of social integration – acceptance and inclusion, respect for diversity, the peaceful coexistence of cultures and communities – are increasingly under threat in today’s world. Delegates at the World Summit for Social Development twenty years ago affirmed that poverty eradication, full employment and social integration were closely interlinked. This rings even more relevant and true in today’s world. Another critical issue related to changing demography is who will support the care economy in ageing societies. In countries with a rapidly ageing population, the challenge is how care will be provided and organised for this ageing population which is expected to reach 2 billion by 2050 (United Nations 2013). It is also about our social protection systems, our care services and opportunities for the elderly in the labour market. Unless both the state and the private sector invest in the care infrastructure, women will be expected to carry the burden of care, at great personal cost, as extended family support systems are under stress because of migration and urbanisation, and the increasing need of two-income households to maintain a middle-class lifestyle. 4 Managing our eco-systems We have one planet to share. Therefore climate change and threats to our ecosystems are perhaps the most important long-term challenges facing humanity this century and beyond, affecting every person, irrespective of country or

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income. Our challenge is clear: reduce poverty, increase shared prosperity but leave a smaller carbon footprint. This requires a paradigm shift in the ways goods are made, food is grown and energy is generated. Worldwide, industrialisation and urbanisation account for over half the world’s intensive use of natural resources. Cities are responsible for about 70 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions (UN Habitat 2011). Managing our eco-systems must therefore mean designing more compact, energy efficient, eco-friendly liveable cities besides changing our systems of production and consumption. It means that our industrialisation and urbanisation needs to be less reliant on fossil fuels to keep global temperature increasing to less than 2 degrees centigrade. Asia’s long-term growth and future prosperity will depend on how efficiently we use natural resources as Asia’s urban population is expected to double to 3 billion by 2050. A shift to a more people centred, planet sensitive development will depend on how we respect the planet’s eco-systems and progress to a low carbon growth future but one that is high on poverty reduction, decent jobs and income security. This is the defining challenge of the twenty-first century. Asia has a large stake in the well-being of the planet as it has many of the world’s most climate-exposed territories and is the most disaster-prone region of the world. A person living in Asia Pacific is four times more likely to be affected by natural disasters than someone living in Africa, and twenty-five times more likely than someone living in Europe or North America (UNESCAP 2009). In fact, 75 per cent of global disaster fatalities occur in Asia. In 2011, economic damages and losses from disasters in the region totalled more than US$293 billion (UNESCAP and UNISDR 2012). Coupled with economic shocks, disasters can wipe away years of development gains, increasing economic, social and political vulnerabilities. In this ‘new normal’, a major shock such as the recent financial crisis or natural disasters quickly becomes a cascade of crises. In such a world, we need more than economic growth to seriously address new risks and vulnerabilities. We need to build resilience into the fabric of how society functions. 5 Weak governance in an interdependent world We have become more mobile with linked destinies. We are linked in the globalising world by much more than our economies and trading systems. We breathe the same air; we pollute the same air. Contagious diseases like MERs or Ebola do not need a passport – they are problems that do not stop at borders. Terror, transnational crimes, human trafficking and people’s smuggling, the trade in arms and drugs do not heed borders, nor recognise nationalities. Our global and regional institutions and governance systems are not designed to respond to these emerging transnational risks. At the same time, the current international financial sector is not seen by many to serve the needs of the real economy nor to help manage and mitigate risks. This has resulted in the 2008 financial crisis that is still affecting people regarded as ‘too small to matter’. Yet, this state of affairs is not inevitable. The

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financial sector when better regulated has played an important role in supporting the real economy, including financing of SMEs, physical and social infrastructure, green investments and affordable housing. In several countries, the deterioration in the quality and credibility of national political and economic institutions illustrated by rising corruption, the unresponsiveness of state institutions to the well-being of their people along lines of identity, and institutional capture by powerful interest are likely to become constraints to equitable human progress. Yet trust and accountable governance are essential and fundamental elements of human well-being, social cohesion, stability and development. It is about how leaders, public institutions, the private sector and citizens relate to each other, in mutual accountability, to bring about development to improve people’s lives and to care about our planet’s eco-systems on which our survival depends.

The sustainable development agenda: a call for action to transform our world We know that the world we have today is not what it should be. Our world is facing multiple challenges and crises and many of our systems are at breaking point, overwhelmed and unable to prevent and respond effectively to the numerous emergencies. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to act in order to prevent new problems, to find solutions to our multiple vulnerabilities and to renew our world to be what it can be. We all agree that to do this we need transformative change affecting all sectors of our societies, our governance systems and our partnerships. It is therefore not surprising that ‘Transforming Societies’ is the theme of the international symposium held in 2015. Transformation is also the watchword of the Sustainable Development Agenda that is being finalised by the 193 Member States of the United Nations in September 2015 at the General Assembly. We are living in an interdependent globalising world where our economic, social and ecological systems are intertwined and countries are striving to develop a forward-looking, progressive agenda that places both people and the planet at the centre of global development efforts. Under the working title of ‘Transforming Our World’, it is a universal, integrated and human rights based agenda for a social transformation that simultaneously addresses economic growth, social justice and environmental stewardship and highlights the link between peace, development and human rights – an agenda that leaves no one behind, and a win–win proposition for both nations and people.

Conclusions This post-2015 development agenda with its set of new sustainable development goals presents an historic test and challenge for the international community and national institutions. It is a universal call to action to transform our world by:

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The economic and social transformation that we seek deals holistically with extreme inequality and social exclusion, decent work and the care economy, and environmental sustainability. These are the priorities of human sustainability and social development in the twenty-first century. Realizing them is our only road to dignity and the future we want by 2030. However, this agenda for renewal will only succeed in giving people meaningful, secure and dignified lives if there is bold leadership and moral courage at every level of society to ensure implementation and accountability. This is an urgent call to action for each one of us so that we can leave a better world for our children.

Note 1 For example, the extreme poverty rate has dropped significantly in most developing regions, except sub-Saharan Africa has yet to meet the MDG target in 2015 (MDG Report 2015: 14).

References International Labour Organization. (2015). UN Chiefs Endorse Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. Retrieved from www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/news room/news/WCMS_426661/lang-en/index.htm. Millennium Development Goals. (2000). Retrieved from www.undp.org/content/ undp/en/home/mdgoverview/mdg_goals.html. Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. (2015). New York: United Nations. Retrieved from www.un.org/millenniumgoals/. Rigg, J. (2014, 12 June). Precarious Jobs, Precarious Living in South-East Asia. The Straits Times. Retrieved from www.straitstimes.com/opinion/precarious-jobs-precarious-livingin-south-east-asia. UN Habitat. (2011). Global Report on Human Settlement 2011. Retrieved from http:// mirror.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/E_Hot_Cities.pdf.

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UNESCAP. (2009). Asia-Pacific Countries See the Need to Cooperate to Reduce Risk of Disasters. Retrieved from www.unescap.org/news/asia-pacific-countries-see-needcooperate-reduce-risk-disasters. UNESCAP and UNISDR. (2012). The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012: Reducing Vulnerability and Exposure to Disasters. Retrieved from www.unescap.org/sites/ default/files/Asia-Pacific-Disaster-Report-2012_0.pdf. UNHCR. (2015). UNHCR Report Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2014. Retrieved from http://unhcr.org/556725e69.html. United Nations. (1995). World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen Declaration A/Con 166/9, Copenhagen 1995. United Nations. (2013). World Population Ageing 2013. Retrieved from www.un.org/ en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/ageing/WorldPopulation Ageing2013.pdf. United Nations Charter. (1945). Retrieved from www.un.org/en/charter-unitednations/index.html.

3

Fifty years of social innovation Reflections on social policy in Singapore1 Michael Sherraden

Social is fundamental Social innovation, social policy and social work are fundamental pathways for social development. These terms may sound normal to the ear of Singaporeans, but in the United States and some other parts of the world, the word ‘social’ is often little suspect – implying to many Americans a vague idea of socialism and big government, with restrictions on individual choice and action. I suggest in this chapter that social is fundamental and that exclusive emphasis on individual choice is not only misplaced, but in some respects counter-productive. Humans are highly social animals. Moreover, human sociality and social innovations are the key to our advancement, in both the long term and the short term (Sherraden et al. 2013).

Biological and cultural evolution of human sociality Humans became a successful species because we learned to work together. According to the biologist Edward O. Wilson at Harvard, in his book The Social Conquest of Earth (2012), humans working together led to cognitive development – not the other way around (see also Enfield and Levinson 2006; Herman et al. 2007; Shaller, Park and Kenrick 2007). In other words, sociality made humans smart and effective as a species, especially during the last 100,000 years when Homo sapiens has come to dominate the planet. (Today we must also ask if we humans have become even too successful, too effective for our own good and for the entire planet? And if so, will we be smart enough to make a correction? Only time will tell.) During the era of what we call civilization, arising during the past 10,000 years, agriculture and industrialisation have created surpluses that enabled human sociality to extend to a dazzling range of social institutions, including systems of production and distribution, formation and protection of contracts, finance and accounting practices, organisation of governments, rules of conduct, system for protection and problem-solving, support for religions and arts, development and recording of knowledge and passing knowledge to others through educational institutions, transportation networks and practices, systems of

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diplomacy, military organisations, systems for health care and social support, and much more (see especially Ostrom 2000; Powers and Lehamann 2013). While often taken for granted in discussions of development, it is these impressive social institutions that have made possible and supported technological advancements and economic progress. Gradually and haltingly, social institutions were gathered into nation states, so that today, nation states are the most prominent form of social organisation on the planet. Nation states as we know them are relatively new, forming over the past millennium, and they have proven to be enormously effective in nurturing the social institutions that lead to economic development. Of course, this story is not all positive. Nation states have also nurtured external wars, internal subjugations, genocides, environmental degradations and other terrors. Notwithstanding large impacts, the history of nation states is so new that it would be unwise to suppose that everything has been figured out about how to make them more effective. Indeed, it seems very likely that nation states have the potential to become much better at social and economic development.

Sociality and the state: Singapore’s distinctive history In a world of nation states in the mid-twentieth century, Singapore as a sovereign nation was born – or perhaps we should say thrust out – very small and very vulnerable. It was kicked out of the Malayan Federation in 1965 in part because the Singapore population was mostly Chinese. The new nation was immediately in a soup of geopolitical and ethnic threats and hostilities. Moreover, Singapore had a largely migrant population, with minimal commitment to the new nation. Most residents were surviving on inadequate incomes and living in sub-standard housing. The island had no natural resources. The survival of tiny Singapore was not guaranteed. The very determined and innovative response to this rough beginning, more than any other single factor, has shaped the first fifty years of Singapore’s history. The leadership required for success in these circumstances had to exceptional, and in Singapore’s case, it was exceptional. The first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his colleagues initiated and sustained – and then passed along to their successors – one of the most impressive examples of development during the twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century (for one summary of these achievements, see Jayakumar and Sagar 2015). In the modern context, Singapore has recorded perhaps the most rapid economic growth of any nation. Socially, in sharp contrast to fifty years ago, the Singapore population is well housed. Ethnic and religious groups are no longer killing each other in the streets. People of different groups mingle in daily interactions, enjoy each other’s favourite dishes and celebrate each other’s holidays. Order and safety have become hallmarks of daily life in Singapore. The geopolitical ‘space’ has been extended through diplomacy and militarisation, so that Singapore is not nearly as strategically vulnerable as it once was. The city state has become impressively modern. The extent of new construction – and more

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recently, high design – are striking. None of this is perfect – challenges always remain – but the overall pattern of development is very clear. How did all this occur, and so rapidly? I suggest in this chapter that much of the credit for this growth and stability is due not to economic strategy alone, but also – and perhaps foremost – to social innovations (articulated eloquently by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, 2015). Moreover, I suggest that these social innovations are made possible in Singapore by a welldefined and very purposeful sense of the social potential of the state. The state in Singapore is actively shaping social institutions and practices. Of course, this is not an original observation on my part; many others have commented on aspects of this. But here I want to stress the understanding of the state as a social entity and as a tool for social advancement (see for example Mehta and Wee 2011; Nathan 2011). The purposeful emphasis on social development has also been reinforced in my interviews with Lee Kuan Yew [Sherraden 1993], Goh Keng Swee [Sherraden 1992] and others). Not everyone will take the same perspective in discussing Singapore. While some may point to impressive social achievements, others may focus on sacrifices of individual freedoms, especially voice for a political opposition. This also is an important topic. I have seen directly what suppression of political opposition looks like in Singapore and I believe it is a major challenge. Most Singaporeans support their government and certainly it is not a dictatorship. People do not disappear in the night. There are no clandestine prisons. But should incompetent or corrupt leaders arise in Singapore in the future, would there be sufficient political voice and active public will to replace them? This cannot be certain. As in every society, Singaporeans must wrestle with complexities. The main point I want to make in this chapter is that Singapore’s use of the state in social innovation is exceptional and largely successful (Salaff 1990; Vasoo and Lee 2001; Sherraden 2016a), not that it is a perfect solution for everything. To be sure, the world has seen far more commanding and encompassing states, with more complete control over every decision and action. Most of these examples – however idealistic the original vision – have turned out quite badly. But it is not the extent of state control I am talking about here. It is rather the innovation in social organisation by the state to promote social development. Some commentary and analyses of Singapore mix up the themes of authoritarianism and social development, but they are distinctly different – one does not depend on the other. As one example of this mix-up, in the United States, Singapore’s assetbuilding social policy is typically called ‘forced savings’, as if it is all due to authoritarianism. Whereas US Social Security policy, which is also required and automatic, is never called ‘forced social insurance’. In fact, both policies are universal and mandatory; one is an asset-building design and the other is a social insurance design. The real difference between these two policies has nothing to do with the degree or extent of state control, but rather the comparative strategy, innovativeness and effectiveness of the policies. Related to this common mix-up, many observers readily dismiss the Singapore example as social engineering made possible because Singapore is so small

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and so paternalistic, as if these were complete explanations. To be sure, being small and paternalistic probably makes social innovation easier to implement, but it is not smallness nor paternalism per se that is the interesting dynamic in Singapore’s social innovation. In fact, Singapore is an intense laboratory, testing social innovations, abandoning failures and expanding successes. Singaporean leadership is highly attuned to Singapore’s particular conditions and very pragmatic in creating solutions – willing to invent, implement, assess and, if warranted, expand entirely new strategies. In this process, there is little emphasis on ideology. Instead, there is a strong emphasis on pragmatism based on empiricism – understanding what is working or not working and making decisions accordingly. This highly innovative and pragmatic social policy use of the state in distinctive, and can largely be credited to the visions the founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and the chief domestic advisor, Dr Goh Keng Swee, along with other early leaders. Regarding the shape of early social policy in Singapore, Mr Lee and Dr Goh had trained in the United Kingdom and had seen the post-war social welfare policies of ‘the welfare state’. Very simply, they did not believe that the new Singapore state could afford these. At the outset, Singapore took the practical position of doing what would work in a troubled little place with few resources. Mr Lee and Dr Goh focused first on education, housing and health care. If these were provided, they reasoned, people could develop to their potential, be productive and support their families (Sherraden 1992; Sherraden 1993; Sherraden 2016a). Hence, for example, when the International Labour Organization (ILO) came visiting in young Singapore in the 1960s, strongly urging the leadership to set up a social insurance system for retirement, which was the norm in Western Europe, Prime Minister Lee and Dr Goh listened and thanked the ILO visitors, but did not accept their suggestion (from previous research on the Central Provident Fund; see Sherraden et al. 1996). Instead, they set about methodically expanding the existing Central Provident Fund (CPF ) into something that had not previously been dreamed of. As Singaporeans know very well, CPF today has become the centrepiece of social policy in Singapore. It has been purposefully shaped – we cannot really say it ‘evolved’ as if the process were passive. CPF has been purposefully shaped from the original colonial-era ‘coffin money’ plan into a comprehensive assetbuilding social policy, which today profoundly affects the daily lives, security and progress of most Singaporean families.

Singaporean innovations in social policy At risk of oversimplification, the major Singaporean social policy innovations and achievements might be summarised as follows.

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Asset building As mentioned, Mr Lee and Dr Goh made decisions to change the CPF into a more comprehensive social policy. The first innovation was to make CPF funds available for home ownership starting in 1968, only three years after being kicked out of the Malayan Federation in 1965. That first innovation of extending the CPF to include use of CPF funds for home ownership, however, was only the first step. Intertwined with the CPF today are many policies for housing, community development, health care, education and various forms of insurance and investment (Sherraden et al. 1996; Vasoo and Lee 2001). Together, these comprise Singapore’s core approach to household social protection and economic development. Thus, step by step, over many years, the Singapore state created a new social policy system that had asset building as its central structure. There was no model to follow. There was no other such policy in the world. It would be hard to overstate the exceptionality and the extent of this innovation. And this process continues. During the past twenty-five years, Singaporean policy has taken important steps towards lifelong asset building, beginning very early in life. These innovations include EduSave, the Baby Bonus, Child Development Accounts, and related asset-building incentives, top-ups and programmes. Although not all of these innovations are part of the CPF per se, they are conceptually and practically related, and can be viewed as part of the same policy system. Housing The Housing Development Board (HDB) in Singapore might be on a short list of the most effective public bureaucracies in the world. HDB ‘public housing’ shelters about 80 per cent of the population, all but 5 per cent of these in home ownership. The mission of HDB from the outset has been social. Although not always emphasised, HDB and other government programmes substantially subsidise home ownership at the bottom. The goal is household stability. In keeping with this goal, HDB is often (not always) responsive to family-by-family problemsolving as needed, supporting success in housing tenure when this possible. Like any social policy, this is not perfect and some families do not succeed. But overall, the success rate in housing stability is remarkable. As Dr Sudha Nair, a leading social worker, observes: ‘In Singapore, housing policy is social policy’ (Sherraden 2016b). Primarily as a result of HDB policies and effective social services, over 90 per cent of all Singaporean households are ‘home owners’. This is perhaps the highest percentage of home ownership in any city or any country in the world. Asset building and housing as a counter-balance to income inequality Next I turn to a topic that seems underappreciated even in Singapore, and is almost unknown outside of Singapore: Asset building and home ownership as a counter-balance to income inequality. As with most countries in the twenty-first

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century, income inequality in Singapore is high and rising. Both the United States and Singapore have very high Gini coefficients, a measure of income inequality (Singapore’s Gini coefficient has moderated in recent years because of increased government subsidies to low-income households). However, the Singaporean government is strongly in the business of supporting asset accumulation and family and community stability across the population. Most low-income Singaporean households own their HDB flat and flats have appreciated in value, so that overall net worth may be a meaningful positive sum, even if the major asset is not liquid. Indeed, it is common in Singapore to observe that families have assets in housing but are income poor. These families are strained and the situation is far from ideal. But as a comparison, far more low-income US households do not own a home; many experience housing insecurity and on average they have negative net worth. In fact, it is possible that asset (or net worth) inequality may be lower in Singapore than any other country. If assets provide long-term stability for families and communities, and enable a leg-up for the next generation, then widespread asset ownership may be a very important foundation for social protection and economic development over time. Community stability Related to HDB policies is the important role of community design and organisation. ‘Public housing’ and community life are stable and largely successful in Singapore. Housing estates include blocks with all sizes of flats, so that the poorest families do not all live in concentrated parts of the city. There is no large area of sub-standard housing in Singapore, no dysfunctional large community and no part of the country that could be called a ghetto or slum (outside of Singapore, people may have to read the last sentence twice). Moreover, ethnic, cultural and religious tolerance is consciously practised. The government is very sensitive and proactive on this issue, for both internal and external reasons. Quotas in HDB estates ensure that different ethnic and religious groups are not isolated one from another. The celebration of different backgrounds, religions, holidays, food and languages is richer in Singapore than in most other countries. While racial and religious differences are always a challenge, the strong commitment to a ‘multiracial society’ – articulated by Lee Kuan Yew even long before independence – is a lived experience in Singapore. Again, the results are not perfect. Some ethnicities may be over-represented in the lower-income population. But policies and social practices seek to work with all families towards as much educational and economic success as possible. Health care The overall health and longevity of the Singaporean population is high, and the cost for health care as a percentage of GDP is quite low, currently something like 5 per cent of GDP. We can compare this to the United States, where life

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expectancy is about five years lower than in Singapore, yet health care expenditures are approaching 18 per cent of GDP. To be sure, health policy is a very complex topic, with insufficient space to explore here. But at minimum, we can say that the United States has clear challenges in health policy – getting a very poor return in longevity for the money spent – and we should be considering other examples of health policy in the world, including having a look at what is happening in tiny Singapore.

Main themes in Singaporean social policy Standing back and looking at these and other polices, how can we understand Singapore’s social innovation overall? The main themes include the following, in approximate order of substantive and historical importance. Maintain geopolitical awareness As noted already, the dynamics of geopolitical vulnerability and creating geopolitical space have strongly shaped Singaporean domestic policies. Outside of Singapore, few people would fully understand this. Lee Kuan Yew adapted the CPF for home ownership so that the population would identify as being Singaporean, and if necessary would stay and fight for the new country. Similarly, the emphasis on a multiracial society is not only a domestic strategy, but a geopolitical strategy as well – as a tiny country with a majority Chinese and Buddhist population, surrounded by much larger nations that are majority Muslim, Singapore cannot risk ethnic/religious strife. Look and plan ahead Singapore systematically looks ahead at potential future challenges. Most policy changes take a long view, not only taking care of this generation, but also developing the next (see Prelude by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam). Build a multiracial society As already indicated, Singapore also was born in an era of ethnic/religious strife and bloodshed, which in many ways were not separable from its geopolitical challenges. From before independence, Singaporean leadership has been committed to a multiracial society and this has remained a strong commitment, shaping many aspects of social policy. House the nation This is summarised above, but it is important to emphasise that social stability through well-constructed, secure and owned housing – organised in functioning communities with easy access to services – is the basis of Singapore’s development

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(Wong and Yeh 1985). This stability enables Singaporeans, even those with very low incomes, to weather periods of low income or other disruption, avoiding sudden moves and keeping their children in school. Invest in human capital Lacking other resources, Singapore has focused on education and training of its population. Following especially the landmark work of the economist James Heckman (Heckman and Masterov 2007). There is now a growing awareness of the importance of brain development and learning early in life. In Singapore, an increasing effort now goes to human capital development starting from birth. This is a main reason, for example, for the expanded CDA funding announced in March 2016. As a result of successful social policies and educational institutions, Singapore today ranks very highly in international comparisons of student achievement. The focus is lifelong. The government also aims to stay ‘ahead of the curve’ in training the local population for ever higher job skills, in order to compete with global competition. Skill training is a main theme in annual budget announcements. Accumulate assets As indicated above, asset building is the core theme of social policy, most prominently in the continual expansion and refinements in the CPF. But in fact asset building pervades the public policy of Singapore at all levels. At the individual level, this is evident in the CPF and HDB flat ownership. At the social policy level, this is evident in a variety of endowments for certain purposes, for example, an endowment to cover EduSave funding, and funds educational institutions to endow various programmes. At the national level, the government has built a large sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings, which invests primarily outside the country. In contrast, liabilities are not nearly as prominent. For example, the government by law operates within its revenues over five-year periods and in fact some of these ‘expenditures’ go to asset building. Promote social development Singaporean policy focuses on social and economic development together. Social and economic policies are intertwined, and sometimes are the same policy (e.g. consider CPF and HDB housing). Investment in social development, that is, improving capacities, are emphasised over social maintenance, that is, getting along (one summary is in Tan and Mehta 2002). Be responsible and be efficient Sound management of public resources is strongly encouraged. To achieve this, public officials are well paid, positions are competitive and quality is expected.

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Corruption is rare and when it occurs it is severely published. The whole public sector in Singapore operates at about 18 per cent of GDP (compared to twice that much or more in other developed countries). Uphold intergenerational fairness The primary focus on asset building and the policy of balanced public budgets, together, ensure that each generation lives within its means. Money is not borrowed and spent, leaving the debt to future generations. This policy has a moral dimension that is positive across generations, and also keeps options open for future generations to respond effectively to the challenges of their time. Put responsibility on individuals and families From the outset, Singapore has turned to ‘family first’, seeking not to undermine family responsibilities and motivations to assist relatives. Historically, these policies have been by Western standards harsh, with limited direct support for consumption. During the first several decades especially, it was extremely uncommon for regular cash ‘welfare’ payments to be made to individuals. Use the state to prevent extreme hardship As Singapore is becoming steadily wealthier and as global competition for labour intensifies, contributing to rising income inequality, Singapore has expanded direct financial support to households. This trend was very evident in the 2015 and 2016 budget announcements. The goal is to prevent extreme hardship and instability. Overall assessment Few other countries manage social policies with as much integration with geopolitical strategies and economic development. Few other countries are as innovative, while at the same time being careful with public resources and practices of sound fiscal management. Few other countries get as much positive return (e.g. consider housing and education) from a modest social expenditure budget. Altogether, social policy in Singapore is operated almost as if it were venture capital, husbanding resources, conceiving and risking innovation and seeking high returns. The output of primary interest is always social capacity.

Singaporean social policy in international discussions Given Singapore’s social policy innovativeness, distinctiveness and successes, it would seem natural for this very interesting example, even though from a small nation, to be very well known. But unfortunately, it is not well known. To be sure, many nations send delegations to the CPF, HDB and other social policy

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offices to learn about what is happening. Projects are sometimes set up in other countries to apply versions of Singapore’s ideas. These are positive developments and they continue. In policy discourse and academic inquiry, however, Singapore is not as well known, especially outside the East and Southeast Asia region. In the United States (which I know best), for example, Singaporean policy is little discussed. Particular impressions – harsh punishments for trivial offenses, forced savings, extreme cleanliness – are more common than data and knowledge of actual policies and conditions. Why would this be the case? We can say first of all, that many US policy makers and scholars are a bit insulated and inward looking, sometimes with an unfortunate combination of arrogance and ignorance that leads to unwitting complacency. Many have not tried very hard to learn about other nations’ social policies and this would be true not only regarding Singapore, but regarding most of the world. We can also say, however, that Singapore has not always made it easy for other nations to engage as partners in order to learn from each other. Allow me to mention two points. First, from the outset, Singaporean leadership has assumed a decided ‘we will do it our way’ posture. As indicated above, strong determination has been largely responsible for Singapore’s innovations and successes. But in the process, international dialogue on social policy has been limited. Second, data on Singaporean social conditions, and the extent and impacts of social policies, is sometimes not available. The government has been protective of household-level data related to conditions of the population. This may be related to a strong interest in public stability and order. The government would like to limit potentially negative interpretations, especially regarding social and economic conditions of the Malay population. But this has high costs. Data restrictions limit knowledge – even very positive knowledge – and discourse about Singapore. Allow me to be specific with two examples. On a few occasions, I have heard statements about amounts of net worth or asset holding of the bottom part of the Singapore population. The figures are positive and, in comparison with the United States, substantial (as discussed above, inclusive asset holding has particularly important meaning in societies where income inequality is growing and perhaps will get worse). In my policy work in the United States, I have proposed more emphasis on asset-building policies. So naturally, I have inquired with economists and other Singaporean academic colleagues, and with public officials, about the data on net worth at the bottom. Perhaps I have not asked the right people, but so far, I have not been able to find it. I sincerely believe it is in Singapore’s best interest to make these data readily available. As another example, in the USA, we are testing the concept of universal accounts at birth (Child Development Accounts). Research evidence is positive, and several US states and some US cities have announced that they would create universal accounts for children. This is great progress. As a next step, we will suggest larger funding flows to these accounts. In order to do this successfully, it would be enormously helpful to have data on how much funding and to

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whom, is going into the Baby Bonus and CDAs in Singapore – because Singapore is more advanced in these policies than any other nation. Again, I have not been able to find the data. The examples above may illustrate how Singapore’s limited international engagement and limitations on access and use of data deter international comparisons and discussion. Fortunately, over time, these attitudes and conditions in Singapore move gradually towards international norms, and during its next fifty years, we can be hopeful that Singapore’s distinctive social policy examples will become better known in global discussions.

Social policy in the twenty-first century and Singapore’s next fifty years Returning to the longer view, as the world moves towards ten or more billion people during this century, it seems quite likely that sociality will continue to be a central human characteristic, if we are to innovate, adapt and carry forward with greater well-being of people and the planet. The steady march of civilisation is towards more elaborate social organisation. Nation states will continue to change and it seems likely that the trend towards elaboration of the state as a tool for social innovation will continue. Singapore has been enormously innovative in social policy and has created a highly functioning social state. In some respects, the Singapore state may be ahead of many others in this journey. Perhaps later in this century the level of social organisation will shift upward to regional political groupings, such as a more integrated European Union, and perhaps someday a more integrated ASEAN. Shifting higher still, a growing number of social and economic issues will require more global decision-making. These include global warming and the necessary shift to non-carbon energy; the spread of drones and other weaponry that may destabilise international relations; responding to international epidemics; and global social and economic pressures of population ageing and rising income inequality. In this context, we can perhaps anticipate a gradual expansion in global social organisation, building on the United Nations, regional and global trade agreements, nascent forms of international law and other roots established during the twentieth century. During the next fifty years, Singapore will be a not-quite-so young nation, not nearly as vulnerable as fifty years ago and is already surprisingly mature for its age. It seems likely that Singapore will be adding its social policy examples to global inquiry and discussion. In some respects, Singapore may illustrate key characteristics of the future for the planet: Greatly increased overall wealth yet higher income inequality and fully urbanised. How is such a world to function and be successful? We do not know the answer to this very big question. In the process of figuring this out, the world will need all the examples we can get. Singapore has important examples to offer in this discussion and deliberation.

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Outlook for social innovation and the planet Looking ahead, we do not know whether nation states will eventually give way to larger structures of governance, regional and global, though this too seems likely. Many of the world’s greatest problems – climate change, infectious diseases, resource conflicts, mass migrations and so on – cannot be resolved at the level of nation states. Global cooperation will be required. This cooperation is a major challenge and imperative for the twenty-first century. In conclusion, allow me to suggest one possibility. As a meaningful step towards global social policy and building on Singapore’s example of universal asset building, what is the potential of giving every child on the planet a Child Development Account (CDA) when they are born? Could this happen? While there are financial and political challenges, information technology now makes a global CDA doable, deliverable via cell phone technology anywhere in the world. If the ‘infrastructure’ of universal accounts were in place, it would foster efficient mechanisms for funding flows, avoiding costly layers of bureaucracy, arbitrariness and inefficiencies in donor aid, and losses due to political ineptitude and corruption. Consider a world in which the poorest children everywhere would be immediately connected to financial services and more promising opportunities. An international system of CDAs could also serve as a foundation for education and other development initiatives. Also, the global web of accounts might help knit countries together in other forms of cooperation. For example, Israel began in 2017 a universal CDA policy for all citizens – Arabs, Jews and others – plus all of the Palestinian children in occupied East Jerusalem. All these newborns now have CDAs opened automatically, with regular monthly deposits from government. In a country and region where religious differences are deeply conflicted, this is small step in a better direction. The idea of global CDAs is not a pie in the sky. It could happen. Why not develop every child on the planet? Singapore has important experience and expertise that can help make a universal CDA policy successful. As a global social innovation during the next fifty years, this might be a good one for Singapore and the rest of the world to consider.

Note 1 Versions of this chapter were presented at: Public Lecture at Singapore’s 50th Anniversary as an Independent Nation, National University of Singapore, March 2015 and Keynote Lecture at Conference of the International Consortium on Social Development, SIM University, Singapore, July 2015.

References Enfield, N.J. and Levinson, S.C. (eds). (2006). Roots of Human Sociality. Oxford and New York: Berg. Heckman, J.J. and Masterov, D.V. (2007). The Productivity Argument for Investing in Young Youth. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.

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Herman, E., Call, J., Hernandez-Lloreda, M.V., Hare, B. and Tomeselle, M. (2007). Humans Have Evolved Specialized Skills of Social Cognition: The Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis. Science, 317(5834): 1360–1366. Jayakumar, S. and Sagar, R. (eds). (2015). The Big Ideas of Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore: Straits Times Press. Mehta, K. and Wee, A. (eds). (2011). Social Work in the Singapore Context. Singapore: Pearson Publishing. Nathan, S.R. (2011). An Unexpected Journey: Path to the Presidency. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet. Ostrom, E. (2000). Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14: 137–158. Powers, S.T. and Lehamann, L. (2013). The Evolution of Social Institutions, Demography, and Large-Scale Human Cooperation. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Salaff, Janet. (1990). State and Family in Singapore. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Shaller, M., Park, J.H. and Kenrick, D.T. (2007). Human Evolution and Social Cognition, in R.I.M. Dunbar and L. Barrett (eds), Oxford Handbook on Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Shanmugaratnam, T. (2015). Inclusive Housing and Social Equity. Keynote speech at international conference sponsored by Washington University and National University of Singapore (Next Age Institute), Duke University, and Brookings Institution (host), Washington, DC, November. Sherraden, M. (1992). Interview with Goh Keng Swee, National University of Singapore. Sherraden, M. (1993). Interview with Lee Kuan Yew, Istana, Singapore. Sherraden, M. (2011). Foreword, in K. Mehta and A. Wee (eds), Social Work in the Singapore Context. Singapore: Pearson Publishing. Sherraden, M. (2016a). Discussion with Ann Wee, her residence in Singapore. Sherraden, M. (2016b). Discussion with Sudha Nair, her offices at PAVE in Singapore. Sherraden, M., Nair, S., Vasoo, S., Liang, N.T. and Sherraden, M.S. (1995). Social Policy Based on Assets: The Impact of Singapore’s Central Provident Fund. Asian Journal of Political Science, 3(2): 112–133. Sherraden, M. et al. (2013). Social is Fundamental: Introduction and Context for Grand Challenges for Social Work. Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Working Paper No. 1. Baltimore, MD: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. Tan N.T. and Mehta, K. (eds). (2002). Extending Frontiers: Social Issues and Social Work in Singapore. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press. Wilson, E.O. (2012). The Social Conquest of Earth. New York: W.W. Norton. Wong, A.K. and Yeh, S.H.K. (eds). (1985). Housing a Nation: 25 Years of Public Housing in Singapore. Singapore: Housing Development Board. Vasoo, S. and Lee, J. (2001). Singapore: Social Development, Housing, and the Central Provident Fund. International Journal of Social Welfare, 10(4): 276–283.

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Government’s approach towards social policies in the digital age1 Lawrence Wong

Introduction Social policies are dynamic, reflecting both time and space. They evolve under different socio-political contexts. At present, the digital age necessitates social policy to further adapt, with the advent of disruptive technologies. In this chapter, it is noted that Singapore’s experience of rapid social change is not uncommon in other countries. It has, however, presented challenges to this young city state. In response, the Government’s emphasis on social and human capital development is strategic towards strengthening the country’s human resource asset as well as overcoming some of the potential threats facing this late developing nation. For example, enhancing social capital in terms of strengthening informal structures and social networks has impacted on economic growth, health and the effectiveness of social security and functioning (Halpern 2014). The development of skills and training of citizens are essential in building human capital for the digital age. Both individual and collective responsibilities are required to make the Singapore’s social compact work.

Singapore: a global city in context Singapore turned fifty years old on 9 August 2015. We are still a young nation, certainly by international standards, but in many ways, we have come a long way. The process of social and economic transformation in Singapore is rapid. More than fifty years ago, my grandfather was a fisherman whose income depended on his luck at sea. He lived in a Malay village – we call it a kampong – in Singapore. He had seven children, including my mother, and they lived on his meagre income from catching fish. Then, in the early 1970s, my parents obtained their first public housing apartment – these are flats built by the state, but not in the way you think of public housing in many countries. In Singapore, more than 80 per cent of the population lives in public housing. My parents’ first flat was in an area called Marine Parade, which was close to the sea. In those days, this neighbourhood was not desirable because it stood on reclaimed land. Nobody wanted to buy their homes in that area because they thought it

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was unsafe. Today, it is prime property for public housing – a dramatic transformation in less than fifty years. Many other things in Singapore have likewise been transformed within a generation. Many countries have seen similar transformations. Today, Singapore’s public health care, public housing and water management are highly regarded and have received global acclaim. It is thanks to our pioneer generation and founding leaders like our first Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew that we enjoy the fruits of their labour today. Mr Lee and his team of leaders had the critical foresight to realise that Singapore had to be plugged into the world. Navel-gazing would have been to our detriment. We had to ride the wave of globalisation. We had to convince multinational corporations that Singapore was a choice destination so that Singaporeans could have good and gainful employment. While this strategy contradicted the conventional wisdom of their time, where multinationals were seen to be exploiting labour, it has uplifted Singapore to be among the league of advanced countries in the world today. However, Singapore is not the only city that has benefited from globalisation. Throughout Asia, there are rapidly emerging nodes of economic activity. Through the network effect, through economies of scale, these have become crucibles for jobs, capital and innovation. For example, in 2010, the city of Tianjin in China had a GDP of around US$130 billion (Dobbs, Manyika and Woetzel 2015). Tianjin is about the same size as Stockholm in Sweden. In ten years’ time, estimates indicate that the GDP of Tianjin alone will be similar to the entire country of Sweden. And this is just one city in China.

Digital age and the technological challenge The digital age accelerates the dynamism and development of cities. Technology is a powerful and ubiquitous force for change and progress. Just look at the release of iPhones in September in 2014 – 10 million were sold over one weekend (Apple Report 2014). Collectively, all of these iPhones that were sold over one weekend had more computing power than that of the entire world twenty years ago. When the radio was first introduced, it took almost four decades for it to attract 50 million listeners. When Facebook came along, it had 6 million users in its first year and this number multiplied 100 times over the subsequent five years. We are seeing more rapid advances in technology and more rapid proliferation of technology. With better connectivity and technological advances, entrepreneurs are reconfiguring the way resources are allocated and reordering the livelihoods of people everywhere. In cities, the digital age has intensified the working of market forces. New algorithms and geo-location services are getting better at optimising and matching supply and demand. We have Uber for car-rides, Airbnb for temporary stays and Mechanical Turk for ad hoc tasks like data entry. This has resulted in more efficient and dynamic markets.

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Social development for good All these developments can bring about tremendous good. Some people will find new jobs and enjoy higher incomes. Many will delight in better and more responsive services. Previously un-utilised or under-utilised capital will be better exploited to serve real needs. Hence, technology will augment globalisation and will inject more dynamism and opportunities in every city. However, dynamism and volatility are often two sides of the same coin. The integration of capital markets also carries the danger of financial contagion. We remember what happened in 2008, when the challenges of global imbalances, easy credit, lack of regulatory oversight and bad mortgage loans came together in a perfect storm. Globally, we lived through the biggest bank bailout in history and the deepest recession since the Great Depression. With the fate of economies being knitted more closely together, economic and financial shocks also reverberate further. These pressures are already being felt most acutely in the workplaces. In the past, the competition would come from low-wage, low-skilled workers. Now, we see competition from low-wage, but high-skilled workers. Reading X-rays and filing tax returns can be done by lower-paid radiologists or accountants – they do the work in India and send the results back the next day via fibre optic cable. When Applied Materials, the USbased solar panel company, decided to build the world’s largest commercial solar R&D centre, it chose Xi-an in China as the location. Applied Materials had openings for 260 scientists and technologists. It received 26,000 applications from people in China – 100 times the number of jobs available. Furthermore, 30 per cent of the people who applied had Masters and PhDs (Colvin 2010).

Technology: threats and opportunities Technology also threatens traditional employment models, which have typically been the source of stable jobs for many people. Companies like Uber and Airbnb are bringing down the costs of transactions. Consequently, more workers will get intermittent, contract-based work instead of stable, long-term jobs in companies. When we look ahead, many more workers will be affected by technology, with the proliferation of self-driving vehicles or 3D printing. These changes can be highly disruptive. Foxconn, the largest private employer in China, is already testing robots in its assembly lines. They call it ‘Foxbots’. When scaled up, these Foxbots may well replace a good proportion of human labour (SCMP 2015). Hence, in this highly connected, technology-driven world, we are likely to see a wider polarisation of jobs and employment opportunities. Those who do well are the ones who think critically, who have the entrepreneurial drive and talent to seize and convert opportunities. All others are vulnerable to outsourcing or automation, and this is contributing to rising income gaps around the world. It is also possibly the reason for widespread social malaise and discontent, manifested in protests across many countries.

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In 2014, in the San Francisco Bay Area, there was a protest against Google buses. Why would anyone want to protest against Google buses? Apparently, they were deemed to be symbols of opulence with their fully kitted out video games and HD televisions for Google employees and became a lightning rod for the non-tech workers who were getting affected by the technology companies. There was rising income inequality – people felt that they were not getting their fair share and were certainly affected by rising rentals. When growth becomes tainted by the excesses of capitalism, when opportunities become sharply polarised, our social glue weakens.

Global trends and social development What do these global trends mean for social development? How can governments and other players respond so that we can continue to provide opportunities, social mobility and a quality of life that improves with every generation? There are no easy answers but let me offer some suggestions on how we can rethink our social policies. First, our assumptions about education have to change. In schools, it cannot solely be about teaching content and knowledge. The content our children learn today will be obsolete in ten years’ time when they are in the workforce. Our students have to learn to react quickly, to think independently, to respond to change and to come up with innovative solutions. The mindset that students go first-to-school, then-to-work, has to go. Today, a lot of learning takes place in the first twenty years of our lives. Having worked hard to get a degree, some people feel that they have acquired all that there is to know and that they will be all set for success in life. Unfortunately, things are very different in reality. With rapid technological changes, skill sets learnt today may be irrelevant tomorrow. Second, all of us, regardless of age, have to be prepared to continuously learn and master new skills. Moving into the cycle of continuous learning may not come naturally to people. Companies may not be prepared to invest in skills training, out of fear that the workers they train may leave to find work elsewhere. Therefore, governments must do their part to catalyse this culture and the mindset of lifelong learning. This is why in Singapore, the Government is investing in a national programme called ‘SkillsFuture’, a nationwide push for skills development and lifelong learning. We are giving every Singaporean SkillsFuture credits which will enable them to support their learning needs. We want to make it possible for every individual to decide on his or her own learning journey: when to go for fresh infusions of skills or knowledge, be it specialised professional training, acquiring soft skills or developing a new interest. Our aim is to build a meritocracy of skills – a society where people keep learning and pushing their potential, and are valued for their contributions at each stage of their life. Third, the Government’s approach to social policies must evolve. In a more dynamic economy with increasing churn, fewer employees can rely on pension

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plans and medical insurance tied to their employers. Moreover, more workers are likely to become self-employed contractors instead of salaried employees. Hence, the state must step in to do more to help those who start off with less, to give the elderly a sense of security and to ensure that every citizen continues to have a fair share in the nation’s success. These are objectives that I believe governments everywhere would want to uphold. The challenge is always in the implementation – in designing effective schemes that can be funded and sustained, not just for one or two electoral terms, but also across generations. Otherwise, we are simply living on borrowed time. In a stress test done in 2014, it was estimated that 85 per cent of American public pensions would go bankrupt in the next thirty years (Krantz 2014). Most estimates are that the pension systems are not going to be sustainable in the long term and the problems are not just found in the USA. In fact, the ‘pay-asyou-go’ pension systems in many developed countries are creaking under demographic shifts. There are fewer younger workers paying for older citizens whose lifespans are increasing. That is the harsh reality. It is also well known that subsidies, once given, are hard to take back so a reform of the system will be very challenging. As former American President Mr Ronald Reagan once said, ‘a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life that you see on earth’ (Reagan 1964). This aptly sums up how it is impossible politically to take back the subsidies once they have been given out. That is why, despite the fiscal measures in many countries, none have been able to cut back on entitlements or welfare benefits even when they are clearly unsustainable beyond the next generation. Everywhere, government leaders worry about the future of their workforces and societies and are searching for new social models. There are no easy solutions and we certainly do not have the answers in Singapore. We too are watching and learning as we seek out new directions in our social policies.

Social safety nets We want to expand and strengthen our social safety nets and we are doing so in Singapore. Fundamentally, we believe that a sustainable and an effective social safety net must be complemented with the ethos of self-reliance. It may seem like a paradox but this tension between having a more effective safety net and a sense of self-reliance must always be there. It is not about leaving families to face uncertainties on your own. Rather, it is a strategy of government support for individuals to learn and strive to achieve their aspirations. It is about state activism that is supportive of individual efforts that would help people stand with pride and contribute to society. Therefore, even as we do more in Singapore to expand our social safety nets, the dignity of earning one’s keep is a tradition and a mindset that we want to uphold. This is why, instead of a universal system of welfare entitlements, we prefer to target our subsidies at those who need them the most.

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This is also why we have a system of workfare credits, essentially a negative income tax to supplement the incomes of our lowest-paid workers. Even as we introduce universal healthcare coverage in Singapore, we have tied it to a system of personal medical savings accounts, where individuals use their own medical savings, supplemented with top-ups from the Government, to pay for their insurance premiums. While governments can put in place policies to enhance education and strengthen social safety nets, government policies are only part of the solution. No society can function as a winner-takes-all contest. If everyone looks out only for his own interest and champions ideas that are only of benefit to himself or to his own interest group, we will have no common ground on which to build our society.

Social challenge and philanthropy The social challenges we face cannot be tackled only in transactional terms, or in terms of income redistribution. It must involve the community – to engage the human spirit, to provide personal fulfilment and to strengthen collective wellbeing. The culture of responsibility must be strengthened, so that we feel a duty to one another and not just a right to the benefits of citizenship. This is why I believe that philanthropy must be an integral part of strengthening our social model. Philanthropy has the potential to mitigate inequality and soften the hard edges of the free market. It provides a mechanism to dismantle the accumulated wealth tied to the past and reinvest it to strengthen the entrepreneurial potential of the future. Through this recycling of wealth, philanthropy creates social stability and opportunity for those who have to be helped to the starting line. It is an important part of the implicit social contract that continuously nurtures and revitalises our society. America has a long and great tradition of philanthropy. America’s great capitalists of the nineteenth century, like Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller, amassed enormous wealth but also gave generously. The fruits of their philanthropy can be seen all across the country, from hospitals and universities to a range of cultural institutions. Today, some of the wealthiest people in the world like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are continuing this tradition of philanthropy. In fact, they are taking it further by taking a more focused approach in their philanthropic giving to create a bigger impact. They go beyond writing cheques and providing financial support. They operate more as social entrepreneurs, looking to where society is most in need, and helping to create new and innovative solutions. In Singapore, the culture of giving and philanthropy is not as well entrenched yet, but we are seeing signs of improvement. Donations to charities have increased from $1.8 billion in 2009 to $2.5 billion in 2013 (a 39 per cent increase) (Commissioner of Charities 2014: 17). Our philanthropic tradition here started with our early immigrants who came here in search of a new world of opportunities, much like in America, except that we have a shorter history

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and are in a different part of the world. Those who went from rags to riches took it upon themselves to give back to society and help the immigrants who came after them. Where there were no temples or mosques, they donated and raised resources to build them. Where schools were needed, they established them to enable the next generation to benefit from the education that they had missed. This sense of mutual support remains strong in Singapore today. We have buildings and school faculties named after their major donors. We also have several family foundations, such as the Lee Foundation, the Lien Foundation and the Shaw Foundation, which remain actively involved in philanthropy. The Government can also do its part to nurture this culture of giving and philanthropy. For example, we have set up the Community Foundation of Singapore to offer advice for individuals wishing to support worthy causes and, where feasible, to pool funds from multiple donors so as to manage them more efficiently. We offer tax deductions equivalent to three times the amount donated. To mark our country’s fiftieth birthday, we launched a national fundraising and volunteerism movement call the ‘Care and Share’ movement, where the Government will contribute $500 million in matching grants to double the impact of every contribution to the social service sector. This means that when you donate, you get a tax deduction on the one hand and the recipient receives a matching grant from the Government to double the contribution. All that we are doing is to create a conducive environment to encourage giving – to help our Voluntary Welfare Organisations improve their capabilities and to ensure resources are directed to social service programmes that serve the disadvantaged groups in our society.

Social compact and the human spirit Finally, it is important to note that technology cannot substitute some domains of our social life. Strings of code can broker more efficient transactions but they cannot replace the human spirit. In the digital age, we have to become more conscious about what truly makes us human. This sense of what binds us together is especially important in a young and immigrant society like Singapore, where we have people from different races and religions all on one little island. Because of our diverse ancestries and cultures, we do not have the natural building blocks of a nation. But in fifty years, we have created a distinctive Singaporean culture and identity. It is not easy to describe this culture in words and guests from overseas who visit Singapore for the first time may struggle to understand what our culture is. But you find it in our shared memories and experiences. You see it in the way we unite together around our heritage, around our well-loved places, like the Singapore Botanic Gardens, our first ever UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also see it in the resilient spirit of our people, especially our pioneer generation who was here when Singapore was practically a swampland, but they defied the odds to build this country and a First World nation.

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The domains of arts, heritage, sports and community also help to fortify our sense of nationhood. In a world of ever-increasing automation and efficiency, I believe that these softer aspects of our humanity become even more important. These are the things that shape our national identity. And a national identity is what makes a society resilient amid turbulence and destructive change. A national identity is what enables the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts. Singapore hosted the Southeast Asian Games, the largest sporting event in the region, in June 2015. At the medal presentation ceremony for the swimming relay, our swimmers who won a gold medal proudly stood on the podium. The ceremony proceeded, the Singapore flag ascended and our national anthem, Majulah Singapura, was played. During the last stanza of the anthem, the sound system, which was very sophisticated and was even synchronised with the raising of the flag, broke down. There was a momentary pause before the crowd took over, singing the remainder of the national anthem. Technology failed, but the Singapore spirit prevailed. This brief episode captures for me the essence of what we are trying to achieve. As globalisation and digitisation usher in greater dynamism and bigger challenges, we will need to rethink social policies and strengthen the culture of giving. Technology will bring considerable improvements to our lives, but it can also be disruptive – and it may not always work the way we want it to. When the going gets tough, we must remember that humans are indomitable when we stand together. For us in Singapore, we remember the ‘can do’ spirit of our pioneers, who lifted our nation from Third World to First. This gives us confidence that we can tackle all our future challenges and build an even better Singapore in the next fifty years and beyond.

Conclusion The road of social transformation in Singapore is not without trouble, but this small city state has provided an alternate roadmap of social development that points towards peace, prosperity and progress for the people. Threats are turned into opportunities for growth and social change. For governments all around the world, technology and globalisation are immense forces to be reckoned with. Social policy has to adapt. Starting with education, governments have to imbue citizens with the nimbleness to adapt to these disruptive changes. This means creating conditions and even ambitions for lifelong learning. Also fundamental is the provision of social security that does not compromise an ethos of self-reliance, which enables social policies to become fiscally sustainable. Finally, the intangible matters: social capital, generosity, philanthropy, unity and identity are vital ingredients for a country to stand together as one. With this combination, countries stand a good chance of not just adapting, but also of thriving in our uncertain and exciting age.

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Note 1 Paper originally presented at the Daniel S. Sanders Memorial Lecture for the 19th International Consortium for Social Development (ICSD) International Symposium, on 9 July 2015, Singapore. The speech was delivered by Mr Lawrence Wong in his former capacity as the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Communications and Information.

References Apple Report. (2014). First Weekend iPhone Sales. Retrieved on 26 August 2016 from www.apple.com/sg/pr/library/2014/09/22First-Weekend-iPhone-Sales-Top-10Million-Set-New-Record.html. Colvin, Geoff. (2010, 29 July). Desperately Seeking Math and Science Majors. Fortune. Retrieved on 26 August 2016 from http://archive.fortune.com/2010/07/29/news/ international/china_engineering_grads.fortune/index.htm. Commissioner of Charities. (2014). Commissioner of Charities Annual Report, 2014, Singapore. Retrieved on 25 August 2016 from: www.charities.gov.sg/Documents/ Commissioner%20of%20Charities%20Annual%20Report%202014_Published.pdf. Dobbs, R., Manyika, J. and Woetzel, J. (2015). The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends in McKinsey Global Institute, April 2015. Retrieved on 25 August 2016 from www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/the_four_global_forces_breaking_all_the_trends. Halpern, D. (2014). Social Capital. Oxford: Polity. Krantz, M. (2014, 9 April). Report: 85% of Pensions Could Fail in 30 Years. USA Today. Retrieved on 25 August 2016 from http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2014/04/ 09/report-85-of-pensions-could-fail-in-30-years/. Reagan, Ronald. (1964). A Time for Choosing. US Presidential Election Campaign Speech on Behalf of Republican Candidate Barry Goldwater, 27 October. SCMP. (2015, 1 July). Foxconn’s Foxbot Army Close to Hitting the Chinese Market, on Track to Meet 30 Per Cent Automation Target. South China Morning Post. Retrieved on 25 August 2016 from: www.scmp.com/tech/innovation/article/1829834/foxconnsfoxbot-army-close-hitting-chinese-market-track-meet-30-cent.

5

Social development in Asia and the Pacific Major trends and issues Manohar Pawar

The economic growth centred in the Asia Pacific region seems to be caught up in the midst of great opportunities and critical challenges such as poverty, inequality, environmental unsustainability and similar issues. To address some of these opportunities and challenges, this chapter suggests drawing on a social development approach. Towards that end, it first clarifies the concept of social development and briefly discusses a social development approach that focuses on practice. It argues that the Asia Pacific region is experiencing seven important trends and challenges. Poverty and growing inequality, and environmental unsustainability are questioning the meaning and purpose of high economic growth rates. A large number of young people and the elderly in the midst of this growth phenomenon are wondering about the opportunities it creates and offers for them. While rural areas are neglected, urban areas are over filled causing pressure on the socio-economic infrastructure. Information and communication technology is also playing a critical role with both positive and negative consequences. Most importantly, governance institutions seem to need significant reforms to address opportunities and challenges the Asian century is presenting. The chapter is of the view that a social development approach with clear goals, values, strategies and processes at multiple levels and dimensions may help people to achieve their goals and realise their potential. To practise such an approach, it calls for a large-scale education and the training of community leaders and social development personnel. Before introducing the topic, brief details of the Asia Pacific region may be in order. The Asia Pacific region contains two continents, Asia and Australasia, which make up over one-third of the earth’s surface. Its land mass extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north, in the west from the Ural Mountains, the international boundary between the Russian federation and Kazakhstan, the western shore of the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and the northern shore of Black Sea, in the south the Indian Ocean and in the east the Pacific Ocean. Its total land area is 53,857,454 square kilometres or 20,794,478 square miles. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP 2007) has listed fiftysix countries in the region; of these three are developed (Australia, Japan and New Zealand) and the remaining are all developing. In addition, the United

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Nations Population Division includes fourteen countries in the Western Asia in the region. Based on development indicators, fourteen countries are grouped under least developed countries. Most of the developing countries in the region are commonly characterised by low income, low levels of living and productivity, poor health, lower levels of human capital, higher levels of inequality and absolute poverty, high rates of population growth, large rural population but rapid rural to urban migration, substantial dependence on agriculture and primary-product exports, imperfect markets, low levels of industrialisation and manufactured exports and vulnerability (see Todaro and Smith 2015). Likewise, the region’s least developed countries are generally characterised by a persistently high level of poverty, a large rural-based population, an economy heavily dependent on agriculture, poor infrastructure, vulnerability, a high level of undernourishment and a significant resource gap (FAO 2003; UNDP 2005). Asia Pacific countries are also diverse (with high levels of social fractionalisation) in terms of historical legacies, size, geography, resources, population, income, ethnicity and religion, industrial structure, external dependence and influences, and power, political and institutional arrangements (Pawar 2010; Todaro and Smith 2015).

Concept of social development One of the major challenges for social development is convincingly clarifying its concept to interested multidisciplinary professionals and people in general. Many people seem to stay away from social development because it is not clear to them as its breadth and depth is very extensive, perhaps to some ambiguous. As I have argued earlier, it is important to note that social development is a practical concept and approach (Pawar 2010 and 2014a) and everyone can contribute to social development with their own disciplinary backgrounds and interests. With this hope, let us look at some definitions and meaning of social development. Before considering some definitions, contrary to some people’s perceptions, it is important to make two points about social development. First, the philosophy, principles and ideas of social development are universally applicable to both developed and developing countries. Second, social development means the collective development of the whole entity, whatever that entity might be. In other words, it does not mean development of just one individual, one family, one neighbourhood, one community, one corporation, one nation, one nation state or one region. It also does not mean development of just one aspect of any entity, such as the economic or political, to the neglect of other aspects. In my earlier work, the analysis of the definitions of social development suggested that social development might be viewed from the perspective of integrating social and economic development, initiating structural changes and transformation in the societal systems, and realizing the human potential. As an example, a definition from each perspective may be considered.

Social development in Asia and the Pacific t


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4PDJBM
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promote the well-being of the population as a whole in conjunction with the dynamic process of economic development (Midgley 1995: 25). 4PDJBM
EFWFMPQNFOU
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B
DPNQSFIFOTJWF
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TUSVDtural changes – political, economic and cultural, which are introduced as part of deliberate action to transform society (Pathak 1987: 57–58). 4PDJBM
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in order to eliminate social inequities and problems (Meinert and Kohn 1987: 4–18).

In addition to these definitions, from a critical perspective, Mohan (2010) deliberates on new social development. To him, New social development is a post-material process of human-societal transformation that seeks to build identities of people, communities and nations. Universalisation of equality and justice, on the one hand, and annihilation of violence, war and disease, on the other hand, will go a long way to ensure NSD’s substance, contours and contents. (Mohan 2010: 205 and 221) The practicability of these definitions and concepts may be seen in the seventeen sustainable development goals (United Nations 2015b), which include eradication of poverty and hunger, health, education, gender, ecology, economic growth, and peace and social justice. First, they cover both developed and developing countries; second, they try to integrate and bring balance among social, economic and ecological aspects; third, they aim at structural issues by focusing on gender equality and reducing broader inequality; and finally, they recognise the importance of peace building and international cooperation as means to achieving set goals and targets. To demonstrate further practicality of social development an approach to social development is presented below.

An approach to social development As discussed in my earlier publications (Pawar 2010 and 2014a), an approach to social development includes the application of seven composite concepts and variables. These are existing conditions, goals, values, processes, strategies, levels and dimensions, as presented in Figure 5.1, which also shows the linkages among them. Practising the social development approach first calls for a systematic understanding of current conditions and having clear values, process and goals, on the one hand, and second, aiming to change the current conditions at all levels and dimensions with well-developed plans and strategies, and implementing the same at all levels and dimensions, on the other hand. Understanding the current conditions of individuals and families, however, viewing groups, communities and societies within their environment (including the ecological environment)

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Current conditions

Social change at all levels and dimensions

Values and processes

Plans and strategies

Goals

Achievement at all levels and dimensions

Figure 5.1 An approach to social development. Source: Pawar (2014).

and the causes of such conditions is a crucial first step. It helps to develop the awareness of the present state and the reasons for such a state. It can also draw on several causation theories. To cause change in those conditions for the better (which is about progressive nature of social development) requires a focus on multiple levels and dimensions, which will be presented below. In the whole social development approach, the core is following certain values, processes and goals. As discussed in the concept of social development above, the main goal is to promote people’s well-being or quality of life and enable people to experience freedom and realise their potential. Five fundamental values to be followed are: respect for people and their dignity and worth, physical to spiritual human existence, diversity, people’s link with their ecological environment and human rights and obligations, particularly right to equal opportunity and social justice. Along with these values, the process must be participatory and empowering. It is important to note that the participation process should be genuine as there are different types of participation (Pawar 2017). In the approach, the main plans and strategies suggested are capacity building, institution building, selfreliance, creating an enabling environment, participation in social institutions, adequate resources and services, a pro-active role for the state in supporting participatory planning, engaging in policy development and implementation, coordination and strengthening civil society. The suggested social development approach needs to be implemented at seven levels and multiple dimensions in a coherent and coordinated manner. These levels are international, national, regions (within the nation), states/provinces, districts, the lowest administrative unit of governments and local level/grass-roots level communities and villages. Multiple dimensions include cultural, political, economic, ecological, education, health, housing, equity groups, citizens and their institutions (for details, see Pawar 2010 and 2014a; Cox, Pawar and Picton 1997). An eminent social development scholar, Professor James Midgley’s (2014) revised conceptualisation of social development supports this social development approach as it recognises the context of a dynamic multifaceted development process, which I refer to as multiple dimensions. I am of the view that the suggested social development approach can be effectively practised to bring change at all levels, particularly at local levels as they have been neglected and experiencing several challenges. The following section will discuss seven challenges in terms of major trends and issues in the Asia Pacific region, perhaps globally as well.

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Major trends and issues As pointed out in the introduction, the Asia Pacific region is vast and diverse and in particular countries and regions, other trends and issues may be more relevant than the broad seven trends and issues discussed here. These are: poverty and inequality, demographic dividend and or disaster, balancing economic development and sustainable development, increasing demand on limited resources, local/rural neglect and growing urbanisation, the use and impact of technology, and the digital divide and the governance factor. For the most part of the region or for the majority of Asia Pacific countries, these trends and issues stand out. Poverty and inequality In 2014, the Asia Pacific region accounted for 40 per cent of the world output and it has achieved nearly two-thirds of global growth in 2015 (International Monetary Fund 2016). Being the world’s economic engine, the average economic growth rate of the region is over 5 per cent, though some countries such as China and India have a growth rate of over 6 per cent and some countries have around 2–3 per cent (for example, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore). It is important to note that many developing countries such as Bangladesh (6+), Sri Lanka (6+), Cambodia (7+), Indonesia (5+), Laos (7+), Myanmar (8+), Philippines (6+) and Vietnam (5+) are achieving high growth rates. Has this economic growth translated into reducing poverty and inequality in the region? Although globally the proportion of people living on $1.25 a day fell from 36 per cent in 1990 to 12 per cent (estimate) in 2015, about 836 million people live on less than $1.25 per day. According to the target of a Millennium Development Goal, poverty was halved in many countries, but the regional analysis showed that two regions did not achieve the goal. In sub-Saharan Africa, over 40 per cent live on less than $1.25 per day and in Western Asia the extreme poverty rate increased. Aggregate figures show that 80 per cent of the global total of extremely poor people live in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with 60 per cent of extreme poor living in just five countries: India (33 per cent), China (13 per cent), Nigeria (9 per cent), Bangladesh (5 per cent) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5 per cent) (United Nations 2015a: 16). Many countries, both developed and developing, face the issue of poverty and as per the sustainable development goals and targets, we must try to eliminate poverty in all its forms everywhere. Despite economic growth and some poverty reduction, many countries in the Asia Pacific region have been experiencing significant income inequality and inequality of opportunity. The IMF (2016: 104) analysis shows that the net GINI in Asia (on a population-weighted basis) rose from thirty-seven in 1990 to forty-eight in 2014, reflecting the sharp rise in inequality in the most populous countries (for example, China and India). People with less income are

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unable to have or have limited access to health care, education and financial services. This growing trend is causing considerable inequality of opportunity leading to further overall inequality. Balakrishnan et al. (2013) have pointed out that inequalities in the region have had a dampening effect on the impact of growth on poverty reduction and that has led to less inclusive and less pro-poor growth. Both types of rising inequalities (income and opportunity) need to be addressed by employing appropriate and effective policy measures. Demographic dividend and or disaster The Asia Pacific region is experiencing two critical demographic trends relating to the youth and ageing population. About 60 per cent of the world’s youth (aged 15–24 years), 717 million young people, live in the Asia Pacific region, most of them in developing countries. In South Asia, youth represents about 20 per cent of its population, which is over one-fourth of the world’s youth. India has the world’s highest number of young people, 356 million (aged 10–24 years). In South-East Asia and the Pacific, it is about 18 per cent of the population and in East Asia about 17 per cent (UNFPA 2014). If all this youth population is well developed in terms of health care, education, well transitioned into employment and contributes to gross domestic product, it would be considered a demographic dividend benefiting their country’s economic growth. Many governments are conscious of this trend and its benefit, and have tried to devise youth participation policies. However, all youth in the region are not able to have access to education, health care and employment, and this vicious trend has the potential to cause major problems in the region (World Bank 2015). It is important to reverse this trend by investing in youth education, health care and employment. Similarly, over half of the world’s population of older persons (sixty years or older) live in the region. The population of the elderly will increase in the coming years due to some improvements in the economy, health care and technology as these may enhance the longevity. Projections suggest that the number of older persons in the region is expected to more than quadruple from 533 million in 2015 to more than 2.45 billion by 2050. About one-quarter of the populations will be aged. Due to this demographic trend, some have referred to it as ‘Asia in the ageing century’ (Centre for Excellence in Population Ageing Research 2013). For many individuals, families, communities and nations, one of the greatest challenges will be how to look after their ageing population in terms of human rights, human dignity and worth, income/economic security, health care security, and social and emotional care security. The constructive and creative engagement of youth and elderly in meaningful activities is very much needed to realise that dividend. Otherwise, these discernible demographic trends may turn into disasters (Sharma 2015). High growth rates without adequate education, health care and employment will lead to more inequality, both in terms of income and opportunity and thereby relative deprivation and poverty.

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Balancing economic development and sustainable development For too long, many governments and major institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank and similar organisations have cultivated an approach of differentiating economic development from social and sustainable development (Pawar 2010) and have predominantly focused on economic development and growth by treating social development as secondary or residual and by causing enormous damage to ecology and sustainability of environment. Consequently, the issues of distorted development (Midgley 1995) and climate change, and its impact on people’s quality of life have been pointed out and debated with little notice for several years. The questioning of economic growth measures such as gross domestic product and the significance of alternative measures such as gross national happiness, quality of life and human development and the vitality of the link between humanity and the nature (Cox and Pawar 2013) seem to have made some impact on the direction of development. Now, there seems to be a consensus, at least in some quarters, that for our own survival it is essential to integrate in a balanced way both economic development and sustainable development. Such integration is the prime focus of the SDGs, which have been endorsed by 193 nation states, including Asia Pacific countries. Declaring and endorsing goals and targets is one thing and devising and implementing effective policies and programmes is another. Many Asia Pacific countries still appear to pursue the path of economic development by neglecting social and human dimensions and environmental sustainability. This major trend in the region needs to be significantly reversed to give way for creating significantly less pollutant economies and communities, adopting green technology and economy, gender equality, better quality of life and happiness and environmental sustainability. Thus, it makes sense to visualise beyond economic growth (Soubbotina 2004) by developing a new mindset (Higgins 2013). It calls for governments’ and politicians’ will power and an unfaltering commitment to break the past tradition of bare focus on economic development and introduce bold changes to embrace the integration of social and sustainable development with economic development.

Increasing demand on limited resources Closely linked to balancing economic development and sustainable development is balancing demand and supply for natural resources. Due to growing population in the region and growing environmentally insensitive economic activities, significant imbalance has been caused between demand and supply for resources. Contrary to earlier assumptions, at least by some, the belief that certain resources are abundant and free is not true. Increasing demand and consumption is causing pressure and draining resources such as water, oil, natural gas, phosphorous, coal and rare earth elements such as scandium and terbium (Ruz 2011).

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The region is home for nearly two-thirds (61 per cent, 4.4 billion) of the world’s population and it is projected to increase to 5.2 billion by 2050. China, India and Indonesia account for 40 per cent of the world’s population. The needs of this increasing population on the one hand, and the impact of the climate change on the other will put significant pressure on resources. For example, water stress and crisis is experienced by many countries in the region (see Pawar 2014b). Increasing temperatures in the atmosphere can gravely affect the food production systems causing food shortages. While there is a mismatch between demand and supply for resources and they are not distributed catering to the needs of people, there is also significant stagnation and wastage of resources by some. It has been estimated that about one-third of all food produced – the equivalent of 1.3 billion tonnes worth around $1trillion – ends up rotting in the bins of consumers and retailers, or spoiling due to poor transportation and harvesting practices (United Nations 2016). It is a crucial juncture for everyone in the region and globally to think, question and reflect about the way we produce and consume, and to act to correct it. Given the increasing demand on limited resources, is our current consumption pattern sustainable? ‘Should the global population reach 9.6 billion by 2050, the equivalent of almost three planets could be required to provide the natural resources needed to sustain current lifestyles’ (United Nations 2016). To address this critical challenge, SDG 12 focuses on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns. To achieve this goal, clear targets have been set, inter alia, to sustainably and efficiently manage and use resources and reduce waste and consumption. A lot more needs to be done to carefully produce and provide access to resources where they are needed most.

Local/rural neglect and growing urbanisation Further, two distinct trends and issues of an overall neglect of local/rural areas and unbridled urbanisation in the region may be noticed. So far, the great majority of people in the Asia Pacific region have lived in rural areas and villages. As discussed earlier, although a lot of economic development and growth has occurred in the region, its rural areas and villages are mostly neglected (Pawar and Cox 2010). They do not have adequate infrastructure, housing, health care, education, employment and fair marketing services. Most of the people in rural and remote areas, and particularly indigenous people, remain disadvantaged. Social development of rural and remote areas, and villages is a real need and a challenge that cannot be ignored anymore. One escape from or remedy for such neglect seems to be moving to urban areas. Advertently and inadvertently, that is what appears to be happening with such speed and magnitude that the region is named as an urban century. According to the UNHABITAT/UNESCAP (2015) report, by 2018, more than half of people in the Asia Pacific region are expected to live in cities. By 2050, about 3.2 billion people are expected to live in urban areas. China and India alone will account for about 700 million people. By 2030, five more mega

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cities will be added to existing seventeen mega-cities in the region. While many factors push and pull people to urban areas in search of employment and better standards of living, such mega urban growth will lead to more slum areas, human settlement in sub-human conditions, causing greater stress and demand on the urban infrastructure. The region has about 60 per cent of the world’s slum population and 758 million people live below poverty line ($1.25 per day). Providing basic services (housing, health care, education, water, employment and fair wages) to people in urban areas, particularly those living in slums is going to be a critical challenge faced by people and their institutions (Pawar 2010). Unless proactive measures are introduced immediately, these growing urban centres will become symbols of inequality, poverty and deprivation. Thus, SDG 11 commits to inclusive and sustainable urbanisation, which needs to be achieved by developing appropriate policies and programmes.

The use and impact of technology and the digital divide Modern history shows how technological innovations and their adoptions have impacted people and their civilisations. However, at no time in history have we seen the impact with such speed and pervasiveness as it is happening today. Technological advancements and innovations, particularly in the field of information and communication technologies, have been making a significant impact on human behaviour and organisational and societal systems (Pawar and Midgley 2017) in the region and as well as globally. This trend will continue with its both positive and negative consequences. Generally, they have improved efficiency and effectiveness, speed of communication and information/knowledge dissemination, made some systems transparent, enhanced access to rural and remote areas and facilitated the movement of capital and labour. They also have changed manufacturing process and employment shifts. Most importantly, they have changed the pattern of human interactions and provided alternative avenues to form relations, groups, associations and virtual communities. In some respects, they have reduced interactions in person and caused physical alienation. It will continue to further impact people and their behaviour. Despite its pervasiveness and fast adoption, according to International Telecommunication Union and UNESCO (ITU/UNESCO 2015), about 57 per cent or 4.2 billion people still do not have regular access to the Internet. In least developed countries, only 10 per cent of people have access to the Internet and gender digital divide is more severe than the usual digital divide. Those large numbers of people who are still struggling to meet basic needs, such as food, shelter, clothing, water and health care, would be further marginalised as the digital divide adds another layer to it. They are not able to readily access available information and knowledge, nor have they developed the necessary capacities and skills to do so. For these people in the region, a digital divide between the information poor and the information rich is real. More people are expected to embrace information and communication technology in the region and it is important to do so by focusing on the positive impacts and reducing the

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negative impacts. Carefully utilising these technologies and innovations, and minimising the digital divide will contribute to social and sustainable development and the well-being of the population in the region (see ITU/UNESCO 2015: Chapter 4).

The governance factor The focus on good governance at all levels in the Asia Pacific countries has gained increasing recognition both nationally and internationally. Good governance plays a positive role in people’s lives and it enhances mutual trust between people and their institutions. Notwithstanding its critical role, a great majority of countries in the Asia Pacific region face the issue of developing, maintaining and operating good governance structures in terms of building political, legal/ judicial, economic and civil society institutions within a democratic framework, from local to national levels. There is a great diversity and range about these institutions in the region. Some may have good policies and programmes, but weak institutions to implement them, some others may have the reverse, good institutions lacking good policies and programmes, and some others may have neither (Downer 1999). There are often allegations of mismanagement, corruption, nepotism, intolerance of ethnic issues and a non-democratic way of managing them, conflict and violence experienced by many countries at one time or another. A lack of good governance is a great hindrance to any development activity and bad governance can undo whatever little progress that has been made. Although poor governance is a broad trend in most of the region, many countries are aware of it and there are efforts to reform and improve governance institutions. For example, some donor countries provide international aid on a condition that recipient countries demonstrate policies and programmes to improve the governance systems. The kind of governance each country has reflects its own people and leaders. So developing good leaders who believe in democratic values and principles, who are honest and committed and willing to selflessly serve their people is needed for facilitating good governance. Changing governance systems for better is a long-term process and concerted efforts must be made so as to achieve social and sustainable development. Good governance in the region, in each country, in each community needs to create conditions conducive to the participation of people. If leaders, institutions and community groups are transparent, non-corrupt, trustworthy and reliable, people will inevitably relate to them and participate in their own and in national development (Pawar 2010).

Addressing the trends and issues through the social development approach These trends which have been discussed and similar trends and issues in the Asia Pacific region may be addressed by employing the social development approach

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presented in the first part of this chapter. As the region is diverse and each country’s (and each community within the country’s) socio-economic and political and environmental contexts are different, it is important to systematically understand their conditions and the cause of such conditions. The seven trends and issues can be analysed at each village or community level. If it is not practical to try at the national level, a few communities/villages may be identified to demonstrate the application of the approach. By following the suggested values (respect, human dignity and worth, human rights), processes (participatory and empowering) and strategies (capacity building, institutions building, selfreliance, creating an enabling environment, participation in social institutions, adequate resources and services, a pro-active role for the state in supporting participatory planning, engaging in policy development and implementation, coordination and strengthening civil society), a well-trained personnel from several sectors, in a coordinated manner, needs to work to address all the dimensions relevant to these issues and trends. It is important to mobilise and organise community-based or people’s organisations through whom work on several dimensions needs to be carried out. Governments need to play an enabling role at various levels. To further reduce poverty and inequality, it is important to address all dimensions, not just one or two, as poverty is multidimensional. Similarly, all dimensions are relevant for engaging youth and elderly. Unlike other approaches, the social development approach conceptualised here does not juxtapose social versus economic development. Economic development is one aspect of social development and it needs to be well integrated with social and sustainable development. It is a challenge to progress from such theoretical position to practical realities. But the idea of balanced integration between the economic and the environmental needs to be immediately accepted, particularly by politicians, governments and policy decision makers, and the beginning needs to be made. SDGs are clearly focusing on such integration. The increasing Other dimensions

Cultural Political/ awareness-raising

Citizens and their institutions

Equity groups Social protection

A social development practice approach

Housing

Economic and employment

Ecological

Health

Education

Figure 5.2 Dimensions of social development practice.

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demand on resources and consumption patterns can be changed by working on these multiple dimensions as they are all connected. These dimensions are clearly relevant in rural areas and growing urban areas. Technological innovations can be used to develop and deliver services across several dimensions. To practise such an approach, governance institutions at all levels need to change their mindset and create an enabling environment to work on several such needed dimensions with proper planning and adequate resources. Towards practising such an approach, the appropriate orientation and training of personnel should be undertaken.

Social development education and training To practise the social development approach, well-trained social development personnel is a prerequisite and such personnel is not readily available at this stage, particularly in local areas (Cox and Pawar 2010). No one discipline can own social development as it is multidisciplinary in nature and personnel from varied disciplinary backgrounds are needed to achieve social development goals. Thus, social development education and training needs to be offered at two points. First, several government and non-government organisations have their own in-service training institutions where their staff members are periodically trained by offering both short-term and long-term training courses. Dovetailing the type of training course, well-developed social development training modules (Cox and Pawar 2010) may be offered to staff members at all levels so as to develop in them a perspective of social development with a hope that they will practise it in their work in coordination with others. Second, social development education and training may be offered in tertiary educational institutions, particularly at undergraduate and postgraduate levels (Cox and Pawar 2010). At this stage, there are only a handful of education institutions that offer training in social development. There are already several programmes/courses in social work, social welfare, human services and related professions and in such programmes, one subject on social development may be included to train students. Several countries in the Asia Pacific region do not have well-developed social work/social welfare/human services educational programmes and in some countries, they are still developing (see Pawar and Tsui 2012). Many such programmes lend themselves to being restructured as social development programmes. For example, many existing programmes may be revised and renamed as a bachelor of social work and social development and a master of social work and social development with necessary modifications in the curriculum. There is a clear need to develop large-scale education and training programmes in social development so that well-trained social development personnel are prepared to work in the field with a social development perspective (see Cox and Pawar 2010).

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Conclusion For many people, social development is still an unclear concept. It is a challenge for social development thinkers and practitioners to clarify the meaning of social development and convincingly show how it can be applied for the transformation of society. Towards addressing this important challenge, this chapter has discussed the meaning of social development and an approach to social development practice for community leaders. Although the twenty-first century has been declared an Asian century, the whole region is presented with critical challenges and significant opportunities. Poverty and inequality, an unprecedented growing number of young and elderly people, high economic growth rates and the issue of environmental sustainability, a growing middle class with a heavy appetite for material consumption and the need to change such consumption patterns in the interest of sustainability, the neglect of rural areas and unbridled urbanisation, the advancement and utilisation of communication technologies and the desperate need to improve governance institutions, are all occurring at the same time. To address such challenges and opportunities in the region, this chapter suggests the usefulness of the social development approach and the need to train social development leaders and personnel for the large-scale practice of social development. The ideas inherent in social development convince us that it is possible to realise human potential to achieve a good and happy life. It is up to us whether or not we want to try it.

References Balakrishnan, R., Steinberg, C. and Syed, M. (2013). The Elusive Quest for Inclusive Growth: Growth, Poverty, and Inequality in Asia. IMF Working Paper 13/152, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC. Centre for Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR). (2013). Asia in the Ageing Century: Part I – Population Trends. Sydney: CEPAR, UNSW. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www.cepar.edu.au/media/113761/asia_in_the_ageing_century_-_ part_i_-_demography.pdf. Cox, D. and Pawar, M. (2010). Personnel for Local Level Development, in M. Pawar and D. Cox (eds), Social Development: Critical Themes and Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Cox, D. and Pawar, M. (2013). International Social Work: Issues, Strategies and Programs (2nd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Cox, D.R., Pawar, M.S. and Picton, C. (1997). Introducing a Social Development Perspective into Social Work Curricula at All Levels: Report of a Regional Workshop. Bundoora, Australia. La Trobe University School of Social Work and Social Policy. Downer, A. (1999). Governance in the Asia Pacific: Challenges for the 21st Century. Speech by the Hon. Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, to the Asia Research Centre. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from http://foreignminister.gov.au/ speeches/1999/990818_arc.html. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). (2007). Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2007: Surging Ahead in Uncertain Times. New York: United Nations.

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (2003). Activities of FAO in Support of Least Developed Countries, Land-Locked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. Retrieved on 20 March 2009 from www.fao.org/ docrep/meeting/006/y9308e.htm. Higgins, K.L. (2013). Economic Growth and Sustainability – Are They Mutually Exclusive? Retrieved on 9 May 2016 from www.elsevier.com/connect/economic-growthand-sustainability-are-they-mutually-exclusive. International Monitory Fund (IMF ). (2016). Regional Economic Outlook, Asia and Pacific: Building on Asia’s Strengths During Turbulent Times. Washington, DC: IMF. Retrieved on 7 May 2016 from www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2016/apd/eng/ pdf/areo0516.pdf. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO. (2015). The State of Broadband. Paris: ITU/UNESCO. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www.broadbandcommission.org/Documents/reports/bb-annualreport2015.pdf. Meinert, R.G. and Kohn, E. (1987). Towards Operationalization of Social Development Concepts. Social Development Issues, 10(3): 4–18. Midgley, J. (1995). Social Development: The Developmental Perspective in Social Welfare. London: Sage. Midgley, J. (2014). Social Development: Theory and Practice. London: Sage. Mohan, B. (2010). Toward a New Social Development, in M. Pawar and D. Cox (eds), Social Development: Critical Themes and Perspectives. New York: Routledge, pp. 205–223. Pathak, S. (1987). Social Development, in Encyclopaedia of Social Work in India, Vol. 3, 53–63. New Delhi: Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of India. Pawar, M. (2010). Community Development in Asia and the Pacific. New York: Routledge. Pawar, M. (2014a). Social and Community Development Practice. New Delhi: Sage. Pawar, M. (2014b). Water and Social Policy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Pawar, M. (2017). The Need for Enhanced Community Participation, in J. Midgley and M. Pawar (eds), Future Directions in Social Development. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Pawar, M. and Cox, D. (eds). (2010). Social Development: Critical Themes and Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Pawar, M. and Cox, D. (2010). Local Level Social Development, in M. Pawar and D. Cox (eds), Social Development: Critical Themes and Perspectives. New York: Routledge. Pawar, M. and Midgley, J. (2017). Beyond Goals and Targets: Future of Social Development, in J. Midgley and M. Pawar (eds), Future Directions in Social Development. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Pawar, M. and Tsui, M. (2012). Social Work in Southern and Eastern Asia, in K. Lyons, T. Hokenstad, M. Pawar, N. Huegler and N. Hall (eds), Sage Handbook of International Social Work. London: Sage. Ruz, C. (2011, 31 October). The Six Natural Resources Most Drained by Our 7 Billion People. Guardian. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2011/oct/31/six-natural-resources-population. Sharma, A. (2015). Demographic or Disaster? Retrieved on 8 May 2016 from www. mydigitalfc.com/op-ed/demographic-dividend-or-disaster-802. Soubbotina, T.P. (2004). Beyond Economic Growth: An Introduction to Sustainable Development. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www. worldbank.org/depweb/english/beyond/beyondco/beg_all.pdf.

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Todaro, M.P. and Smith, S.C. (2015). Economic Development (12th edn). Harlow: Pearson. United Nations. (2015a). Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. New York: United Nations. United Nations. (2015b). Sustainable Development Goals, Adopted 25 September. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainabledevelopment-goals/. United Nations. (2016). Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-consumption-production/. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2005). Voices of the Least Developed Countries of Asia and the Pacific: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals through a Global Partnership. Retrieved on 20 March 2009 from http://undp. org.af/Publications/KeyDocuments/voices_least_developed_countries_asia.pdf. United Nations Fund for Population Activities/United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). (2014). The Power of 1.8 Billion: Adolescents, Youth and the Transformation of the Future. UNFPA State of World Population 2014. New York: UNFPA. United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNHABITAT) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP). (2015). The State of Asian and Pacific Cities 2015: Urban Transformations Shifting from Quantity to Quality. Bangkok: UNHABITAT/UNESCAP. Retrieved on 15 May 2016 from www. unescap.org/sites/default/files/The%20State%20of%20Asian%20and%20Pacific%20 Cities%202015.pdf. World Bank. (2015, 13 October). Addressing the Youth Employment Crisis Needs Urgent Global Action. Retrieved on 8 May 2016 from www.worldbank.org/en/ news/press-release/2015/10/13/addressing-the-youth-employment-crisis-needsurgent-global-action.

6

Social development and social research in Africa Leila Patel

Introduction Research with a social change agenda is a powerful tool not only for knowledge building but to inform social and public action at macro, mezzo and micro levels. Change may be driven by governments, private institutions, civil society, social movements and/or communities. In a rapidly changing global world marked by large-scale social changes, human insecurity, social divisions and social exclusion, what role could social development research play in achieving societal transformation? South Africa’s experience in the adoption and implementation of its social development policy and the role of research in this process provides some pointers for other developing countries in attempting to answer this question. It is hoped that these ideas could stimulate researchers to begin to build a repository of knowledge and practice applications on the distinctiveness of the social development approach to research. In this chapter, I reflect first on the South African case with reference to the role of research in the development of welfare policy post-apartheid and second, I provide a brief review of recent evaluation research on one of the country’s largest child and family social protection policies. These policies were instrumental in re-orienting social welfare policy from an inequitable system of social provision towards a democratic, rights-based and socially just welfare system. Finally, I reflect on the research model that is evolving at the Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. This example is illustrative of the contribution of social development research to social change in an African context. The chapter is structured as follows: Part I considers the approach while Part II discusses the role of social research in the development, implementation, evaluation and ongoing review of the country’s welfare policies. Part III draws conclusions about the common elements that emerged from the examples and identifies some of the distinguishing themes of social development research in the African context. Some pointers are provided for growing research that is orientated to social development and social change.

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The social development perspective of social research Briefly, social development is a rights-based approach that is pro-poor and actively engages citizens in promoting development (Patel 2015). More specifically, it involves a ‘process of planned social change designed to improve the welfare of the population as a whole in conjunction with economic development’ (Hall and Midgley 2004: xiv). Social development as an approach to social welfare is now widely recognised and challenges the dominant residual and institutional approaches to social welfare (IASSW 2014). Social development research is informed by critical theory (feminist, structural, post-modern and anti-discriminatory perspectives to social welfare) which provides the formative epistemological framework for this approach. Its chief concerns are with understanding and finding solutions to inequalities and social divisions of various kinds – gender, race, class, religion, age, ability, sexual orientation, national origin, place and their intersections (Robbins et al. 2012). The emphasis is not only on material inequality but also understanding other dimensions of inequality of power and of a relational, social and structural nature. Critical theorists challenge the positivistic view that social research should closely follow the natural sciences with its sole focus on experimental research and the notion that all research is objective and value free. Positivism is associated with modernism and the enlightenment movement, which saw the rise of capitalism and industrialisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Since much of social development research is about applying knowledge to solve social problems and respond to public issues, it is described as applied research and is social change oriented. The knowledge generated leans towards understanding the human condition in all its ramifications. By uncovering the structural barriers that limit the development of human capacities and the achievement of social and gender justice, evidence-based knowledge contributes to informing collective action. In turn, practice and the real life experiences of people may also shape theory (Boyer 1990). Knowledge is therefore not considered to be developed in a linear fashion; neither is it of lesser quality and significance than research conducted from a positivist epistemology. As Thomas Kuhn (1962) points out, positivism is a paradigm that is informed by a theory based on a particular worldview with its preferred methods of knowing one’s world. He contends that the limitations of positivism should be challenged in order to create spaces for research that is relevant to action and social change. This challenge has been taken up particularly by feminist scholars who work within a feminist epistemology and apply a diversity of methods that build knowledge as well as effect personal and political change (Hesse-Biber and Leckenby 2004). Other features of research conducted with a social development lens (see Midgley 2014; Patel 2015) include the following: first, the social development approach draws on an expansive knowledge base informed by diverse theories in the humanities and the social sciences. Second, since social development attempts to understand and find solutions to complex social phenomena such as

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poverty, unemployment, vulnerability and inequality among others, it involves collaboration and working in research teams with participants from diverse disciplines in politics, anthropology, social work, economics, nutrition, sociology, health and education, to mention a few. Making the connections between different disciplines and contextualising the knowledge within a wider societal context as well as informing a diversity of stakeholders outside the academy, for example, community, governmental, non-governmental and faith-based organisations, characterise this approach to research. It resonates with Ernest Boyer’s notion of a scholarship of integration and application (Boyer 1990). Its social change orientation is premised on social development’s concern with the empowerment of individuals, groups and communities in order to promote social and economic justice as well as political and structural change. Change and action-oriented research of this nature is biased in favour of those who are socially excluded and infuses notions of empowerment, social justice and human rights into its praxis. Third, a diversity of methods of research are favoured that is guided by the research question(s) and the quest for the best ways of producing knowledge to inform action. Typically, qualitative and quantitative methods are favoured singularly or in combination in the form of mixed methods designs. The selection of the methods depends on the objectives of the research that in turn influences the types of questions that are formulated and the most suitable methods that are selected. Social development research aims to achieve different purposes such as testing key concepts and assumptions; social planning, programme design and evaluations; advocacy and lobbying; raising the voices and making visible the lived experiences of marginalised populations and those who are excluded from the mainstream of society (Plagerson and Graham forthcoming). In keeping with social development’s strong participatory ethos, the divide between researchers as the experts and the subjects as passive participants in knowledge production is bridged, and the emphasis is shifted to the co-creation of knowledge between participants and researchers. The power differentials between these two sets of actors are explicitly acknowledged including their positionality, that is, the status and social position of the researcher and how these factors influence meaning making and the interpretation of knowledge. Community-based research and participatory research are some examples of the form and content that social development research may take, drawing on a South African case study documented by Plagerson and Graham (forthcoming). Fourth, social development research is strongly collaborative and engages a variety of partners in the process to increase the usefulness of the research to its users which may be individuals, groups, communities and public and private institutions. Stakeholder engagement and feedback of information to inform policy dialogue, debate and programme reviews is a critical component of research dissemination. Fifth, accepted ethical research protocols and practices are observed such as client consent and confidentiality to mention a few (Babbie and Mounton 2011). Similar to feminist research practice, ‘developmentalists’ employ

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reflexivity in all phases of the research process and in highlighting the dilemmas these present with regard to ethical issues, or in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data (Hochfeld and Graham 2012). For instance, ethical dilemmas may be experienced when recruiting research participants on the basis that the findings might contribute to service improvements in their communities but there is no guarantee that this could occur. This is, however, beyond the locus of control of the researcher. Even though participants are informed of these limitations at the start of the fieldwork, engagement in the research may nevertheless raise their expectations of service improvements. This genre of research in South Africa has its roots in the anti-apartheid struggle where it was informed by the need to develop a critical consciousness of the root causes of oppression and inequality with the view to changing the realities of people’s lives. Finally, social development researchers are motivated by the search for innovative and contextually appropriate solutions to complex social phenomena. Innovative research is being pioneered in other parts of the globe such as at the Centre for Social Development, Washington University, St Louis (Sherraden 1991). This work continues to be relevant today as many countries over the past twenty years have adopted policies to promote savings and thereby build the assets of poor people. Sherraden’s innovation in social intervention has inspired research not only in the United States, but also in Canada, China, Korea and the United Kingdom.

The case of South Africa The role of research in evidence-based policy-making is widely acknowledged locally and internationally. It has however received scant attention in social development. The South African case is an example of the role research has played in promoting the country’s social development policy and its drivers. Two overarching themes may be extrapolated from the examples presented below: the first speaks directly to the research-policy nexus, while the second is an example of a collaborative model of social development research. Role of research in welfare policy formulation post-1994 South Africa has undergone significant transformation since the demise of apartheid in 1994 and the adoption of a new welfare policy by the Mandela government (Department of Welfare 1997). Many stakeholders – communities, governmental and non-governmental organisations, faith-based organisations, trade unions, social development practitioners and private sector organisations – participated in refashioning the country’s welfare system from an inequitable, race-based system to a more just and democratic one, based on a Bill of Rights that guarantees social and economic rights such as the right to equality, education, health care, social protection and a clean environment. The South African case is particularly relevant as it is arguably one of the few countries that have formally adopted a developmental welfare policy informed by social

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development theory and practice (Patel 2015). The key driver of the research was to inform policy formulation at a given political moment in the country’s history. During the transition period from apartheid to democracy, academics and practitioners in health, education and social welfare conducted research into what future social policies might look like after apartheid. In the welfare field, this research considered the social interventions of organisations affiliated to the internal anti-apartheid movement, the United Democratic Front (UDF ). The UDF was an umbrella organisation made up of over 600 national grass-roots community, regional and national civil society organisations with a social change and social justice agenda. UDF affiliates were engaged in social and political action but also worked for community change and developed and implemented innovative childcare services run by women’s organisations, cooperatives facilitated by trade unions, psychosocial support services by social service professions and support groups for children and families affected by state repression among others. It was hypothesised that these organisations devised services that were fundamentally different to mainstream welfare services in their philosophies, values, methods and practices (Patel 1992). Through qualitative research and inductive reasoning, a conceptual model of social development was formulated based on the principles of redress, social justice, partnerships, pluralism, participation and active citizenship. The findings and recommendations of this research provided a platform for a national dialogue on South Africa’s welfare system post-apartheid. The White Paper for Welfare of 1997 continues to be the national policy framework for social welfare in the country. Social welfare policies and legislation in post-apartheid South Africa still remain remarkably redistributive through social protection, public works programmes, free basic primary education, school nutrition, public housing and primary health care. Much has been achieved over the past two decades in reducing poverty through expanding social assistance. However, large sectors of the working age population (of which 40 per cent are unemployed), do not receive cash transfers. In contrast to social assistance, welfare services and community level interventions, social care and support services for vulnerable groups however, enjoy less support and recognition despite national policies to this effect. Significant challenges therefore remain. A key issue pertinent to this discussion is a lack of research capacity in the field, particularly in evidence-based policy-making, evaluation and the scarcity of active academic researchers and practitionerresearchers in these areas. Despite these challenges, evidence-based social policy formulation and stakeholder engagement in policy-making are important lessons that emerge from how research could shape national social development policies. Policy review is an ongoing process and social research with a transformational agenda has an important role to play in this process.

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Monitoring of social protection policies for children Social protection for children expanded significantly after 1994. One of the most researched social development policies is the country’s unconditional cash transfer programme – that is, social assistance for older persons, people with disabilities and children now reaching 40 per cent of the country’s poor. This programme is an example of a macro social policy that was rolled out in 1998 targeted at poor children. The benefit is paid to the caregiver of the child. The Child Support Grant (CSG) reached 11.5 million poor children or 60 per cent of all children in 2015. The design of the CSG was influenced by both qualitative research and statistical analyses to identify the target beneficiary group (Lund 2008). Research has focused mainly on the evaluation of the impact of the CSG in reducing income poverty and inequality (Bhorat and Cassim 2014; World Bank 2012; Van Der Berg and Moses 2012; Leibbrandt et al. 2010; Hall and Wright 2010). Other studies also point to the positive benefits of the grant in promoting school attendance (Neves et al. 2009), positive nutritional effects (Case, Hosegood and Lund 2005), gender trends in poverty reduction (Posel and Rogan 2012), the empowerment of women and caregiver engagement with children (Patel et al. 2013; Patel, Knijn and van Wel 2015). The grant is also associated with reducing risk behaviour in adolescents (DSD, SASSA and UNICEF Fund 2012). Besides quantitative studies and analyses of large national data sets, qualitative research is also increasingly being conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the specific social issues, dynamics and their intersections. For instance, Hochfeld used narrative inquiry to develop a deeper understanding of the life stories of women grant beneficiaries from a critical feminist perspective (Hochfeld 2015), while Graham (2012) used ethnography to gain insight into young people’s perspectives of high-risk behaviour such as substance abuse and engagement in unprotected sex in a poor, informal settlement on the outskirts of a major urban centre. The evaluation studies of the CSG since its inception have had significant policy impacts. The data from the various studies over the years, particularly the positive poverty reduction effects, informed the government’s decision to expand access to the CSG by increasing the qualifying age of eligible children. In 1998, only 3 million children under seven years of age were eligible for the grant. Access was later expanded to all children less than eighteen years of age, leading to the programme now reaching over 11.5 million. This expansion brought many poor children into the social protection net. However, local research studies have paid scant attention to other more salient and less visible interconnections between social protection and citizens in their communities, such as how grant receipt influences their electoral choices, issues of social justice, gender empowerment and child well-being, social solidarity and the special needs and challenges of vulnerable populations such as youth and women (Patel and Ulriksen forthcoming). Also the tracking of general poverty and inequality indicators are important in social development research, but it does

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not tell us much about how poor people exercise agency in difficult situations in specific community contexts to improve their lives. There is therefore scope for further research in this area. Furthermore, at an international level, research on social protection has stimulated international comparative research on cash transfers (UNDP and ILO 2011) and social security more broadly (Ulriksen 2012). While the South African government funded some of the research reported on above, much of the research is supported by local and international development agencies, academic institutions and funding from national statutory research bodies such as the National Research Foundation. Funding is also available via these research agencies for research capacity building for postgraduate students. Social development research however remains under-funded and under-recognised. University partnerships in social research South African universities have a rich tradition of supporting research centres and/or institutes in the natural and social sciences and particularly in the areas of poverty, social development and issues related to children. In this section, I discuss the model of social development research that has evolved over the past thirteen years at the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg. The CSDA’s mandate is to conduct applied and strategic research in developmental social welfare. The Centre’s research agenda: connects with the needs of local communities and the larger society in a changing regional and global context by contributing to improvements in service-delivery, policy debates as well as in the expansion of knowledge through conducting cutting edge disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research in social development. (CSDA 2016: 1) The research model is informed by the social development approach to social welfare referred to above. Its research focus areas are: poverty and vulnerability, gender and social protection, children and youth, social policy and social transformation and state, citizen and private (including civil society) partnerships in development. Poverty and vulnerability and gender are cross-cutting themes. The purpose is multidimensional in that some studies focus on testing key social development assumptions such as the interconnection between social and economic development. Additionally, the CSDA is also evaluating social interventions that are specifically designed to shape social and economic outcomes. A case in point is the Siyakha youth assets study that is testing the effects of a combination of financial capability and youth employment interventions on young people’s employment outcomes. Other studies focus on how to scale up the developmental impacts of the CSG through family- and community-based interventions. A mixed methods evaluation study on the impact of the country’s National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) that reaches over 9 million

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children each day in conjunction with a school breakfast programme was concluded in 2015. All three studies were conducted with a range of governmental, private and community partners and it was found that school nutrition programmes have positive nutritional effects, particularly in lowering stunting and obesity levels in children. Children who received the breakfast did better than those in the control groups and children receiving only the NSNP. The results were shared with all the participating partners including government and a private sector Corporate Social Investment partner (Hochfeld et al. 2016). Research funding is secured from the various partners who invite the Centre to conduct the research on their behalf. The Centre receives its core funding from the University of Johannesburg and raises 70 per cent of its funding through grant funding from national and international organisations. How to conduct research from this perspective is documented in all the published research reports (see CSDA 2016) as well as in different publications (Graham and Plagerson forthcoming). A key feature of the model is the development of the research capacity of postgraduate students who select research projects from among the CSDA’s research foci as well as for capacity building of practitioners and members of collaborating organisations. The Centre is invited to conduct programme evaluations for Corporate Social Investment programmes such as the impact of mining operations on the social, economic and environmental situation of communities surrounding the mines. NGOs, welfare agencies and local authorities have approached the Centre to conduct research in partnership with them on issues of concern such as homelessness and mental illness, absent fathers and family support interventions. A further key feature of the CSDA’s research programme is its regular quarterly seminars where research findings are shared with the broader community, thereby influencing social policy dialogue. Report back of the research is provided at community meetings that are specifically convened to share research findings with research participants, residents and other stakeholders where appropriate. A critical success factor for the Centre has been its location in an academic institution, its inter-disciplinary orientation and the institutional support that it enjoys at the University of Johannesburg. Some of the key challenges of conducting this line of research are related to limited funding for social research and the fact that it takes a long time to build a track record of performance and research capacity. Since students and practitioners are not specifically trained to conduct research along these lines, much training occurs on the job. The partnership model is complex to implement as it requires the balancing of different needs and interests with limited resources. The CSDA also enjoys collaboration with scholars from both the North and the South in its research foci where these scholars serve on advisory groups of the projects. In this way, the Centre research benefits from and contributes to new directions in social development internationally. Finally, while the Centre model is built on the South African experience and context, it connects strongly with international agendas in social research through cross-country collaboration in comparative research and new directions in social development in the

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Global South. The CSDA is participating in a five-country study – Russia, China, India, South Africa and Indonesia – to determine what the new directions are in social policy and what alternatives are emerging from the Global South; see UNRISD’s study on ‘New directions in social policy: Alternatives from and for the Global South 2013–2016’ (UNRISD n.d.).

Conclusions The above example provides insight into the approach, nature, scope and contemporary issues and challenges in social development research in South Africa. The applied nature of the research is pertinent to the search for evidence-based social interventions and in shaping the research-policy nexus. This type of research offers constructive feedback and solutions on how service delivery and community-based services might be improved. The research topics are consonant with the country’s national development priorities; it also connects with international development goals such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals of 2015 and the global search for innovation and new directions in social development. Looking ahead, there is considerable scope for growing research in social development and to firmly establishing this approach as an accepted research perspective alongside other critical perspectives in social research. There is further need to build knowledge on how to conduct this line of research while taking into account the numerous challenges of doing so as well as the salient ethical issues that may arise in the real world. Collaborative research partnerships and networks to conduct comparative cross-country research offer rich partnerships and contribute to strengthening this field of inquiry by local and international organisations. A major challenge is the continuing dominance of Northern models of social welfare in developing countries and a lack of research capacity and support for researchers in the South. These realities effectively silence knowledge production and perspectives from the South. Social development scholars, practitioners and international development actors will need to dedicate energy and resources to break these asymmetrical patterns in knowledge production and practice between the North and the South. It is my hope that the sharing of the South African example, could lead to more South–South and North–South knowledge exchange that is both constructive and critical. We should not be afraid to ask the hard questions, to identify contextual limitations and systemic failures, and to pursue lines of enquiry that could lead to transformative understandings and actions.

References Babbie, E. and Mouton, J. (2011). The Practice of Social Research (12th edn). Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Bhorat, H. and Cassim, A. (2014). South Africa’s Welfare Success Story II: PovertyReducing Social Grants. Brookings Africa in Focus. Retrieved on 28 January 2014 from

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www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2014/01/27-south-africa-welfarepoverty-bhorat#. Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. New York: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Case, A., Hosegood, V. and Lund, F. (2005). The Reach and Impact of Child Support Grants: Evidence from KwaZulu-Natal. Development Southern Africa, 22(4): 467–482. CSDA. (2016). Annual Report 2015. Johannesburg: Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. Retrieved from www.uj.ac.za/csda. Department of Welfare. (1997). The White Paper for Welfare. Government Gazette Notice 111108 of 1997. Pretoria: Ministry for Welfare and Population Development. DSD, SASSA and UNICEF (Department of Social Development, South African Social Security Agency and United Nations Children’s Fund). (2012). The South African Child Support Grant Impact Assessment: Evidence from a Survey of Children, Adolescents and their Households. Pretoria: UNICEF South Africa. Graham, L. (2012). Understanding Risk in the Everyday Identity-Work of Young People on the East Rand of Johannesburg. PhD thesis. Johannesburg: University of Johannesburg. Unpublished. Graham, L. and Plagerson, S. (forthcoming). Reflections on Community Based Research: Benefits for Communities and Researchers. Johannesburg: Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. Unpublished manuscript. Hall, A. and Midgley, J. (2004). Social Policy for Development. London: Sage Publications. Hall, K. and Wright, G. (2010). A Profile of Children Living in South Africa in 2008. Studies in Economics and Econometrics, 34(3): 45–68. Hesse-Biber, S.N. and Leckenby, D. (2004). How Feminists Practice Social Research, in S.N. Hesse-Biber and M. Yaiser (eds), Feminist Perspectives on Social Research. New York: Oxford University Press, 209–226. Hochfeld, T. (2015). Cash, Care and Social Justice: A Study of the Child Support Grant. PhD thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Unpublished. Hochfeld, T. and Graham, L. (2012). A Feminist Reflection on the Ethics of Social Work Research. Social Work Practitioner-Researcher, Themed Issue: A Gender Lens on Social Work: Views from the South, 24(1): 31–47. Hochfeld, T., Graham, L., Patel, L., Moodley, J. and Ross, E. (2016). Does School Breakfast Make a Difference? An Evaluation of an In-School Breakfast Programme in South Africa. International Journal of Educational Development, 51: 1–9. International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). (2014). Retrieved on 16 March 2014 from www.iassw-aiets.org/nidosw-20140221. Kuhn, Thomas S. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Leibbrandt, M., Woolard, I., Finn, A. and Argent, J. (2010). Trends in South African Income Distribution and Poverty since the Fall of Apartheid. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 101. Lund, F. (2008). Changing Social Policy: The Child Support Grant in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press. Midgley, J. (2014). Social Development: Theory and Practice. London: Sage. Neves, D., Samson, M., van Niekerk, I., Hlatshwayo, S. and du Toit, A. (2009). The Use and Effectiveness of Social Grants in South Africa. Cape Town: FinMark Trust, Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, and Economic Policy Research Institute.

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Patel, L. (1992). Restructuring Social Welfare: The Options for South Africa. Johannesburg: Ravan Press. Patel, L. (2015). Social Welfare and Social Development in South Africa (2nd edn). Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa. Patel, L. and Ulriksen, M. (forthcoming). Doornkop in Perspective: Context and Approach, in L. Patel and M. Ulriksen (eds), Learning from Below: Citizens, Community & State Action for Development: A Collection of Community Based Studies in Doornkop, Soweto. Unpublished. Patel, L., Hochfeld, T. and Moodley, J. (2013). Gender and Child Sensitive Social Protection in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 30(1): 69–83. Patel, L., Knijn, T. and Van Wel, F. (2015). Child Support Grants in South Africa: A Pathway to Women’s Empowerment and Child Well-Being? Journal of Social Policy, 44(2): 377–397. Plagerson, S. and Graham, L. (forthcoming). Reflections on Research Intended to Promote Development. Johannesburg: Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. Unpublished. Posel, D. and Rogan, M. (2012). Gendered Trends in Poverty in the Post-Apartheid Period, 1997–2006. Development Southern Africa, 29(1): 96–113. Robbins, S.P., Chatterjee, P. and Canda, E.R. (2012). Contemporary Human Behaviour Theory: A Critical Perspective for Social Work (3rd edn). Old Tappan, NJ: Allyn and Bacon. Sherraden, M. (1991). Assets and the Poor: A New Alternative Welfare Policy. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. The Centre for Social Development in Africa. (2016). Annual Report 2015. Johannesburg: The Centre for Social Development in Africa, University of Johannesburg. Retrieved 2 March 2016 from www.uj.ac.za/faculties/humanities/csda/Pages/ Annual-Reports.aspx. Ulriksen, M.S. (2012). Welfare Policy Expansion in Botswana and Mauritius: Explaining the Causes of Different Welfare Regime Paths. Comparative Political Studies, 45(12): 1483–1509. DOI: 10.1177/0010414012453026. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) and ILO (International Labour Organization). (2011). Sharing Innovative Experiences: Successful Social Protection Floor Experiences. New York: United Nations Development Programme. UNRISD (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development). (n.d.). New Directions in Social Policy: Alternatives from and for the Global South 2013–2016. Retrieved on 14 March 2016 from www.unrisd.org/8025633C005BB128/(httpProje cts)/2D903DC6376D3185C1257C16004B9CA8?OpenDocument. Van Der Berg, S. and Moses, E. (2012). How Better Targeting of Social Spending Affects Social Service Delivery in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 29(1): 127–140. World Bank. (2012). South Africa Economic Update: Focus on Inequality of Opportunity. Washington, DC: Africa Region Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. Retrieved on October 2012 from www.wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDS ContentServer/WDSP/IB/2012/08/01/000333037_20120801020508/Rendered/ PDF/715530NWP0P1310lete0with0cover00726.pdf.

Part II

Workforce and migration

7

Measuring transformative workforce activation using the Comprehensive Employment Hope Scale Philip Young P. Hong and Sangmi Choi

Introduction Social transformation is conceptualised in this book as social change at the individual, group and societal levels. In the context of workforce development, social transformation is imperative, particularly when dehumanisation in the labour market has become more rampant in the global market economy (Hong and Song 2010). Motivated labour is considered to be the means to productivity outcome rather than the end itself, thereby human capital remains as something to be assessed as to whether one has it adequately or not to meet the market demand. Thus, it has been argued that human capital is a structurally vulnerable attribute for the poor; while it needs to be invested in, it is often screened for to be exploited by the demand side of the labour market – employers (Rank 2004; Hong and Pandey 2007). Creaming the best talent to be included in the global economy only perpetuates structural inequality in the distribution of human capital and exacerbates social exclusion of the poor (Hong and Pandey 2008). Social transformation provides a holistic view to tackle this endemic problem. In an open global market system, where the human capital resources may seem endlessly abundant, the current workforce in any local context ends up losing its bargaining power by becoming expendable and replaceable once the worker exhausts his or her utility in serving the benefit of the productive system (Hong and Song 2010). ‘Change as we know it’ needs to be coordinated in order to keep it from being short-sighted, short-lived and short-changed. It is inevitable that change as a method of blanketing the symptoms, rather than challenging the deep-rooted complexities of modern social problems, will only allow problems to live on by mutating its forms (Hong 2013a). Unearthing the multisystemic root causes of these problems through social transformation is the primary method for tackling them for a long-lasting impact (Hong 2016a). Hong (2016a) cites Palinkas (2013) to provide a clear distinction between transformation and change: Change uses external influences to modify human or organizational actions, but transformation alters beliefs at a much deeper level so actions become

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In the United States, as in Singapore and other Asian countries, poverty has historically received much public attention either by having the ruling party subscribing to a politically conservative individualistic definition of poverty or a liberal structural definition of poverty (Hong 2013a; Hong and Crawley 2015). At centre stage of these discussions, regardless of where one stands on the poverty debate, ‘work’ has generally been believed to be better than public assistance as a way to escape poverty and adequately support families (Morgen 2001). Most planning for workforce development success takes place as a top-down approach (Hong 2013b). As seen in Figure 7.1, labour market outcome as the end success goal (i.e. employment, earnings and retention) – often referred to as self-sufficiency (SS) outcome in the USA, UK and South Korean policy context – is the starting point from which job readiness training (JRT) outcomes are defined (i.e. completion and job placement). JRT outcomes then restrict the scope of what constitutes the content of training (i.e. interviewing skills, resume development and other behavioural strategies) that needs to be delivered in order to deliberate these success outcomes. These identified attributes then help create the bucket list for how to be job ready. The backward tracking of the success pathway restricts the pre-labour market activities to be focused on what is precisely needed by the employers and what is deliverable as contracted agents serving the needs of the employers. However, what is lacking is how the jobseekers themselves view this path and how much of the training content is retained by making it their own process (Harvey and Hong 2010). A bottom-up process starts from the question of who the jobseekers are, what meaning they make in their learning and career goal setting, and how the sense of purpose informs one’s performance (Hong How to become job ready

What content

JRT outcome

Labour market outcome

How they perform best

Career goals

Why they want to learn

Who job seekers are are

Figure 7.1 Top-down outcome based approach vs. bottom-up human-centred approach.

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2016a). This transformative process may look very messy and less targeted, intentional and practical, but it is more empowering by tapping into one’s true, instrinsic and purposeful goals (Hong 2016a). While there is possibility of being viewed singularly unidimensional, holistically approaching workforce development from the internal, personal and external systems make it transformative. In order to understand the missing link in the current state of policy implementation and service delivery, a bottom-up inquiry was sought to understand how low-income jobseekers view SS from their own perspectives (Hong, Sheriff and Naeger 2009; Hong 2013b). The bottom-up definition of SS was conceptualised and a series of studies followed to examine the psychometric properties of key components comprising SS – psychological SS (PSS) as the process and economic SS (ESS) as the outcome of SS (Hong 2013b; Hong, Polanin and Pigott 2012; Hong and Choi 2013; Hong, Choi and Polanin 2014). These studies suggested that PSS leads to ESS and that PSS can be defined as transforming the negatively perceived employment barriers into positive employment hope (Hong 2016a). After validating the Perceived Employment Barriers Scale (PEBS; Hong, Polanin, Key and Choi 2014; Hong, Song, Choi and Park 2016b) and the short version of the Employment Hope Scale (EHS-14; Hong and Choi 2013; Hong, Choi and Polanin 2014; Hong, Polanin and Pigott 2012; Hong, Song, Choi and Park 2016a), it was found that further investigation was needed to more comprehensively examine the EHS. Therefore, this study seeks to validate the Comprehensive Employment Hope scale (EHS-21) using a multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis (MSCFA).

Methods Sample The study used two independent samples. Both samples were used for conducting the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The size of sample is similar and the demographic characteristics are relatively heterogeneous in terms of gender, race, age, education level and employment status. Participants from Sample B in comparison to Sample A were more female, non-African American, educated, employed and younger. Sample A consists of 391 low-income jobseekers collected at a social service agency in the West Haven community of Chicago between October 2008 and March 2009. West Haven is a neighbourhood undergoing large-scale urban renewal initiatives, the side effects of transformed high-rise public housing (Horner Homes and Rockwell Gardens), and the challenges of long-term unemployed individuals and families to find affordable jobs. Consumers of services receive assistance in the areas of job preparation, life skills training, financial literacy, and other public benefits, social and support services. Respondents in Sample A were on average 40.5 years of age (SD = 13.7) and more female (62.4 per cent). Most participants were African-American (97.9 per cent) and about a quarter of respondents had not finished high school (24.9 per cent).

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Slightly less than half had completed high school or GED (44.3 per cent) and received some type of job training in the past ten years (41.7 per cent). A large portion of the sample was not employed (79.7 per cent) and earned less than $5,000 for the previous year (57.7 per cent). Slightly less than half were receiving TANF or welfare benefits (42.3 per cent). Sample B was utilised for testing metric invariance of EHS in comparison with Sample A. This sample was derived as part of an evaluation of the US federal investment in training low-income individuals to obtain jobs in the health care industries – Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG). From two different training programmes in Administration for Children and Families (ACF ) Region V, a total of 705 participants responded to a survey collected in 2013 and 2014. The vast majority of participants were female (97.9 per cent) and about half were African-American (48.7 per cent). The sample comprised individuals evenly distributed in age ranging from the 20s and the 50s (M = 31.3, SD = 10.1). About one-third of participants had some college experience but with no degree (34.6 per cent) and another one-third had completed post-secondary education (i.e. 20.6 per cent for diploma or certificate from technical, vocational, or trade school and 7.3 per cent for an associates degree). Nearly two-thirds had participated in job training programmes in the past ten years (64.4 per cent) and were employed (63.7 per cent). Slightly less than half were receiving welfare benefits (48.2 per cent). Analysis procedures The study first conducted a CFA on the original six-factor 24-item EHS derived from the qualitative studies (Hong 2013b; Hong, Sheriff and Naeger 2009) in order to examine the latent factor structure of EHS – 24-items and six-factors under two components of: (1) psychological empowerment (self-worth; selfperceived capability; and future outlook), and (2) process of moving towards future goals (self-motivation; utilisation of skills and resources; and goal orientation). We utilised Sample A for the CFA and compared the proposed model with the baseline model where all the items fall into one general factor, following Kline (2011)’s suggestion. Traditional Chi-Square model-fit statistics could not be considered for comparative purposes (although reported) due to the large sample size (Meade, Johnson and Braddy 2008). Instead, several model-fit indices were used in order to reduce the plausibility of chance fit and increase the robustness of the conclusions – that is, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA; Steiger and Lind 1980), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI; Bentler 1990), the Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI; Hu and Bentler 1999) and the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC; Akaike 1987). A value less than 0.08 is considered good fit for RMSEA (Kline 2011) while a statistic above 0.90 is considered a good fit (Bentler and Bonett 1980; Kline,2011) and above 0.95 is an excellent fit (Hu and Bentler 1999) for the CFI and NNFI. Regarding the AIC, the model with the lowest value is preferred.

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Once detecting poor model fit, a model modification would be considered. If fit indices of the modified model were found to be acceptable, the study would proceed to test generalisability of the latent factor structure to an independent sample using a multi-group CFA (MGCFA). Samples A and B were used for MGCFA. Although a variety of techniques have been used to assess various aspects of measurement equivalence, there is a general agreement that MGCFA is the most powerful and versatile approach to testing measurement invariance across groups (Steenkamp and Baumgartner 1998). The study tested configural invariance, metric invariance and scalar invariance in the hierarchical order using several model fit indices (i.e. RMSEA and NNFI). Then, we estimated the convergent and discriminant validity across the samples. In order to investigate the convergent and discriminant validity, the authors correlated the EHS with theoretically related and unrelated measures (Rubin and Babbie 2008). We utilised AMOS 20 to perform CFA and MGCFA. The maximum likelihood (ML) method was used for estimation and full information maximum likelihood (FIML) was employed to handle missing data.

Results CFA on the original six-factor EHS To test the latent factor structure of the original six-factor 24-item EHS that was initially constructed from the focus group study (Hong 2013b; Hong, Sheriff and Naeger 2009), the study conducted a CFA using Sample A. As suggested by Kline (2011), the original six-factor model was compared with a baseline one-factor model where all the items load on a general factor. As reported in Table 7.1, the fit indices indicated that the six-factor model is significantly better than the baseline model. Despite significantly improved model fit, the fit indices of the six-factor 24-item model showed a lack of fit (Sample A: CFI = 0.909; NNFI = 0.897; AIC = 1388.438; RMSEA = 0.102 [0.096–0.107]). Modification process Given the lack of fit, the authors considered a model modification. First, modification indices indicated that allowing a number of residuals to covary would improve model fit. Decisions regarding whether to follow the modification indices were based on theoretical considerations of item and scale content, and there is no theoretical reason to assume relationship among residuals; thus we did not allow residuals to covary. Instead, we modified the factor structure by deleting three items with lowfactor loadings below 0.6 – items 2, 7 and 10 – resulting in a six-factor 21-item model. The factor loadings of the items are presented in Table 7.1. Because the model fit of the six-factor 21-item model was still unacceptable (CFI = 0.907; NNFI = 0.881; AIC = 1230.491; RMSEA = 0.113 (0.107–0.120), we considered additional modifications. Based on the finding that ‘future outlook’ and

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‘self-motivation’ factors share the concept of ‘motivation by expectation for brighter future’ (Hong, Choi and Polanin 2014), the authors decided to combine these two dimensions, resulting in a five-factor 21-item structure under two components: (1) self-worth (three items); (2) self-perceived capabilities (three items); (3) futuristic self-motivation (seven items); (4) utilisation of skills and resources (four items); and (5) goal orientation (four items). The model modification is illustrated in Figure 7.2. As presented in Table 7.1, all indicators of fit suggest that one common model (i.e. the modified fivefactor 21-item model) is plausible across the two models with substantially increased fit comparing with the six-factor 21-item model. This result demonstrates that the modified five-factor 21-item model explains the data better than the other models. Given the relative increase in model fit and significant item loadings in both samples (see Table 7.2), we discontinued the model-building process. A multi-sample CFA on the modified five-factor 21-item model Assessing the applicability of frameworks developed in one group to another group is an important step in establishing generalisability. Therefore, in order to ensure that the modified five-factor 21-item EHS is replicable across independent samples, we performed a MGCFA, as the next step of validation test using a CFA. A MGCFA was conducted by comparing more or less restrictive models in the hierarchical order. First, the configural invariance was satisfied with the acceptable model fit (RMSEA (95 per cent CI) = 0.064 (0.061–0.067); NNFI = 0.904). As outlined in Kline (2008), the second step was to test metric invariance by constraining the model to equate the factor loadings. Because of the well-known problem of Chi-Square difference test, the fit indices of NNFI and RMSEA were considered. CFI is not a useful index for multi-group analyses in which more and less restrictive models are compared since it does not take into account the parsimoniousness of models (Hong, Malik and Lee 2003). As reported in Table 7.3, because model fits stayed the same (∆ NFI = 0; ∆ RMSEA = 0), full metric invariance was supported, which demonstrates that EHS-21 measures the latent variables with equivalent metrics across samples. Baring metric invariance, the study proceeded to test scalar invariance by constraining the intercepts of the twenty-one indicators to be same across samples. Because fit indices deteriorated (∆RMSEA = 0.004; ∆NNFI = –0.014), full scalar invariance was not achieved. Given rejected scalar invariance, testing partial scalar invariance was considered. Steenkamp and Baumgartner (1998) provided evidence that two scalar and metric invariant indicators are sufficient to ensure the meaningfulness of latent mean comparisons. To identify which indicators have invariant intercepts, the Lagrange Multiplier (LM) test was performed. According to the result of LM test, partial invariance model was generated with constraints on the intercepts of two indicators in each factor. Relaxing eleven constraints yielded little improvement in fit as compared to the full scalar

Baseline model Original Modified (–2, 7, 10) Modified (–2, 7, 10)

Baseline model Original Modified (–2, 7, 10) Modified (–2, 7, 10)

Sample A (n = 391) 1-factor 24-item 6-factor 24-item 6-factor 21-item 5-factor 21-item

Sample B (n = 705) 1-factor 24-item 6-factor 24-item 6-factor 21-item 5-factor 21-item 3,015.540 (252) 1,716.506 (245) 1,347.248 (182) 1,158.364 (183)

2,320.820 (252) 1,230.438 (245) 1,090.491 (182) 836.807 (183)

x2 (df)

Note Modified models are without two or three items of item #2, 7, and 10.

Description

Model

Table 7.1 The results of CFA on the EHS model

0.125 (0.121–0.129) 0.092 (0.088–0.097) 0.093 (0.089–0.098) 0.087 (0.082–0.092)

0.145 (0.149–0.151) 0.102 (0.096–0.107) 0.113 (0.107–0.120) 0.094 (0.089–0.102)

RMSEA (90%CI)

0.782 0.884 0.898 0.917

0.808 0.909 0.907 0.933

CFI

0.741 0.858 0.873 0.895

0.790 0.897 0.881 0.923

NNFI

3,159.540 1,874.506 1,435.578 1,296.364

2,464.820 1,388.438 1,230.491 974.807

AIC

1 2 3

Self-worth

4 5 6 7

Selfperceived capabilities

Psychological empowerment

8 9 10 11

Future outlook

12 13 14 15

Selfmotivation

16 17 18 19

Utilisation of skills and resources

Goal-oriented pathways

20 21 22 23

Goal orientation

24

Figure 7.2 The modification of model: from six-factor to five-factor model.

1 3

Self-worth

4

Psychological empowerment

5 6

Self-perceived capabilities

8 9 11 12 13

Futuristic self-motivation

14 15 16 17 18 19

Utilisation of skills and resources

20 21 22 23

Goal orientation

24

Figure 7.2 Continued

Goal-oriented pathways

0.797 0.877 0.858 0.907 0.932 0.879 0.705 0.795 0.838 0.541 0.833 0.812

0.919 0.925 0.927 0.857

Psychological empowerment Self-worth 1 Thinking about working, I feel confident about myself 2 I feel that I am good enough for any jobs out there 3 When working or looking for a job, I am respectful towards who I am 4 I am worthy of working in a good job

Self-perceived capability 5 I am capable of working in a good job 6 I have the strength to overcome any obstacles when it comes to working 7 I can work in any job I want 8 I am good at doing anything in the job if I set my mind to it

Future outlook/futuristic self-motivation 9 I feel positive about how I will do in my future job situation 10 I don’t worry about falling behind bills in my future job 11 I am going to be working in a career job 12 I will be in a better position in my future job than where I am now

Goal-oriented pathway Self-motivation/futuristic self-motivation 13 I am able to tell myself to take steps towards reaching career goals 14 I am committed to reaching my career goals 15 I feel energised when I think about future achievement with my job 16 I am willing to give my best effort to reach my career goals

0.920 0.922 0.919 0.852

0.795 – 0.796 0.815

0.952 0.883 – 0.773

0.775 – 0.862 0.922

0.817 0.847 0.847 0.783

0.836 0.422 0.761 0.725

0.794 0.798 0.523 0.819

0.715 0.599 0.815 0.820

Original

Original

Modified

Sample B

Sample A

Table 7.2 Standardised parameter estimates of the original six-factor 24-item model and the modified five-factor 21-item model

0.815 0.828 0.829 0.769

0.751 – 0.769 0.782

0.843 0.773 – 0.777

0.659 – 0.804 0.858

Modified

0.882 0.907 0.831 0.890 0.974 1.012 0.849 0.945 0.972 0.952

Goal-orientation 21 I am on the road towards my career goals 22 I am in the process of moving forward towards reaching my goals 23 Even if I am not able to achieve my financial goals right away, I will find a way to get there 24 My current path will take me to where I need to be in my career

Standardised factor loadings from 2nd order factor to 1st order factor Psychological empowerment m Self-worth Psychological empowerment m Self-perceived capability Psychological empowermentm Future outlook Goal-oriented pathway m Self-motivation/futuristic self-motivation Goal-oriented pathway m Utilisation of skills and resources Goal-oriented pathway m Goal-orientation

Note All the factor loadings are statistically significant at p < 0.001.

0.856 0.896 0.940 0.907

Utilisation of skills and resources 17 I am aware of what my skills are to be employed in a good job 18 I am aware of what my resources are to be employed in a good job 19 I am able to utilise my skills to move towards career goals 20 I am able to utilise my resources to move towards career goals

0.966 1.025 – 0.951 0.970 0.952

0.882 0.907 0.831 0.889

0.855 0.896 0.940 0.907

0.938 0.946 0.985 0.951 0.851 0.925

0.898 0.886 0.738 0.758

0.761 0.780 0.868 0.872

0.995 0.996 – 0.979 0.836 0.092

0.980 0.886 0.738 0.758

0.761 0.780 0.868 0.872

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Table 7.3 The test of measurement invariance of five-factor 21-item (removing items 2, 7, 10) model Model

x2 (df)

RMSEA (90%CI)

NNFI Compared model

A: configural B: full metric C: full scalar D: partial scalar

1,995.314 (366) 2,098.840 (382) 2,469.218 (403) 2,382.488 (392)

0.064 (0.061–0.067) 0.064 (0.061–0.067) 0.068 (0.066–0.071) 0.068 (0.066–0.071)

0.904 0.904 A 0.890 B 0.891 B

Accepted Accepted Rejected Rejected

invariance model, resulting in the rejection of partial scalar invariance. Since the partial scalar invariance was rejected, the study could not proceed to further invariance testing. The scalar invariance was rejected, while configural and metric invariance was supported. From this result, we could only find evidence of measurement invariance (i.e. configural invariance and metric invariance), which means that different groups respond to the items in the same way and thus allowing for meaningful comparison of ratings obtained from different groups (Steenkamp and Baumgartner 1998; Hong, Malik and Lee 2003). In other words, the measure can be applied equivalently across two different groups. Therefore, with the evidence of measurement invariance, it is concluded that EHS-21 achieved a certain level of generalisability requisite for the equivalent use of the measurement, even though it failed to achieve further structural invariance. We examined the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to determine the reliability of EHS-21. For Sample A, the overall coefficient alpha and those for the factors of self-worth, self-perceived capability, futuristic self-motivation, utilisation of skills and resources, and goal orientation subscales were 0.896, 0.883, 0.944, 0.946 and 0.920, respectively. Sample B also showed evidence of good internal consistency with coefficient alphas of 0.778, 0.841, 0.920, 0.889 and 0.888 in each subscale. Convergent and discriminant validity Convergent validity evidence was gathered by measuring the correlation between two theoretically related measures, while discriminant validity evidence was gathered by correlating two theoretically unrelated measures (Rubin and Babbie 2008). In order to test convergent validity, EHS-21 was hypothesised to be positively and strongly correlated with the New General Self-Efficacy (NGSE; Chen, Gully and Eden 2001) and Economic Self-Sufficiency (ESS) Scale (Gowdy and Pearlmutter 1993). NGSE measures specific self-efficacy (i.e. selfefficacy as a task-specific or state-like construct) for a variety of tasks in different settings, explaining motivation and performance in a variety of work contexts (Chen et al. 2001). The ESS Scale comprehensively measures ESS with four factors: (1) autonomy and self-determination; (2) financial security and responsibility; (3) family and self well-being; and (4) basic assets for living in the

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community (Gowdy and Pearlmutter 1993). The results revealed strong convergent validity evidence for EHS-21, as all the subscales of EHS having a strong positive correlation with self-efficacy (r > 0.345, p < 0.01) and self-sufficiency (r > 0.125, p < 0.01) in both samples. We hypothesised a moderate correlation with gender and age to test discriminant validity (Bryant and Cvengros 2004). The discriminant validity evidence was confirmed, given low correlations between all the subscales of EHS-21 and age and gender.

Discussion and conclusion This study validated the EHS-21 measure based on the originally conceptualised six-factor 24-item structure from previous focus group studies (Hong 2013b; Hong, Sheriff and Naeger 2009) using a CFA and a MGCFA. First, the CFA results confirmed a five-factor 21-item structure under two components: (1) psychological empowerment (self-worth [three items]; self-perceived capabilities [three items]); and (2) goal-oriented pathway (futuristic self-motivation [seven items]; utilisation of skills and resources [four items]; and goal orientation [four items]). Three items were deleted due to low factor loadings; ‘future outlook’ and ‘self-motivation’ were aggregated into the ‘futuristic self-motivation’ factor. Second, the MGCFA indicated that EHS-21 can be applied equivalently across two independent samples with evidence of measurement invariance (i.e. configural invariance and metric invariance). Further, convergent and discriminant validity test results confirmed that EHS-21 is a reliable and valid measure. Based on the findings, we propose that using EHS-21 can contribute to social transformation in the following ways. First, it measures workforce activation at the most existentially intrinsic level by comprehensively capturing various dimensions of employment hope (Hong 2014). By doing this, it broadens the perspective on SS by breaking out of the narrowly confined traditional view of economic outcome (i.e. welfare exit, employment, earnings and retention) as one would have to achieve in the labour market (i.e. ESS) and includes the psychologically empowering process of becoming self-sufficient (i.e. PSS; Hong 2013b). Second, EHS-21 representing the latter – PSS as a transformative motivational drive against the perceived barriers – it can be used to further investigate the internal validity of the ‘theory of change’ that PSS as an empowerment process contributes to the ESS outcome (Hong, Choi and Key 2014; Hong, Stokar and Choi 2016). Third, the validated theory of change could inform transformative practice at multiple levels. As EHS-21 could provide additional research evidence to confirm its evaluative utility and significant mediating role in affecting ESS, its core factor structure could inform the content structure of interventions that could target social transformation. For instance, a transformative workforce activation programme called Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) – delivered in a group setting – was developed based on twelve years of research findings on PSS (Hong 2016a, 2016b). As a bottom-up transformative practice model, TIP empowers discouraged and disconnected workers at individual and

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Transforming systems

Macro: policy and global practice

Traditional

Mezzo: community and organisational practice

Traditional

Micro: clinical, individual, and family practice

Traditional

Figure 7.3 Transformative practice framework.

group levels using such content as identity/purpose, forgiveness, goal setting, perceived employment barriers, source of strength, employment hope, managing stress and anger, gratitude, and social support and compassion. This model may seem transformative at impacting the individual and group level systems primarily. It could be mistaken for solely ‘blaming the victim’ in the face of structural exclusion and market exploitation. However, TIP as a bottom-up intervention based on hope brings the potential to create an upward ripple effect to change the outer layers of the mezzo, macro and global systems (Hong 2013b, 2014, 2016b; Hong and Hodge 2015). As Figure 7.3 illustrates, social transformation can be brought about when each layer of the system individually and in concert are tackled together. Moreover, social transformation can be more sustainable when the seeds of change are planted in ‘humanship’ that TIP targets as its overarching transformative outcome – leadership in one’s life or self-sponsorship through finding an optimal balance between awareness and action by focusing on one’s internal locus of control (Hong 2016b; Hong and Park 2016). By promoting humanship in the outer systems that receive the transformative agents who would bring their agency and demand personenvironment fit, the environment will react to the transformative nudges and adapt its organisational, community and social culture to be more inclusive of individual strengths and diversity. Therefore, social transformation from bottom-up could be achieved by integrating humanship into all levels workforce development systems.

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References Akaike, H. (1987). Factor Analysis and AIC. Psychometrika, 52(3): 317–332. Bentler, P.M. (1990). Comparative Fit Indexes in Structural Models. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2): 238–246. Bentler, P.M. and Bonett, D.G. (1980). Significance Tests and Goodness of Fit in the Analysis of Covariance Structures. Psychological Bulletin, 88(3): 588. Bryant, F.B. and Cvengros, J.A. (2004). Distinguishing Hope and Optimism. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23: 273–302. Chen, G., Gully, S.M. and Eden, D. (2001). Validation of a New General Self-Efficacy Scale. Organizational Research Methods, 4: 62–83. Gowdy, E.A. and Pearlmutter, S. (1993). Economic Self-Sufficiency: It’s Not Just Money. Affilia, 8: 368–387. Harvey, V., Hong, P.Y.P. and Kwaza, K. (2010). Shared Reflections: The Challenges of Client Empowerment in Workforce Development. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 16: 70–78. Hong, P. and Park, W. (2016, July). Humanship: Branding of Human Strength, in 2016 Global Marketing Conference at Hong Kong, 1229–1230. Hong, P.Y.P. (2013a). Planning Development in the United States, in S. Singh (ed.), Social Work and Social Development: Perspectives from India and the United States. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books. Hong, P.Y.P. (2013b). Toward a Client-Centered Benchmark for Self-Sufficiency: Evaluating the ‘Process’ of Becoming Job Ready. Journal of Community Practice, 21: 356–378. Hong, P.Y.P. (2014). Employment Hope: A Path to Empowering Disconnected Workers, in E.J. Clark and E.F. Hoffler (eds), Hope Matters: The Power of Social Work. Washington, DC: NASW Press, 143–148. Hong, P.Y.P. (2016a). Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP): A Bottom-Up Practice in Workforce Development for Low-Income Jobseekers. Environment and Social Psychology, 1: 93–104. Hong, P.Y.P. (2016b). Learning to TIP: Introduction. Chicago, IL: TIP Center. Hong, P.Y.P. and Choi, S. (2013). The Employment Hope Scale: Measuring an Empowerment Pathway to Employment Success. International Journal of Psychology Research, 8: 173–189. Hong, P.Y.P. and Crawley, B. (2015). Welfare Dependency and Poverty: A Neoliberal Rhetoric or Evidence-Based Policy Choice?, in S.N. Haymes, M. Vidal de Haymes and R.J. Miller (eds), Routledge Handbook of Poverty. New York: Routledge, 131–142. Hong, P.Y.P. and Pandey, S. (2007). Human Capital as Structural Vulnerability of U.S. Poverty. Equal Opportunities International, 26: 18–43. Hong, P.Y.P. and Pandey, S. (2008). Differential Effects of Human Capital on the Poor and the Near Poor: Evidence of Social Exclusion. Journal of Poverty, 12: 456–480. Hong, P.Y.P. and Song, I. (2010). Glocalization of Social Work Practice: Global and Local Responses to Globalization. International Social Work, 53: 656–670. Hong, P.Y.P., Choi, S. and Key, W. (2014, January). Psychological Self-Sufficiency: Balancing Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Factors in Workforce Development. Paper presented at the meeting of the Society for Social Work Research, San Antonio, TX. Hong, P.Y.P., Choi, S. and Polanin, J.R. (2014). A Multi-Sample Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Short Employment Hope Scale (EHS-14). Journal of Social Service Research, 40: 339–352.

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Hong, P.Y.P., Hodge, D. and Choi, S. (2015). Spirituality, Hope, and Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Job Seekers. Social Work, 60: 155–164. Hong, P.Y.P., Polanin, J.R., Key, W. and Choi, S. (2014). Development of the Perceived Employment Barrier Scale (PEBS): Measuring Psychological Self-Sufficiency. Journal of Community Psychology, 42: 689–706. Hong, P.Y.P., Polanin, J.R. and Pigott, T.D. (2012). Validation of the Employment Hope Scale: Measuring Psychological Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Jobseekers. Research on Social Work Practice, 22: 323–332. Hong, P.Y.P., Sheriff, V.A. and Naeger, S.R. (2009). Bottom-Up Definition of SelfSufficiency: Voices from Low-Income Jobseekers. Qualitative Social Work, 8: 357–376. Hong, P.Y.P., Song, I., Choi, S. and Park, J.H. (2016a). A Cross-National Validation of the Employment Hope Scale in the U.S. and South Korea. Social Work Research, 40: 41–51. Hong, P.Y.P., Song, I., Choi, S. and Park, J.H. (2016b). A Cross-National Validation of the Perceived Employment Barrier Scale (PEBS). International Social Work. Hong, P.Y.P., Stokar, H. and Choi, S. (2016). Psychological and Economic SelfSufficiency Among Low-Income Jobseekers with Physical Disability Barriers. Environment and Social Psychology, 1: 63–73. Hong, S., Malik, M.L. and Lee, M.K. (2003). Testing Configural, Metric, Scalar, and Latent Mean Invariance Across Genders in Sociotropy and Autonomy Using a NonWestern Sample. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63: 636–654. Hu, L. and Bentler, P.M. (1999). Cutoff Criteria for Fit Indexes in Covariance Structure Analysis: Conventional Criteria Versus New Alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1): 1–55. Kline, P. (2008). An Easy Guide to Factor Analysis (2nd edn). New York: Routledge. Kline, R.B. (2011). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (3rd edn). New York: The Guilford Press. Meade, A.W., Johnson, E.C. and Braddy, P.W. (2008). Power and Sensitivity of Alternative Fit Indices in Tests of Measurement Invariance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(3): 568–592. Morgen, S. (2001). The Agency of Welfare Workers: Negotiating Devolution, Privatization, and the Meaning of Self-Sufficiency. American Anthropologist, 103: 747–761. Palinkas, J. (2013, 28 June). The Difference Between Change and Transformation. Retrieved from www.cioinsight.com/it-management/expert-voices/the-differencebetween-change-and-transformation. Rank, M.R. (2004). One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects us All. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rubin, A. and Babbie, E. (2008). Research Methods for Social Work (6th edn). Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education. Steenkamp, J-B.E.M. and Baumgartner, H. (1998). Assessing Measurement Invariance in Cross-National Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 25(1): 78–107. Steiger, J.H. and Lind, J.C. (1980, May). Statistically Based Tests for the Number of Common Factors. Paper presented at the annual spring meeting of the Psychometric Society, Iowa City, IA.

8

Transforming Thai–Myanmar borderland De facto statelessness, indigenous minorities and internally displaced persons Steve Chan

Introduction Citizenship determines the civic, political and social rights of individuals, hence their life chance. It is acquired by birth and immigration. There are usually different categories of citizenship, with differential rights and privileges accordingly. These terms and procedures are laid down in laws. International covenants also provide some guidance. However, there exist ambiguous definitions in the statutes which have been written intentionally and unintentionally. In addition, the interpretation and implementation by the authority also denies many people’s citizenship rights. In transforming societies, these practices change from time to time, as a consequence of various social, economic and political factors. This study examines the changing citizenship status of residents of vulnerable groups along the Thai–Myanmar border. Thailand shares about a 1,800 kilometre long common border with Myanmar. In these mountainous areas reside many hill tribes whose nationalities have not been defined clearly. The loose border control also allows the frequent movement of these hill tribes from adjacent ethnic states of Myanmar, namely Shan, Kayah, Kayin (Karen) and Mon States. Besides, the political instability of Myanmar and ethnic insurgency has resulted in refugees in the past few decades. There are refugee camps along the border in the Mae Hong Son, Tak, Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi Provinces of Thailand. Refugees and stateless people from Myanmar fill up the settlements of hill tribes along the border. As the political tension has gradually eased in Myanmar, the borderland has undergone a transformation. There are industrial zones set up in Thai–Myanmar border cities, absorbing refugees and border populations as cheap labour for the factories. The author visited Sangkhlaburi, the border town on the Thai–Myanmar border in 2014. The trip was to explore the situation of minority hill tribes. The informants, including school principals, teachers and NGO leaders provided background information on settlements of hill tribes and their hardship. Although this conceptual paper is not deduced from empirical data, the informants’ contribution enlightened the author in developing the framework. The

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framework is an attempt to construct a framework consisting of de facto statelessness and deprivation of citizenship, illustrated by the case of the transformative borderland in Sangkhlaburi.

Nationality and citizenship Nationality is a legal status which defines a person’s membership of a nation. It refers to the relationship between a state and an individual usually in terms of rights and obligations. In a wider concept, nationality and citizenship are interchangeable terms. However, nationality is distinguishable from citizenship in a narrow view. It generally refers to ‘the status of those nationals who have full political privileges’ (Encyclopædia Britannica n.d.). In fact, the full privileges should not be limited to the political dimension. The doctrine of Marshall (1950) distinguishes the civil, political and social aspects of citizenship which is related to the rights that an individual is entitled to in society. Turner (1993) critiques the political and juridical definition of citizenship as consisting of a limited scope of rights and obligations. He suggests that citizenship should have the sense of ‘social practices’ which is a dynamic process of social construction, instead of a static legal term. The social aspects of citizenship are further elaborated which shapes the distribution of resources according to the pattern of power and social class. Finally, the flow of resources is concerned with differences in the individual life-cycle in relationship to the enjoyment of citizenship privileges […] about the nature of social membership with modern political collectivities. (Turner 1993: 3) When nationality is denied, a person loses his/her legal and political membership of a nation and hence social membership. The wider concept of nationality is adopted in this chapter. Citizenship is used synonymously with nationality.

Acquisition of citizenship There exist two different principles in determining a person’s citizenship at birth, namely jus soli and jus sanguinis. Jus soli, means the ‘right of soil’ which is the principle of citizenship based on the place of birth. It is commonly known as ‘birth rights jus soli’. When a baby is born within the territory of a nation, it is entitled to citizenship automatically, while jus sanguinis refers to the ‘right of blood’ in which citizenship is acquired by inheritance, according to the blood origin. The inheritance of citizenship from one or both parents follows this type (Lynch 2005; Saisoonthorn, 2006; Blitz and Lynch 2011). Citizenship based on blood origin (jus sanguinis) instead of birth in the territory (jus soli) usually excludes new migrants and ethnic minorities (Blitz and Lynch 2011). Another chance in life after birth to acquire citizenship is through naturalisation. Naturalisation is the legal process initiated by a non-citizen or stateless

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individual to apply for citizenship of a nation. Jus matrimonii and residence are two common considerations for acquiring citizenship. Jus matrimonii refers to acquiring citizenship by marriage to a national. Another ground for naturalisation is past and existing residence within the nation’s territory (Science Encyclopedia n.d.). In both cases, years of residence are a condition for nationality acquisition. Most people acquire citizenship by reason of family reunion and work. When a person resides permanently or attempts to switch from staying temporarily to permanently in a nation, the non-citizen may apply for naturalisation. Others are statelessness, refugees and asylum seekers looking for protection and a new home to settle in.

Loss of citizenship and statelessness For most people, citizenship is taken for granted. Unfortunately, some people are born without a nationality; others lose their nationality at some point in their life and become stateless. At a glance, statelessness arises when a person is not entitled to a legally recognised citizenship, or those under ‘national laws do not have the legal bond nationality with any state’ (Lynch 2005). This legal dimension is generally recognised and stated in international legal papers. According to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, it is a situation of an individual ‘not considered as a national by any state’ (Blitz and Lynch 2011). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2010) estimated that at least 10 million people are stateless around the world. Among them, 3.5 million stateless persons are found in sixty-four countries according to reliable statistics. In legal terms, a de jure stateless person is someone who is ‘not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law’. In reality, there exists a grey area where a person is not entitled to an ‘effective citizenship’. The stateless situation is sometimes not clear-cut but the person still suffers as ‘effectively stateless’. Persons of this sort, who are not confirmed de jure stateless, are known as de facto stateless (Massey 2010). General causes of statelessness are state succession, discrimination, refugee status and migration.1 When a new state is established, the political restructuring brings along new citizenship legislation and some groups’ citizenship may be deprived arbitrarily. No matter whether associated with state succession, whenever a government introduces discriminatory laws, policies and practices, such as selected census, minorities’ membership may be excluded. In fact, many stateless persons are minority ethnic groups. The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees has reported the trend that more and more governments deprive the citizenship of these unpopular ethnic minorities as a tool to exclude and marginalise them (Goldston 2004, 2006). In some situations, it does not concern ethnicity but gender. Gender-based discrimination via a patrilineal society’s denial of female citizenship for patrilineal descent determined it exclusively (Blitz and Lynch 2011). In particular, Lynch (2005) identifies ten causes of statelessness namely:

100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

S. Chan Political changes Targeted discrimination (race) Transfer of territory Law relating to marriage and birth registration Expulsion of people from a territory Nationality based solely on descent (father) Renunciation of nationality (w/o prior acquisition of another nationality) Working conditions Abandonment Lack of financial ability to register children.

Among these causes, lack of documented birth registration is the most common excuse for governments to deny citizenship even where they are entitled to it. According to the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, infants should be registered immediately after birth. Children are entitled to the right to have a name and acquire a nationality (Yang 2009). Upon citizenship being denied, stateless people encounter erosion in all dimensions of civil, political and social citizenship. They are not entitled to participate in government affairs, lack legal protection and cannot access to education, employment and health care. Statelessness increases the ‘vulnerability to sexual and physical violence, exploitation, trafficking in persons, forcible displacement and other abuses’ (US State Department n.d.). In some situations, stateless people are refugees and asylum seekers. They are aliens on foreign territory. In most nations, there exist a categorisation of citizens as permanent residents and temporary residents. These categories of people imply differential citizenship rights. Some of the freedoms are denied, such as work and travel. Goldston (2006) points out that the gap between citizens and non-citizens is widening. In some nations, the categorisation system is very complicated and solely determined by administrative decrees instead of legislation. This increases the uncertainty of citizenship status as well as the risk of further erosion of citizenship rights. It is tricky in that these exclusion practices can be hidden and in an indirect manner which ‘pretends to be neutral, but exert disproportional impact to particular groups’ (Blitz and Lynch 2011). Transforming Thai–Myanmar border This study attempts to examine the de facto stateless minority groups residing in Sangkhlaburi on the Thai–Myanmar border. The ethnic minorities are in particular, Karen and Mon. Sangkhlaburi is located in Kanchanaburi Province of Thailand. The province is adjacent to Kayin (Karen) State and Kayan States of Myanmar. Mon State is next to Kayin State in the west. The Three Pagoda Pass of Sangkhlaburi is the busiest official border crossing on the Myanmar–Thai border. The volatile nation building process of Burma after World War II led to decades of ethnic conflict and insurgents in the newly founded nation. Civil war

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and forced displacement drew waves of minority ethnic groups into Thailand from adjacent ethnic minority states. Among them, many were Karen and Mon who fled into Sangkhlaburi and ended up in ‘refugee’ camps.2 As the Thai government has neither verified The 1951 Refugee Convention, nor recognised the existence of refugees, these people are known as ‘persons of concern’ in urban areas and ‘internally displaced persons’ (IDP) in the border (refugee) camps (regarded as ‘IDP camps’). Many of the refugees hide their background, working no differently from many other migrant workers and are treated as ‘undocumented migrants’ (Hooker 2012). In recent years, border economic zones (BEZs) have been set up along the Thai–Myanmar border.3 Both the Sangkhlaburi–Three Pagodas Pass BEZ and Kanchanaburi–Tavoy BEZ are located in Kanchanaburi Province. Many garment, clothing, leatherwear and electronic parts factories have started

Myanmar Laos

Vietnam

THAILAND Sangkhlaburi

Bangkok

Cambodia

Gulf of Thailand

Vietnam

Malaysia

Figure 8.1 Map of Thailand. Source: modified from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ThailandBoundary1.svg.

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operating in Sangkhlaburi. The proximity of Sangkhlaburi to Bangkok makes it more attractive than other border economic zones. Many factories are subcontractors of Bangkok-based firms. Migrant workers both documented and undocumented are employed in these factories. Some large factories employ more than a thousand workers (Thongmak 2012; Mekong Migration Network & Asian Migrant Centre 2013). Succession of border inhabitants Myanmar and Thailand share a similar geo-ethnic landscape where the ruling ethnic majority stays in the central plains of the nation, with ethnic minorities scattered around the periphery borderland. The Union of Myanmar consists of seven regions (provinces) in the centre surrounded by seven ethnic minority states. In Thailand, indigenous minorities mainly reside in the hilly Thai–Myanmar borderland that constitutes a population of 866,000. They are found predominantly in twenty provinces (Saenmi 2003). The Thai government defines highland communities as those settlements located more than 500 metres above sea level. These highlanders are known as hill tribes in Thailand,4 but not all highland inhabitants are hill tribes. Some of the indigenous minorities are found in both the highland and mainly lowland central plains of Thailand, such as Thai Mon. Among the indigenous inhabitants in Sangkhlaburi, Karen and Mon are highly represented. Ethnic Karen represent the largest population of hill tribes or highlanders. Karen began migrating from Burma to Thailand from the eighteenth century onwards. They used to be animists, but many were converted to Christianity during British colonial rule. Plenty of them served in the British colonial army and the Anglo-Burmese civil service (Perve 2006). During the post-colonial period, the settlements of Karen formed the Kayin State. Instead of a nation state, Kayin is one of the seven ethnic minority states under the majority ethnic Bamar dominated Union of Burma.5 The dissatisfaction together with the 1960 coup turned the Kayin State into civil war.6 There was an influx of internally displaced Karen into Thailand. They are found in ethnic minority settlements around the sprawl of Sangkhlaburi and the only remaining IDP camp there. Mon are believed to be the earliest civilisation in Southeast Asia. They have their own language and scripts. The early Mon kingdoms collapsed with the rise of Khmers in Angkor and later Siamese in Sukhothai. Ethnic Mon are lowlanders. They are found in central Thailand and lower Burma. Thai Mon have assimilated into Thais and now rarely recognise their Mon identity after many generations. In post-independent Burma, a Mon State was established under the Union with the situation similar to Kayin and other ethnic minority states. Fighting has broken out since then, until a ceasefire was reached in 1995 between the New Mon State Party and ruling State Peace and Development Council (SLORC) (Wongpolganan 2005). There are numerous Mon settlements in the outskirts of Sangkhlaburi. These are Mon enclaves distinguishable from other heterogeneous Thai and hill tribe villages in the area. Although Thai Mon have a long presence in Thailand, many of

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these latecomers migrated to the Thai–Myanmar highlands during the postindependence period of 1948–1976 and beyond. The present inhabitants are a mixture of aborigines and post-independence migrants and new arrivals from Myanmar. The succession of inhabitants in these indigenous settlements except locally born people, is through migration, marriage and family reunion. The co-ethnic ties across national borders draw Karen and Mon from the ethnic minority states on the Myanmar side into Thailand. The political stability and economic backwardness was a push factor. The large influx of migrant workers for higher wages and more job opportunities in Thailand also caused the growth of a temporary population. Border towns are usually the first destination of these new arrivals who use them as stepping stones before they are able to continue their journey to Bangkok and its vicinities where there is higher pay. In recent years, the establishment of border economic zones has further pulled more across the border.

Discussion The de facto stateless status of these indigenous inhabitants in Sangkhlaburi is the consequence of Thai nationality laws and exclusion practices of the administration. Thailand used to follow the principle of birthright citizenship (jus soli). It switched to blood origin (jus sanguinis) in 1972.7 For a long period of time, Thailand deprived the hill tribes of citizenship. Their Thai citizenship was not recognised but they were allowed to stay in their original settlements along the Thai–Myanmar border. Hill tribes and ethnic minority insurgent armies were once used as a buffer against the communist expansion in the region. Even after the threat of communism has gone, hill tribes still do not fit into Thai-ness following jus sanguinis. Nearly a million hill peoples and forest dwellers are still treated as outsiders. […] Viewed as national security threats, hundreds of thousands of them are refused citizenship although many are natives to the land. (Ekachai 2013) It is possible to naturalise Thai citizenship after birth during adulthood. Thai law allows legal migrants to apply for naturalisation after they have stayed in Thailand for more than five years and in accordance with some other conditions.8 Before that, ten years of residence was the minimum requirement for an application. There was no guarantee that their naturalisation application would be considered if they entered Thailand through illegal channels. Since 1972, jus soli is no longer the principle for naturalisation but according to the law of Thailand, under certain conditions ‘a person born within the Thai Kingdom’ is still eligible to acquire citizenship with discretion given to the minister under the rules prescribed by the Cabinet9 (Yang 2007; Wongwian 2008). Hill tribe children may still encounter uncertainty in claiming their Thai citizenship if one of their parents is non-Thai, the mother in particular, or if they

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were not given birth to in a hospital or formal maternity clinic. These are babies from poor families, ethnic minorities and migrants who were born in Thailand without being registered at birth. The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that about 40,000 babies or 5 per cent of children are among this group each year (Irin News 2011). Offspring of Myanmar’s internally displaced persons have the risk of falling into de facto statelessness. Their Mon or Karen parents’ Myanmar nationality may have been deprived. In order to claim back their citizenship, they need a Myanmar birth certificate, but they were actually born in Thailand. They may not possess a house registration document because their parents were forced into displacement and their houses were even burnt down by Tatmadaw,10 while in the Thai counterpart, sus soli has no longer been a sufficient ground since 1973. Thailand finally ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1992. Article 7 of the CRC states that a child shall be registered immediately after birth and have the right to acquire a nationality. In addition, a nation shall strive to avoid children becoming stateless. However, due to the overprecautious measures on the Thai side, hospitals have refused to issue these alien babies birth certificates and have even removed any related records.11 There has been some change since 2008, when Thailand’s Civil Registration Act of 1991 was amended which entitled all children born in the country to birth registration and government-issued birth certificates, regardless of their parents’ legal status. Most importantly, the 2008 amendment is retroactive. These locally born children can get back their birth certificate finally, although the process of verification is slow. But some, who are undocumented migrant workers or internally displaced persons, are reluctant to claim for their children. The process requires them to report to the district office first, but they fear the possibility of being deported due to their undocumented status (Irin News 2011). Indigenous minorities and internally displaced persons form the population base along the Thai–Myanmar borderland. They live in designated settlements and are prevented from travelling to and working in other provinces. Without full citizenship, they are not entitled to voting rights, the right to be elected, land ownership rights, as well as other social and welfare rights. The new Karen and Mon migrants from Myanmar and internally displaced persons are de facto stateless. They are only allowed to stay and work in Thailand temporarily. A framework of de facto statelessness and partial deprivation of citizenship is hypothesised in this chapter. The original condition of Sangkhlaburi during the post-World War II period was indigenous settlements scattered around the fringe of the border town. The inhabitants were ethnic Mon and Karen consisting of aborigines (post-independence of Burma/Myanmar), new migrants and non-registered internally displaced persons (not residing in IDP camps). Except the aboriginal Mon, Karen and their children who are allowed to claim back their Thai citizenship, others remain de facto stateless. Mon and Karen migrants are allowed to stay permanently in these border settlements. They can work there and later on in Kanchanaburi Province, but

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Industrialisation of Thailand, Thai-Myanmar border economic zone

Indigenous minorities (Karen and Mon) are marginalised with partially deprived citizenship

New Karen and Mon migrants move in from Myanmar, some are internally displaced persons (refugee)

Original indigenous inhabitants and their offspring claim Thai citizenship

Co-ethnic ties draw migrants from Myanmar to Thailand, some naturalise to become Thai citizens

Influx of migrant workers, many use the border town as a stepping stone, a few stay

Deployment of international covenants on children, refugee and human rights protection Rise of civil society locally and internationally

Communist guerrilla, insurgency, national security

travel beyond this boundary is prohibited. After the ratification of the Covenant of the Rights of the Child, their locally born children will be issued with birth certificates. Since the switch from jus soli to jus sanguinis, their children can no longer acquire Thai citizenship on the grounds of place of birth. The door of Thai citizenship has not yet been shut but is narrower. Jus matrimonii remains the last resort. Migrant workers and other late arrivals form the lowest strata. No matter whether documented or undocumented, they stay temporarily and work in Thailand. The Thai government holds migrant worker registration and national verification programmes from time to time to regulate this huge population, believed to number more than 2 million. The establishment of border economic zones in Sangkhlaburi further draw migrants and migrant workers into Thailand. The progress illustrated in Figure 8.2 is the framework of de facto statelessness and partial deprivation of citizenship of Mon and Karen inhabitants in Sangkhlaburi which comprise a hierarchy of marginal citizens, permanent residents, temporary residents and tolerated migrant workers. More importantly, most of these permanent and temporary residents are not entitled to social citizenship rights and hence incur no cost to public services. They are low in educational attainment, unskilled and wage labourers. The succession of border inhabitants maintains a human resource supply for the further development of border economic zones (Figure 8.2).

Figure 8.2 The process of de facto statelessness and partial deprivation of citizenship. Source: author.

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Conclusion Citizenship is a multidimensional concept. It is not just about the membership of a nation state. The denial of citizenship results in statelessness. Although the nationality laws of both the sending and receiving states of a migrant or refugee claim to be open for some vulnerable people, their access in reality is blocked and they are deprived fully or partially. Special conditions, discretions stated in hidden clauses, administrative practices, poor governance and corruption contribute to this denial or derivation process. Finally, they remain de facto stateless without rights and protection. Citizenship is also a dynamic concept. The membership of a nation state will change from time to time. Most often, these changes are gradual and slow, with the practice in implementation level evolving from less to more tolerant to the statelessness. It may take more than one generation for these changes in those countries not following jus soli principle. This conceptual paper reviews the case of the Mon and Karen inhabitants in Sangkhlaburi, the Thai–Myanmar border town. These indigenous settlements have been sustained through the transformation of post-Myanmar independent insurgency, constructive engagement12 and the border economic zone period. The succession of these borderland habitats is a consequence of the intentional and unintentional citizenship deprivation process. The framework of de facto statelessness and partial deprivation of citizenship in this chapter suggests that the inhabitants of these border settlements have no choice and are trapped in the status of de facto statelessness. They are permitted to stay and work in designated areas only, struggling on partially deprived citizenship rights. A hierarchy of marginal citizens, permanent residents, temporary residents and tolerated migrant workers guarantees a continuing supply of wage labourers for the growing Sangkhlaburi–Three Pagoda Pass Border Economic Zone. In the midst of social change, these marginal groups need to be accorded human rights social protection. With the opening up since 2011 and political change after the general election in 2015, cross-border economic activities between the two nations are expected to increase. Hence, the political and economic factors in transforming societies also determine the citizenship of these borderland inhabitants. At some point, aboriginal Mon and Karen residing in hilly communities are gradually being permitted to claim back their Thai citizenship. Locally born children are issued with birth certificates (without the entitlement to Thai citizenship). The immigration policy almost blocks the acquisition and naturalisation of Thai citizenship. Marriage with Thai nationals is still a way of citizenship acquisition (jus matrimonii). The hidden clauses in nationality legislation and discretion rest on ministers and cabinet decisions act as the gatekeeper. Finally, it also controls the internal migration away from border towns or provinces deep into other provinces, especially Bangkok and its vicinities. Checkpoints of Thai soldiers and border police are still found on the main roads of Sangkhlaburi and Kanchanaburi Province, blocking their access to other parts of Thailand.

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Notes 1 Common causes of statelessness are: the failure of hospitals and other places of birth to register newborns properly; the lack of financial ability to cover the cost of registration and birth certificates; customs and traditional attitudes about birth registration; birth to stateless parents’ political change and transfer of territory, which may alter the nationality status of citizens of the former state(s); administrative oversight; procedural problems; conflicts of law between two countries; or the destruction of official records; the alteration of nationality during marriage or the dissolution of marriage between couples from different countries; targeted discrimination against minorities; laws restricting the acquisition of citizenship; laws restricting the rights of women to pass on their nationality to their children; laws relating to children born out of wedlock and during transit; the loss or relinquishment of nationality without first acquiring another; and the like. (US State Department n.d.). 2 In 2014, the Ban Don Yang was the only ‘refugee’ camp that remained in Sangkhlaburi. There were about 3,000 refugee residents, with ethnic Karen being the majority group. There are still nine IDP camps in operation along the border in 2015. The Thai government plans to shut down these camps after the political tension gradually eases in Myanmar (The Border Consortium n.d.; Committee for Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand n.d.). 3 As of 2013, there were five border economic zones (BEZ) established along the Thai– Myanmar border, namely: Mae Sot–Myawaddy BEZ, Mae Sai–Tachilek BEZ, Sangkhlaburi–Three Pagodas Pass BEZ, Kanchanaburi–Tavoy BEZ and Prachuab–Tennaserim BEZ (Mekong Migration Network & Asian Migration Centre 2013). 4 The six main hill tribes in Thailand are: Akha, Karen, Lahu, Lisu, Hmongs and Yao (Perve 2006: 9). 5 The official English translation of the country’s name was changed from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. 6 The coup d’état in 1962 had put Myanmar under long-lasting rule by the military junta’s State Peace and Development Council (SLORC) until 2011. The promise of political autonomy in ethnic minority states has vanished; hence, ethnic insurgents have intensified. 7 The Thai Government tightened the application criteria so as to block migrants from claiming their Thai nationality by issuing Revolution Decree No. 337 (Wongwian 2008: 32). 8 The conditions are: accordance with Thai law, having good behaviour, having a regular occupation; residence in Thailand for five years or more; and Thai language proficiency up to a certain standard. 9 The following persons are eligible to acquire Thai nationality by birth: (1) A person born of a father or a mother of Thai nationality, whether within or outside the Thai Kingdom; (2) A person born within the Thai Kingdom (under certain conditions) […] the Minister […] may consider and give an order for each particular case granting Thai nationality to any person under paragraph one, in conformity with the rules prescribed by the Cabinet (Government Gazette 1992). 10 The Myanmar Armed Forces under the command of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), representing the mainstream ethnic Bamar dominant government. 11 In Ranong and Samut Sakhon, two areas with high concentrations of Burmese migrants, hospitals remove the birth records of these babies from doctors’ appointment books to prevent the children from claiming Thai nationality (Yang 2007). 12 In 1989, Thailand pursued a policy of ‘constructive engagement’ or ‘flexible engagement’ with Myanmar under the desire of Thai Prime Minister Chartchai Chunhawan’s administration. This is to rebuild the economic and social connections with Myanmar after the coup and Yangon massacre in 1988.

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Bibliography Blitz, B.K. and Lynch, M. (2011). Statelessness and the Deprivation of Nationality, in B.K. Blitz and M. Lynch (eds), Statelessness And Citizenship: A Comparative Study on the Benefits of Nationality. Cheltenham and Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, 1–20. The Border Consortium. (n.d.). Camps in Thailand. Retrieved on 2 July 2015 from www.theborderconsortium.org/where-we-work/camps-in-thailand/. Chantavanish, S., Vungsirphisal, P. and Laodumrongchai, S. (2007). Thailand Policies Towards Migrant Workers from Myanmar. Bangkok: Asian Research Center for Migration, Chulalongkorn University. The Child Protection Research Project of the Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights (Burma). (2009). Feeling Small in Another Person’s Country: The Situation of Burmese Migrant Children in Mae Sot Thailand. Mae Sot: Committee for Promotion and Protection of Child Rights. Committee for Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand. (n.d.). The Camps. Retrieved on 2 July 2015 from www.ccsdpt.org/the-camps. Drake, R.F. (2001). The Principles of Social Policy. Hampshire: Palgrave. Ekachai, S. (2013, 28 August). Time Ripe for Whole New Take on ‘Thainess’. Bangkok Post. Retrieved from www.bangkokpost.com/print/366720/. Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). Nationality. Retrieved on 2 July 2015 from http:// global.britannica.com/topic/nationality-international-law. Goldston, J.A. (2004). Legal Approaches to Combating Statelessness. UNHCR. Goldston, J.A. (2006). Holes in the Rights Framework: Racial Discrimination, Citizenship and the Rights of Noncitizens. Ethics & International Affairs, 20(3): 321–347. Government Gazette. (1992). Thailand’s Nationality Act B.E. 2508 as Amended by Acts B.E. 2535 No. 2 and 3 (1992), (Unofficial English translation). Retrieved from www. ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/THAILAND’s_Nationality_Act.htm. Hooker, E. (2012). Here, We Are Walking on a Clothesline: Statelessness and Human (In) Security among Burmese Women Political Exiles Living in Thailand. Unpublished Master’s thesis. Portland State University. International Labour Organization, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). (2014). Education for Child Labour and Migrant Children: Information Kits for Schools and Teachers. Geneva and Thailand: ILO. Irin News. (2011, 5 December). Slow Pace of Registering Migrants. Retrieved from www.irinnews.org/report/94382/myanmar-thailand-slow-pace-registering-migrants. Kalberg, S. (1993). Cultural Foundations of Modern Citizenship, in B.S. Turner (ed.), Citizenship and Social Theory. London, Newbury Park and New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 91–114. Kymlicka, W. and Norman, W. (2000). Citizenship in Culturally Diverse Societies: Issues, Contexts, Concepts, in W. Kymlicka and W. Norman (eds), Citizenship in Diverse Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1–41. Lewa, C. (2011). Issues To Be Raised Concerning the Situation of Stateless Rohingya Children in Myanmar (Burma): Submission to the Committee on Rights of Child. Bangkok: Arakan Project Lynch, M. (2005). Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness. Washington, DC: Refugees International Administration. Marshall, T.H. (1950). Citizenship and Social Class and Other Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Massey, H. (2010). UNHCR and De Facto Statelessness. Geneva: UNHCR. Retrieved from www.refworld.org/pdfid/4bbf387d2.pdf.

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The Mekong Migration Network and the Asian Migrant Centre. (2013). Border Economic Zones and Migration: Resource Book. The Mekong Migration Network (MMN) and the Asian Migrant Centre (2013). The Nation. (2015, 10 January). Stateless Children Make Plea for Thai Nationality Rights. Retrieved on 1 July 2015 from www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/ aec/30251640. Nawarat, N. (2012). Thailand Education Policy for Migrant Children from Burma. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 47: 956–961. Perve, E. (2006). The Hill Tribes Living in Thailand. Chiang Mai: Alligator Service Co. Ltd. Saenmi, S. (2003). Indigenous and Hill Tribe Communities in Thailand, in C.J. Dias and M.A. Sabur (eds), Towards Peace in Multi-Ethnic Asia. Bangkok: Asian Research Foundation. Saisoonthorn, P.K. (2006). Development with the Concepts on Nationality and the Efforts to Reduce Statelessness in Thailand. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 25(2), 40–53. Save the Children in Thailand and World Education Thailand. (2014). Pathways to a Better Future: A Review of Education for Migrant Children in Thailand. Bangkok and Mae Sot: Save the Children in Thailand and World Education Thailand. Science Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Naturalization. Retrieved on 2 July 2015 from http:// science.jrank.org/pages/7559/Naturalization.html. Thongmak, S. (2012). Walking into the Unknown: Experiences of Learning and Growth. Bangkok: Pattanarak Foundation. Tin, Maung Htwe. (2014). Life of Children of Migrants for Education in Thailand: Promoting the Rights to Education of Migrant Children in Thailand. Retrieved from www.academia.edu/8204802/Life_of_children_of_migrants_for_education_in_ Thailand_Promoting_the_rights_to_education_of_migrant_children_in_Thailand Turner, B.S. (1993). Contemporary Problems in the Theory of Citizenship, in B.S. Turner (ed.), Citizenship and Social Theory. London, Newbury Park and New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 1–18. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. (2010). The Concept of Stateless Persons under International Law. Expert meeting organised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Prato, Italy, 27–28 May 2010. Retrieved from www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=4ca1ae002. US Department of State. (n.d.). Statelessness. Retrieved on 2 July 2015 from www.state. gov/j/prm/policyissues/issues/c50242.htm. Vital Voices Global Partnership. (2007). Stateless and Vulnerable to Human Trafficking in Thailand. Retrieved on 2 July 2015 from www.humantrafficking.org/uploads/ publications/Vital_Voices_Stateless_and_Vulnerable_to_Human_Trafficking_in_ Thailand.pdf. Vungsiriphisal, P., Auasalung, S. and Chantavanich, S. (2010). Migrant Children in Difficult Circumstances in Thailand. Bangkok: The Asian Research Center for Migration, Chulalongkorn University. Wongpolganan, Juajan. (2005). Thai–Burma Border Politics and the Marginal People: The Mons in their Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi’s Westernmost District of Sangkhlaburi. Thammasat Review, 10(1): 127–154. Yang, B. (2007). Life and Death Away from the Golden Land: The Plight of Burmese Migrant Workers in Thailand. Thailand Law Journal, 12(1). Retrieved from www. thailawforum.com/articles/Burmese-Migrants-in-Thailand-7.html.

9

Social work and social welfare preparations for ASEAN economic community integration Puchong Senanuch

Introduction The ASEAN Economic Community was been established in December 2015. This was a milestone of transformation for the region. ASEAN states have a long history of conflict and cooperation with wide diversity in all aspects of political, economic and socio-cultural backgrounds and achievements. However, the roadmap of further integration of the ASEAN has been laid down. Numerous challenges are emerging and need to be overcome. This chapter aims to focus on social work and social welfare’s essential contribution to the goals of the ASEAN community which comprise three pillars: (1) ASEAN PoliticalSecurity Community (APSC), (2) ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and (3) ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). Social welfare investment and its relationship to economic development especially from Thailand’s perspective, is emphasised. The paper presents: (a) situations and differences in each member state that create both obstacles and opportunities in terms of population, human development, religion, local culture, language and history; (b) politics and government, as well as conflict among member countries are noted; (c) the core significant social problems which challenge the ASEAN community are discussed, including rural and urban poverty, health and ageing issues, migrant worker and human trafficking, drug problems, disasters, gender and inequality, and domestic violence. The author concludes that social work, social welfare and social protection require academic collaboration among the ten member countries. This process should play a crucial role for ASEAN Economic community integration in 2016. ASEAN Further Integration ASEAN was founded with the initial objective to create peace in Southeast Asia. This required political stability and progress on economic, social and cultural development. The main goal of ASEAN as defined in the Declaration of ASEAN (1967) has seven aspects: 1 2 3

Promote economic growth, social and cultural progress. Promote peace and stability in the region. Promote the economic, social, cultural, academic, scientific and administrative aspects.

Social work and welfare for ASEAN integration 4 5 6 7

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Promote mutual cooperation in training and research. Promote cooperation in agriculture and industry, trade, transport, communications and improve living standards. Promote education programmes in Southeast Asia. Promote cooperation with regional organisations and international organisations.

Plans for an ASEAN Community contain three aspects of cooperation (ASEAN 2552: 28), namely, ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC) aims to strengthen and uphold the peace and stability of the region. Countries in the region should be able to live in peace and resolve problems and conflicts by peaceful means. ASEAN has constructed the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint by focusing on three pillars: (1) Create rules and shared values, through joint activities in order to understand the social systems and history of different countries. Promote political development based on the principles of democracy and the protection of human rights. Support the participation of civil society as well as anti-corruption. Promote the rule of law and corporate governance. (2) Promote peace and security as a shared responsibility. Confidence-building measures and dispute resolution are necessary to prevent war among ASEAN countries, alongside cooperation to combat new threats such as terrorism, transnational crimes such as drug and human trafficking and the management of natural disasters. (3) Interaction with the outside world. Here the aim is to strengthen relationships with friendly countries and international organisations such as the United Nations. ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims to make ASEAN a market and production base, through the free movement of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labour. ASEAN plans the establishment of AEC (ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint), which is an integrated implementation plan for the economy to achieve four aspects: 1 2

3 4

Single market and production base with the free movement of goods, services, investment and skilled workers and capital flows. Building capacity in the economic competitiveness of ASEAN by focusing on the policy issues that will help promote economic integration, such as competition policy, consumer protection, intellectual property rights, tax policy and the development of infrastructure (transportation, finance, information technology and energy). More equitable economic development by promoting small- and mediumsized enterprises. Integration with the global economy by focusing on the coordination of economic policies with countries outside ASEAN to ensure the ASEAN region has a clear identity.

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ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) aims to be a community that is people-centred with a caring and sharing society. Asian populations need better living conditions and development in all aspects in order to enhance their quality of life. It aims to promote the sustainable use of natural resources and the identity of ASEAN. The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint comprises six areas: (1) development of human resources, (2) social protection and social welfare, (3) rights and social justice, (4) environmental sustainability, (5) creating an ASEAN identity and (6) reducing the development gap between each individual country.

Aspects of ASEAN community Although ASEAN is making progress in the implementation of the plan, most countries in the Community still have many different aspects of both obstacles and opportunities. These aspects may consist of gaps and shortcomings which require social work intervention and social policy inputs. Population aspects In 2015, the regional population was estimated as 629.73 million people. The country with the highest population density is Indonesia with 253.24 million people, followed by the Philippines with 102.22 million, Vietnam 92.99 million and Thailand 71.11 million. In this region, 55.37 per cent of the population live in rural areas. Cambodia has the highest population living in rural areas with 77.08 per cent. Timor-Leste has 68.43 per cent, Vietnam 65.99 per cent and Thailand 63.26 per cent. There is 44.03 per cent of the total population living in urban areas. In Singapore, 100 per cent of the population live in cities, followed by Brunei with 77.06 per cent and Malaysia with 75.35 per cent of the population living in cities. Ageing aspects Almost all countries are moving into an ageing society. In Singapore, the proportion of elderly people is 15.13 per cent, followed by Thailand with 13.5 per cent and Vietnam with 8.62 per cent. Considering the numbers of the ageing across the region, Indonesia has the highest with 20.77 million, followed by Thailand with 9.6 million and Vietnam with 8.02 million people. Human development aspects The UN’s Human Development Index (HDI) is an index of 187 countries measuring the average achievement in three dimensions of human development: (1) the health dimension is assessed by life expectancy at birth; (2) the education component is measured by mean of years of schooling for adults aged twenty-five years and expected years of schooling for children of school entering age; and (3) the

436,000 15,240,000 253,241,000 6,749,000 30,876,000 50,170,000 102,222,000 5,353,000 71,128,000 1,321,000 92,994,000 629,731,000

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam ASEAN

97,000 11,747,000 136,116,000 4,051,000 7,449,000 31,393,000 50,313,000 0 45,251,000 904,000 61,374,000 348,695,000

Rural population (person) 22.24 77.08 53.75 60.02 24.12 62.57 49.22 0 63.62 68.43 65.99 55.37

% of rural population

Source: UNESCAP (2014), Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2014.

Total population (person)

Country

336,000 3,268,000 115,764,000 2,577,000 23,265,000 18,509,000 51,108,000 5,375,000 25,624,000 397,000 31,069,000 277,292,000

Urban population (person) 77.06 21.44 45.71 38.18 75.35 36.89 49.99 100.00 36.03 30.05 33.41 44.03

% urban population

2,000 951,000 20,770,000 387,000 2,437,000 4,117,000 5,887,000 810,000 9,602,000 58,000 8,017,000 53,038,000

Ageing population (person)

Table 9.1 Shows total populations in rural and urban areas and ageing populations in the ASEAN countries (2015)

0.46 6.24 8.20 5.73 7.89 8.21 5.76 15.13 13.50 4.39 8.62 8.42

% of ageing population

30 136 108 139 62 150 117 9 89 128 121

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

0.852 0.554 0.684 0.569 0.773 0.524 0.660 0.901 0.722 0.620 0.635

HDI value

78.5 71.9 70.8 68.3 75.0 65.2 68.7 82.3 74.4 67.5 75.9

Life expectancy at birth

Source: UNDP (2014), Human Development Report 2014.

HDI rank

Country

8.6 5.8 5.8 4.6 9.5 4.0 8.9 8.8 6.6 2.8 5.5

Mean years of schooling (years), 2012 14.5 10.9 12.7 10.2 12.7 8.6 11.3 15.4 13.1 11.7 11.9

Expected years of schooling (years), 2012

Table 9.2 Shows Human Development Index (HDI) and its components in ASEAN countries (2013)

70,883 2,805 8,970 4,351 21,824 3,998 6,381 72,371 13,364 6,674 4,892

Gross national income per capita (2011PPP $), 2013

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standard of living dimension is measured by gross national income per capita. The goalpost for minimum income is $100 (purchasing power parity, PPP) and the maximum is $75,000 (PPP). The country that has the highest human development is Singapore with a HDI valued at 0.901 Rank 6, followed by Brunei with a HDI valued at 0.852 Rank 30. The countries with high levels of human development, including Malaysia with a HDI valued at 0.773 Rank 62. The medium level of human development includes Thailand with a HDI valued at 0.722 Rank 89, Philippines with a HDI valued at 0.660 Rank 117, Indonesian with a HDI valued at 0.684 Rank 108, Vietnam with a HDI valued at 0.635 Rank 121, Laos with a HDI valued at 0.569 Rank 139 and Cambodia with a HDI valued at 0.554 Rank 136. The countries with low human development are Timor-Leste with a HDI valued at 0.620 Rank 128 and Myanmar with a HDI valued at 0.483 Rank 150. Religion, culture, language and history aspects Southeast Asia is a region of diverse ethnic groups and religions. The countries with mostly Muslim populations are Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Countries with high Buddhist populations are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. The Philippines population is mostly Christian. Each country has different languages except Thailand and Laos that belong to the Tai language family and are closely related. Other countries have their own language, whether in Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines where English and Chinese are languages that run continuously throughout the region. Minorities in each country face problems in the region. There are differences in beliefs, way of life, language and culture. These differences may be an obstacle to the creation of unity. English has been designated as the official language of ASEAN, although there are different rates of fluency in each member country. Different political and governance aspects The ASEAN Charter sets out clearly the principles of democracy. ASEAN security will enhance cooperation in promoting democracy in each member state. However, the ASEAN region has a variety of forms of political governance. Respecting such differences while adhering to the principles of democracy is an ongoing balancing act for social policy. Conflicts among ASEAN members Conflicts do exist, such as the border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia. There are conflicts in the scramble for resources in the South China Sea between China and Taiwan. Four ASEAN countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei claim ownership over Spratly Islands. The Paracel Islands and the Scarborough Shoal are in dispute between China and the Philippines. Such conflicts affect the ASEAN group’s impact on the unity, solidarity and trust and its role in promoting cooperation among the members.

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Social problems: challenging issues of ASEAN community In addition, social problems existing in the region are a challenge for the government of each state including. Poverty Poverty remains a major problem challenging ASEAN countries. According to the World Bank (2012), the national income per capita (GNI per capita) found that the ASEAN countries are mainly in lower middle income groups consisting of Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Vietnam and Timor-Leste. The medium high income group includes Thailand and Malaysia. Meanwhile, in the low-income group are Cambodia and Myanmar. Only Brunei and Singapore are classified as high-income countries by the World Bank. If poverty is measured by considering the number of poor people who earn less than US$1.25 per day, about 40 Baht (with 32 Baht per US$1) finds that the proportion of the poor in Laos PDR is highest (33.9 per cent of population), followed by Cambodia (22.8 per cent) and Indonesia (22.6 per cent). Comparing the proportion of the population living in multidimensional poverty, Timor-Leste has highest rate (64.29 per cent), followed by Cambodia (46.79 per cent) and Laos (36.82 per cent). Corruption issues All countries in the region recognise that corruption is a major problem. The ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint was established to prevent and combat corruption in the region. All the members signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation for Preventing and Combating Corruption. However, the mechanisms need to be developed to respond with effective solutions. In 2014, Transparency International (TI), who conducted Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) of 177 countries around the world including ASEAN, found that the first three countries that have been top-ranked are Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia. Comparing the years 2013 and 2014, the situation has improved in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. If ASEAN countries can fight against corruption together, it will strengthen the community and boost trade and investment in the region. Health issues A UN report found that health problems are a major issue for the region. If we consider the death rate of infants, Timor-Leste has the highest death rate followed by Laos and Myanmar. Meanwhile, Indonesia is recognised as a country with the highest number of their population living with HIV/AIDS (610,000), followed by Thailand (440,000) and Vietnam (260,000). The highest numbers of malaria cases were in Myanmar, followed by Indonesia and Laos. The communicable diseases (influenza, dengue, diarrhoea and HIV/AIDS) rate was high

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Table 9.3 Shows gross national income per capita poverty and employment to population ratio in ASEAN countries Country

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

Gross national income per capita*

No. of income earner Population in Employment less than $1.25 day multi-dimensional to population (% population)** poverty (%)** ratio**

2011

2008

2014

2014

High income Low income Lower middle income Lower middle income Upper middle income Low income Lower middle income High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Lower middle income

– 22.8 22.6

n.a. 46.79 5.9

68.1 85.5 70.7

33.9

36.82

85.0

n.a.

65.5

– 18.4

n.a. 7.26

83.1 69.3

– 0.4

n.a. 1.01

72.5 77.0

–

64.29

54.0

16.8

6.45

80.9

–

Notes * Source: World Bank list of economies (July 2012). ** Source: UNESCAP (2014), Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific.

Table 9.4 Shows Corruption Perception Index and ASEAN countries Country

Rank

Score

2013 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Singapore Brunei Malaysia Philippines Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Laos Myanmar Cambodia

5 38 53 94 102 114 116 140 157 160

Source: Transparency International (2014).

Rank

Score

2014 86 60 50 36 35 32 31 26 21 20

7 n.a. 50 85 85 107 119 145 156 156

84 n.a. 52 38 38 34 31 25 21 21

8 32 24 54 7 40 21 2 11 46 19

– 76,000 610,000 12,500 82,000 200,000 15,000 – 440,000 – 260,000

– 306 831 705 16.2 910 7 – 49 552 48

12 48 36 60 20 42 34 15 22 62 25

2012 73 37 55 29 64 44 55 77 62 27 60

2012

2012

2013

2012

Years of life lost (YLL) to noncommunicable diseases [% of YLL]

Infant mortality Population living Malaria cases Years of life lost rate [deaths per with HIV: total [per 100,000 (YLL) to 1,000 live births] [number] population] communicable diseases [% of YLL]

Notes * Source: UNAIDS (2014), Global Report: UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. * Source: UNESCAP (2014), Statistical Yearbook for Asia and Pacific.

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

Country

Table 9.5 Shows health data of ASEAN countries

4 3 3 4 1 7 10 4 3 – 2

2012

Smoking prevalence rate: females [% of females]

32 42 67 48 43 38 44 24 46 – 46

2012

Smoking prevalence rate: males [% of males]

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in Timor-Leste, Laos and Cambodia. Whereas, the non-communicable disease rate (diabetes, hypertension and heart disease), was highest in Singapore followed by Brunei and Malaysia. The female smoking rate was high in Philippines and Myanmar but the male smoking rate was high in Indonesia followed by Laos, Thailand and Vietnam respectively. The issue of labour migration and human trafficking Since 1995, the ASEAN countries have had labour mobility increasing steadily from 3.5 million (6.87 per cent) to 4.8 million (7.80 per cent) in 2000 and from 5.6. million (8.30 per cent) to 6.7 million (8.97 per cent) in 2010. Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam were recognised as the major exporters of labour to work outside of their countries. These were mainly classified as unskilled labourers – maids and construction workers, workers in the agricultural sector, labourers in fisheries and fish processing industry. Countries like Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were recipients of migrant workers. In 2010, Singapore accounted for 38.67 per cent (1.9 million people migrants per population), followed by Brunei 37.13 per cent (1.5 million people) and Malaysia 8.30 per cent (2.3 million people). Thailand has 1.67 per cent (1.2 million people) migrant workers. These migrant workers are often exploited by employers and informal recruitment agencies. Thailand is a source, destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. Victims from neighbouring countries migrate willingly to Thailand to seek employment, often with the assistance of relatives and smuggling networks. There are an estimated 2–3 million migrant workers in Thailand, most of whom are from Table 9.6 Shows number of migrant workers in ASEAN countries Country

Number of migrant worker (per 1,000 persons)/percentage 1995 No.

2000 %

Brunei 87 (30.15) Cambodia 116 (1.04) Indonesia 219 (0.11) Laos 23 (0.49) Malaysia 1,193 (5.76) Myanmar 114 (0.27) Philippines 210 (0.30) Singapore 992 (28.48) Thailand 549 (0.92) Timor Leste 10 (1.13) Vietnam 39 (0.05) ASEAN 3,552 (6.87)

2005

2010

No.

%

No.

%

No.

104 237 292 22 1,554 98 323 1,352 792 9 56 4,838

(31.84) (1.90) (0.14) 0.41) (6.64) (0.22) (0.42) (34.49) (1.25) (1.12) (0.07) (7.80)

124 304 136 20 2,029 93 375 1,494 982 12 54 5,624

(34.2) (2.27) (0.06) (0.35) (7.77) (0.20) (0.44) (35.02) (1.47) (1.18) (0.07) (8.30)

148 (37.13) 336 (2.38) 123 (0.05) 19 (0.31) 2,358 (8.30) 89 (0.18) 435 (0.47) 1,967 (38.67) 1,157 (1.67) 14 (1.23) 69 (0.08) 6,715 (8.97)

Source: UNESCAP, Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2011.

%

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Myanmar. The majority of the trafficking victims within Thailand – tens of thousands of victims, by conservative estimates – are migrants from Thailand’s neighbouring countries who are forced, coerced or defrauded into labour or exploited in the sex trade. A significant portion of labour trafficking victims within Thailand are exploited in commercial fishing, fishing-related industries, low-end garment production, factories and domestic work; some victims are forced to beg on the streets (US Department of State 2015). The Thai Government has made efforts to improve the situation. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) reported that it provided assistance to 681 victims at government shelters (an increase from 526 in 2012), including 305 Thai victims (compared with 166 Thai victims in 2012), 373 foreign victims (compared with 360 foreign victims in 2012) and three whose nationalities were unknown, including sixty-three Thai victims subjected to sex or labour trafficking overseas. The government identified 219 foreign labour trafficking victims in 2013 – a decrease from 254 identified in 2012. The Thai government continued to refer victims to one of nine regional trafficking shelters run by the MSDHS, where they reportedly received food, accommodation, counselling, legal assistance, medical care, interpretation services, vocational and occupational training as well as recreation activities. MSDHS in collaboration with Thai embassy officials have rescued and repatriated Thai victims identified in Malaysia, Bahrain and South Africa. The issue of disaster ASEAN countries have faced ongoing disasters over the past decades, such as bush fires, flood, storm, earthquake and tsunami. The impact of each disaster has destroyed life, housing and building, infrastructure and public services. It also has affected the economic and social development of the country (Senanuch 2012). The government has spent heavily to restore and recover the well-being of the victims. Floods occurred mainly as a result of a tropical storm. The largest flood in the region happened in August 2011 from the tropical storm Nock-Ten, which was formed in the South China Sea. The resulting floods damaged life, property, the economy and the society throughout the region – the most affected included the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. There were 12.8 million Thai people affected by the flood. The Royal Thai Government estimated that there was damage cost of about 1.44 trillion Baht. The tropical cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in 2008. Many people were killed or missing from the cyclone. Meanwhile, tropical storms – typhoons Tembin, Kai Tak and Haikui – attacked the Philippines and Vietnam in August 2012. Bush fires have occurred almost every year in Indonesian, causing smog coverage in neighbouring countries including Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. Earthquakes and tsunami broke out in the region in December 2004. The countries that have been most affected included Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. Table 9.7 shows that in 2011, the country with highest number of disasters was the Philippines (1,989 times) with 11,723 victims followed by Thailand

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Table 9.7 Shows disasters occurred in ASEAN countries Country

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam ASEAN

No. of disaster (time)

No. of victims (1,000 person)

Value of damage (% of GDP)

2011

2011

2011

– 247 129 48 18 225 1,989 – 923 – 138 3,717

– 1,640 18.2 467 20 53.7 11,723.2 – 11,253.8 – 1,361.6 26,537.6

– 4.3 – – – – 0.4 – 12.6 – 0.2 2.2

Source: UNESCAP, Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2011.

(923 disasters) with 11,253 victims. In terms of loss, Thailand was damaged the most – up to 12.6 per cent of GDP. The biggest flood occurred across the country. It impacted sixty-five provinces. Drug problems The drug epidemic remains a serious problem in the ASEAN community. Categories of new drugs cause ongoing epidemics in the region. Amphetamine and methamphetamine known as ‘Ice’ have been dangerous drugs over the last ten years. Meanwhile, the prevalence of other drugs has increased among ASEAN member countries, especially in the Golden Triangle area which is still a major source of drugs destined for world distribution. Smuggling drugs is associated with crime in various forms. Thailand is a pathway link to the source of drug production, drug dealing and drug addiction. Additionally, drugs are smuggled into the region from outside. The ASEAN community’s efforts to deal with the drug problem without affecting the normal life of society is a challenging issue for all state members. Gender and inequality Sexual harassment, violence against women, gender equality and nondiscrimination remain the common problem of the region. Women leaders and politicians have reflected on women’s issues as below: Ms Chia Ting Ting, (Chief of Young Women Wing, Malaysia) states that ‘women are not equal men due to restricted cultural and social values. Majority women in rural and urban are living in poverty.’

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P. Senanuch Ms Nan Wah Nu (Member of Parliament, Democratic Party, Myanmar) said ‘Women are dominated by men. Government has not paid attention to role and rights of women.’ Mrs Jaslyn Go (Singapore Democratic Party) said that ‘It is very difficult for woman to act politically. This is a great need to promote gender equality and women’s leadership.’ (Commissioner of Social Development, Children and Youth, Women, the Elderly, People with Disability and the Disadvantaged Affairs 2012)

For Thailand, domestic violence and gender equality remain challenging issues. Women are still not being treated as equal to men. However, the Royal Thai Government has issued the Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act B.E. 2550 (2007) and the Gender Equality Act B.E. 2558 (2015) to prevent violence and discrimination against women, and to promote women’s empowerment. The gender gap is narrowing. In 2014, the UN Human Development Report measuring the employment gender ratios between male and female, it was found that Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar have the highest rate of female employment. The seats held by women in national parliament were high in Timor-Leste (thirty-two seats), followed by Laos (twenty-five seats) and Vietnam (twenty-four seats). The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievement between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. There is a high rate of gender inequality in Laos (0.534), Cambodia (0.505) and Myanmar (0.43), whereas the overall score of the index in East Asia and the Pacific was 0.331 (UNDP 2014). Table 9.8 Shows women’s empowerment in ASEAN countries (2014) Country

Employment sex ratio, overall employment [employed females per 100 employed males]

Seats held by women in national parliament [% of seats]

Gender Inequality Index

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

68.5 100 59.6 100.9 62.9 98.5 65.1 78.9 84.6 45.9 93.5

– 20 18 25 10 4 23 22 16 32 24

– 0.505 0.50 0.534 0.21 0.43 0.406 0.09 0.364 – 0.322

Source: UNDP (2014), Human Development Reports.

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Social Welfare Investment Social Welfare Investment remains a major issue in the ASEAN region. The majority of members were ranked as middle-income countries. Each government is focusing on economic and infrastructure development. Although for example Thailand has, since the 1970s, included Social Development its Five Year Economic Plans in comparing the expenditures of social welfare with developed countries (OECD), it is found that social welfare costs were approximately 20–30 per cent of GDP, while Thailand invested only 0.60 per cent of GDP in social welfare (Office of National Economic and Social Development 2010: 93) and the IMF (2007) mentioned that in Thailand investment in social protection and health care was 4.74 per cent of GDP, while in Vietnam it was 2.66 per cent of GDP and in Indonesian 1.37 per cent of GDP. Cambodia spent a low budget to develop social welfare for the people. However, NGOs have a key role to play in promoting health care, education and vocational training for the poor and vulnerable groups (Royal Government of Cambodia 2011: 1–15). In 2011, the Cambodian government received a loan of US$1 billion from the Asian Development Bank. The government spent money on social investment – US$40 million (4 per cent). The rest was concentrated on basic infrastructure, transportation and communication technology development (Sacha 2012: 68–71). However, each state has developed aspects of social security. Benefits for old age, disability and survivor programmes are covered in the majority of countries, except in Cambodia and Timor-Leste where these programmes are either absent or the information is not available. Cash sickness benefit was available in Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Cash maternity benefit was provided in many countries, excepted Brunei, Cambodia and TimorLeste – and also unemployment benefits. Family allowances are found in Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Medical benefits are in place in Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The author suggests that social welfare investment is essential in each country. All parties in government, civil society and the private sector should utilise integrated social capital and resources in order to effectively support economic performance.

Conclusion Although each ASEAN country has joined together to establish the ASEAN Community Blueprint so as to promote the ASEAN Political and Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, situations and differences in each member state, politics and government and social problems are creating obstacles as well as opportunities. Each government has different priorities in responding to the needs of their people with social work and social welfare provisions. The author’s suggestions as to the potential contribution of joint efforts in social welfare and social work to the ASEAN goals are as follows:

X b X X X cX X X X b X

Brunei Cambodia Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Timor Leste Vietnam

b b b X b X X a X b X

Cash sickness benefits

Notes a = employer liability system. b = has no programme or information is not available. c = new programme. X = has implemented programme.

b b X X a X X a X b X

Cash maternity benefits

Sickness and maternity

Source: US Social Security Administration (2014).

Old age, disability, and survivors

Country

Table 9.9 Shows social security programmes and type of ASEAN countries

a b X X X X X X X b X

a b X X X X X a a b X

Work injury Unemployment

b b b X b cX b b X b X

Family allowances

b b b a b cX b X X b X

Medical benefits

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1 A social work curriculum has begun in several countries recently, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. It may be that Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand should play a crucial role in assisting and cooperating with CLMV countries in developing professional social work. 2 The ASEAN community should be encouraged to develop social welfare systems in the region to raise the standard of living of the people out of poverty. The reduction of the inequality of economic and social benefits should be a priority of each state. The rights of children and youth, women, the elderly and people with disability should be protected. 3 Human rights and social security should be promoted in order to help people to live independently and with dignity. 4 The promotion of family and community is critical in social problemsolving, including the care of children, the elderly and other vulnerable groups. 5 ASEAN should jointly strengthen public health systems and reinforce health for all. Alcohol and tobacco needs to be controlled with restrictive tax measures and limiting of contraband cigarettes and alcohol. Reducing HIV/AIDS in the region should be a continuing campaign. Migrant workers and people along the borders should be given access to public health. 6 Developing an international mechanism to prevent and control drugs both within and outside the region. A Partnership with all concerned parties is required, especially in the Mekong sub-region to make ASEAN a drugfree area. 7 Promotion and development mechanisms of cooperation among civil society and the business sector network between ASEAN states to learn lessons from their diverse societies, history, religion, culture and way of life. This will lead to a mutual understanding and awareness of being a good neighbour, caring and supporting one another. 8 Promote gender equality, rights and social justice for women in the region in order to eliminate inequality and discrimination against women, including violence against women and families as well as a commitment to women’s participation in the process of creating a cultural and civil society. 9 Develop an effective disaster management mechanism for the region in order to prevent and mitigate disasters which are increasingly damaging to life and property. Strengthen the performance of agencies working among ASEAN countries in order to coordinate immediate emergency assistance in times of disaster. 10 Promote partnerships among students in social work courses by emphasising the process of learning through practice between ASEAN universities to give an opportunity for students to exchange working experiences in different societies and cultural contexts. This should lead to insights and operational skills from diverse vulnerable target groups, as well as positive attitudes towards professional social work in neighbouring countries. 11 Develop a model of social welfare and social work which is consistent with both ASEAN core values and the norms of each member nation.

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Social work and social welfare preparations in each ASEAN member state should aim towards integration through collaboration in all sectors including, social work practioners, academics and civil society in order to solve social problems, promote social protection and improve the quality of life of their populations, reducing social inequality as well as narrowing the development gap. This should lead to greater peace and harmony in the ASEAN Community.

References ADB. (2012). Fighting Poverty in Asia and Pacific. Asian Development Bank. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.adb.org/countries/main. The ASEAN Declaration. (1967). Bangkok Declaration, 8 August 1967. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.asean.org. Commissioner of Social Development, Children and Youth, Women, the Elderly, People with Disability and the Disadvantaged Affairs. (2012). Report on Towards to ASEAN Economic Community Integration 2015: Preparation and Collaboration of ASEAN Women. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.senate.go.th/w3c/senate/sec. php?url=view&sec_id=79&content_id=720. IMF. (2007). The Social Security Expenditure Database, List of Indicators. ILO Social Protection Department. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.social-protection.org/ gimi/gess/ShowWiki.do?wid=430. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2009). The Travels of ASEAN. Bangkok: Vitita Animation Company. Office of National Economic and Social Development. (2010). Direction of Social Welfare Provision in the 11th National Economic and Social Development Plan. Paper presented at the conference: Future of Thailand Social Welfare, organised on 13 September 2010 at the Government House. Royal Government of Cambodia. (2011). National Social Protection Strategy for the Poor and Vulnerable. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.socialprotection.gov. kh/executive summary. Sacha, Passi. (2012, September). Cambodia: The Missing Link. Southeast Asian Globe, 68–71. Senanuch, Puchong. (2008). Urban Poverty in Thailand: Government Policy and Community Practice. Düsseldorf: VDM Verlag Muller. Senanuch, Puchong. (2012). Introduction of Disaster. Samutpakarn: Huachiew Chalermprakiet University Printing. Social Work and Social Welfare Network. (2012). Social Work Education and Practice in Southeast Asia Region. Papers presented at The 2nd International Conference on Social Work and Social Welfare Education. Bangkok, 30 November 2012. Transparency International. (2014). The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index Measures the Perceived Levels of Public Sector Corruption in 175 Countries and Territories. Retrieved on 25 March 2015 from www.transparency.org/cpi2014. UNAIDS. (2012). Global Report: UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.unaids.org/globalreport/20101123_global report_full_en.pdf. UNESCAP. (2014). Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2014. Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from www.unescap.org/stat/data/statdb/DataExplorer.aspx.

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UNDP. (2014). Human Development Report 2014: Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience. New York: PBM Graphics. US Department of State. (2015). Thailand: Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report. Retrieved on 25 March 2015 from www. state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2014/226832.htm. US Social Security Administration. (2014). Social Security Programs Throughout the World. Retrieved on 25 March 2015 from www.ssa.gov/policy/country_list.html. World Bank. (2012). World Bank List of Economies (July 2012). Retrieved on 20 March 2015 from http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/CLASS. XLS.

Part III

Welfare, women and social care

10 Towards a synergy of tripartite empowerment for older persons Alvin Mak and Jianbin Xu

Introduction COMNET@Sengkang is a programme that is committed to the maintenance and enhancement of health and well-being among community-residing older persons in Sengkang, a town in the north-east region of Singapore. Adopting an empowerment approach, it seeks to empower its elderly service users to deal with physical and social ageing. It is a partnership programme between Sengkang Family Service Centre (FSC) and Compassvale Vista Residents’ Committee (RC). Compassvale Vista RC provides the physical space in which the COMNET@Sengkang programme is conducted, funding for the programme and their volunteers who take charge for the running of activities. To provide further context, 80 per cent of Singapore’s resident population live in public housing, which largely takes the form of high-rise flats, under the jurisdiction of Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB). According to HDB’s annual report for the financial year 2014/2015, the estimated resident population in Sengkang is currently 186,500 (HDB 2015). Separately, RCs were started in 1977 as an initiative to promote ‘neighbourly interaction, good communal relations and overall cohesion’ (Tan 2003) under the People’s Association (PA), a statutory board under the Singapore Government. Each RC zone serves, on average, about 10–20 blocks of flats and is responsible for the planning of communal activities and the booking of facilities for the residents in these blocks. In the context of COMNET@Sengkang, although the programme is run by volunteers from the Compassvale Vista Residents’ Committee, it is open to the elderly from other RC zones as well. COMNET@Sengkang has been in operation since August 2011, serving 141 elderly service users. It basically provides structured group exercises (twice weekly), social outings (quarterly) and festive celebrations. To gain a relatively clear understanding of its performance status and future directions, Sengkang FSC conducted a programme evaluation study. Evaluation questions include: What is the overall performance of this programme? What are the strengths of this programme? What are the limitations of this programme? How has the programme impacted the service users? What are the areas of the programme that

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need to be improved? What are the directions for future development? The evaluation study forms the basis for this chapter. This chapter focuses on how Sengkang FSC has tried to forge a synergy of tripartite empowerment for elderly service users of this programme and how participation in this programme has impacted the lives of these users. The article also discusses some service gaps within the programme and proposes some recommendations to bridge these gaps.

Conceptual frameworks COMNET@Sengkang is based on two conceptual frameworks: Rowe and Kahn’s (1998) model of successful ageing and the empowerment approach (Breton 1994; Lee 2001; Lee and Hudson 2011; Zimmerman 2000). Rowe and Kahn’s (1998) model suggests that successful ageing, as a multidimensional concept, involves avoiding disability and disease, retaining a higher level of physical and cognitive functioning, and continuing social engagement and productive activity. In the social work context, empowerment seeks to ‘enhance the capacity, or power, of clients to address their life concerns’ (Walsh 2006: 21). According to Lee (2001), empowerment can occur at three levels: intrapersonal (e.g. change of thought or behavioural patterns), interpersonal and political. The process of empowerment involves ‘attempts to gain control, obtain needed resources, and critically understand one’s social environment’ and is functional ‘if it helps people develop skills so they can become independent problem-solvers and decision-makers’ (Zimmerman 2000: 46). Mounting evidence demonstrates the positive effects of physical activity on the health and well-being in older persons. For example, Gregg, Pereira and Caspersen (2000) conducted a review on the basis of the epidemiologic evidence and concluded that the falling risk is likely to be reduced by certain exercise programmes. Many scholars (e.g. King 2001) advocate intervention to increase physical activity in old age. According to McInnis-Dittrich, Physical exercise is perhaps most helpful in its ability to cut the rate of coronary heart disease and diminish the risk of developing high blood pressure, two of the most dangerous physical problems older adults experience. Increased physical exercise protects against colon cancer, Type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis when included as a component in a regimen of diet and medication.… Connecting older adults to physical activities that give them the opportunity to push their own physical abilities as well as to have fun doing it with other older adults promises both physical and psychological benefits. (McInnis-Dittrich 2009: 55–56)

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Methods Data collection The sources of evaluation data were existing records including programmatic information and demographics, a questionnaire survey of fifty-one service users, qualitative interviews with forty service users and a focus group discussion with five volunteers. The duration of an interview was 10–20 minutes. Interviews were conducted mostly in Mandarin, or Chinese dialects such as Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew, and in the case of a Malay-speaking elderly, Malay. The interviews were conducted by the two authors, as well as FSC staff who were involved in the planning of the programme. The interviews and the survey were conducted at the venue where service users did exercise, which was a Senior Citizens’ corner located at the void deck of a block of Housing Development Board (HDB) high-rise flats. Participation in the evaluation study was on a voluntary basis. Informed consent was gained from participants, who were assured that all information provided would be treated with strict confidentiality. Purposive sampling was used with survey participants, where they were aged fiftyfive or above and had been in attendance at any COMNET@Sengkang structured activity during the four weeks when the survey was conducted, regardless of how long they had been participating before. The shortest period of participation among the survey participants was four months. Meanwhile, interview participants were purposively recruited from survey participants who were aged fifty-five or above and had participated for more than two years. The survey sample (n = 51) consisted of forty-three women and eight men. More than half (61 per cent) of them were aged within the range of 70–89 years, while 25.49 per cent were aged within the range 60–69 years. The vast majority (84.31 per cent) of them lived with family; only three (5.88 per cent) lived alone. Most of them (80.39 per cent) lived in a HDB four- or fiveroom flat. In Singapore, over 80 per cent of the resident population live in HDB flats, which range from 36 to 130 square metres (387 to 1399 square feet), arranged in high-rise apartment buildings. Four-room and five-room flats are typically 90 and 110 square metres (969 and 1184 square feet) respectively. Data analysis Analysis of the quantitative data was conducted using descriptive statistics, which provided an objective picture of how the programme impacted service users. Univariate analysis was used to show the aspects of COMNET@Sengkang which service users felt most impacted by. Meanwhile, thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006; Fereday and MuirCochrane 2006) was used to analyse qualitative data. This analysis was an iterative and inductive process, which generated main themes that could provide insight into interview participants’ lived experiences of the impact. Both authors were involved in the analysis process.

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Results Empowerment by COMNET@Sengkang consisted of three dimensions: empowerment of staff-in-charge, empowerment of volunteers and empowerment of service users. The synergy of such tripartite empowerment was aimed at promoting active and healthy ageing, and helping service users to deal with agerelated challenges in physical and social dimensions. This section focuses on how Sengkang FSC tried to forge the synergy of tripartite empowerment and how effective it was on the basis of the above-mentioned evaluation study. Empowerment of staff-in-charge The first dimension of empowerment was the empowerment of programme staff through training, supervision and peer-mentoring. Programme staff had thus endeavoured to increase their gerontological knowledge, sharpen their skills of working with older adults and enhance their competence of gerontological practice. This empowerment-oriented practice equipped programme staff for resource mobilisation and programme management so as to better respond to service users’ needs and adapt to the changing circumstances. Empowerment of volunteers The second dimension of empowerment was empowering programme volunteers by enhancing volunteers’ motivation, commitment and readiness. This empowerment-based practice included developing an egalitarian and powersharing relationship with volunteers. This proved to have a positive effect on enhancing volunteers’ motivation and bolstering their morale. To foster their service spirit, a constructive means was to help them to perceive this volunteer work as an opportunity to contribute to society, thus gaining a sense of being valuable and productive. As volunteers shared, When they [service users] are happy, we are happy. This is our value. We can help them to be happy. What we want to do is to contribute. We don’t pursue rewards from volunteer work. We are not calculative. Sengkang FSC always endeavoured to promote volunteers’ sense of competence, mastery, self-worth and self-efficacy. One way was to develop volunteers’ skills, which was mainly done through training and sharing at monthly volunteer meetings. Training was commensurate with their learning styles and characteristics. Volunteers valued and benefited from this opportunity of learning. According to them, skill development also benefited from experience sharing and peer dynamics. The results of the continued efforts to empower volunteers were seen in this study as well. Focus group data showed that volunteers became more patient

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and tolerant of complaints. In addition, they were better at providing empathic understanding of and individualised services to service users. They were also better positioned to solve problems independently and realistically. Notably, they also felt more confident about dealing with emergencies. Impressively, 90.20 per cent of survey participants felt that volunteers were generally helpful. Empowerment of service users The above two dimensions of empowerment made the third dimension of empowerment possible: the empowerment of elderly service users by providing structured group exercises (twice weekly), social outings (quarterly) and festive celebrations. Such tripartite empowerment tended to help elderly service users maintain a sense of perceived control over the body, a sense of social connectedness and support, and a sense of psychological empowerment, conducive to their physical, psychological and social well-being. As Table 10.1 shows, responding on a three-point Likert type scale (1 = disagree, 2 = neutral and 3 = agree), 94.12 per cent of survey participants agreed that participation had impacted them positively and 98.04 per cent were satisfied with this programme. Emergent from qualitative data analysis were three main themes, which captured the impact of the programme on the lives of service users. Theme 1: participation helped to maintain a sense of perceived control over the body Findings showed that participation in the structured exercise on a consistent basis had positive effects including fewer doctor visits, slowed physical decline Table 10.1 Impact of COMNET@Sengkang Question

1 2

I have made friends through COMNET I can gain emotional support from COMNET people when I feel bad 3 I feel that participation has improved my general physical health 4 Participation has made me aware of the importance of physical activity 5 I feel that participation has improved my general psychological well-being 6 Through participation, I can help others 7 Through participation, I have better ideas of where I can go for help 8 I feel that volunteers are generally helpful 9 Overall, I am satisfied with COMNET 10 Overall, participation has impacted me positively

Agree n

%

49 46

96.08 90.20

44 48

86.27 94.12

45

88.24

39 36

76.47 70.59

46 50 48

90.20 98.04 94.12

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and improved physical condition. This was particularly true for those interview participants with such physical problems as chronic pain, arthritis, osteoporosis and hypertension. My shoulder has periarthritis. After doing exercise here for half a year, the periarthritis disappeared. I am old. My knees are not in good condition. The exercise does good to my legs and arms. Many survey participants (86.27 per cent) felt that participation had improved their general physical health. It could be argued that a pervasive sense of perceived control over body resulted from this feeling. Of the surveyed participants, 94.12 per cent acknowledged that participation has made them aware of the importance of physical activity. This awareness would probably lead to more physical exercise, which in turn would contribute to a sense of perceived control over the body. Some interview participants said that they exercised to prevent future physical dependency. It appeared that this preventive coping could be an important contributor to relieve the concern about physical decline and to increase the sense of perceived control over the body. Theme 2: participation provided social empowerment SU BTH EM E 1 : PA RT I C I P A T I O N P RO VI DE D A S E NS E O F SO CIAL CO N N ECT ED N ES S

Not only did the programme serve as a locus for physical activity, but it also was a platform for social interaction and integration. It was clear that this was a place where participants could make new friends and socialise with other service users. Almost all of survey participants (96.08 per cent) had made friends through this programme. Conceivably, this was one of the programme’s important appeals to them. These are some statements made by interview participants: Happy, get to make friends. Everyone is happy and has a sense of belonging. I can make new friends and develop new relations. People here are friendly.… At home or at void deck, sometimes nobody wants to talk to me. Feel bad. Come here to socialise with other old people. We are the same age, so we have the same language. Feel good. These quotes illustrate the rewards of social interaction. It was not uncommon that interview participants voiced concerns about the adverse impact of social isolation such as boredom and loneliness:

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At home, have nobody to talk with, feel very bored. Come here, no boredom. I know people here. Old people are lonely. I’m already 84 years old and my friends have passed away. Come here, I can chitchat with people. At the void deck, know nobody. For lonely older persons, spending a certain amount of time with people would contribute towards alleviating the negative impact of loneliness. One of the implications is that participation not only helped interview participants to stay connected with the social fabric but also helped them to expand social support network and thus increase social capital. According to rational choice theory (Coleman 1988), those who have increased investment in the programme would be likely to accrue more social capital. SUBTH EM E 2 : PA RT I C I P A T I O N B RO U G H T S OC I A L S UP P O RT

A majority of interview participants had received social support, particularly informational support (e.g. information about medical treatment) and emotional support. And 90.20 per cent of survey participants agreed that they gained emotional support from COMNET people. An interview participant had this to say: When I am worried or sad, I can share my feelings and worries and get comforted here.… I feel the family-like warmth. It makes sense to say that participation would take on more significance to service users if social support was available. Old people have nowhere to go, come here is good la. They also organise excursions, very good. Some old people are fearful of going out alone, feel no sense of security because accidents may happen and nobody takes care of you. Like me, dizziness makes me afraid to go out alone. But go out with many old people, I am happy I don’t feel light-headed. Even something bad happens to me, people will not leave me in the lurch. From this quote, it can be seen that the perceived availability of social support brought a sense of security. The opportunity to provide social support for others was also another important finding. This behaviour was most clearly seen in those who saw value in and gained happiness from helping others. I feel as if I am a ‘big sister’ who can comfort others when they are in difficulty. I feel that I still can contribute by helping prepare for exercise.

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Theme 3: participation led to psychological empowerment There was a prevalent perception of reaping psychological benefits from participation: 88.24 per cent of survey participants felt that participation had improved their general psychological well-being. A major dimension of psychological empowerment was cognitive functioning. Quotes from interview participants suggest how the programme might benefit cognitive functioning. Participation could help to maintain mental activity, so old people won’t become a dementia patient. Socialisation makes us not so bored and more mentally active. This is good for our memory and our mind. Another dimension of psychological empowerment was emotional functioning. A great percentage of interview participants commented that participation helped to engender feelings of pleasure and happiness. Some interview participants professed that participation maintained a positive sense of self and selfesteem. At home there are not so many people. Here so many people, say hello to each other, so friendly, so happy, so heart-warming. In summary, the synergy of tripartite empowerment increases elderly service users’ social capital, helps them retain a sense of connectedness and a positive sense of self, and is conducive to their physical, psychological and social wellbeing. Challenges The preceding findings indicated some achievements resulting from the synergy of the tripartite empowerment of staff, volunteers and service users. However, this synergy was not without challenges or gaps. Five striking challenges were identified. First, there was difficulty engaging and empowering a greater number of older adults due to space constraints and limited resources. As one participant said, ‘The more people, the better. But this space cannot accommodate more people.’ This view was shared by many other interview participants. This challenge, in turn, is due to the limited space that the Compassvale Vista Residents’ Committee can secure, as other spaces are also currently in use by other Residents’ Committees, who have their own regular scheduled activities. Second, many interview participants suggested that there should be three sessions a week. They requested this as they were mostly retirees and wanted to have more engagement in activities that would help them spend time meaningfully. Although this sounded reasonable, a shortfall in volunteers prevented the

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programme from adopting such a suggestion. Rostering among the volunteers was not possible as well because some of them held part-time jobs, with changing work schedules every week, while others had other volunteering or caregiving commitments at home. For the volunteers, they had already made arrangements to come for the sessions and it was not possible to request for them to make further commitments to come for extra sessions. Third, some service users were unable to continue participation due to health deterioration. As the core programme consists of structured exercises which requires the use of gross motor skills in the arms and legs, as well as fine motor skills in the hands, it was observed that some elderly were not able to fully participate in the exercise. Some may have had incidents of stroke or gradual loss of function due to atrophy. While there were some elderly who remained in the group out of either a sense of belonging or routine, there were also some who gradually dropped out. Sometimes, home visit attempts were made to check on the well-being of the elderly who had dropped out and they would be linked to other forms of support if needed. Perhaps it would be beneficial to have a follow-through period to ensure that the elderly receive services that are appropriate to their needs as their health deteriorates further. Fourth, levels of cultural sensitivity and competence were not satisfactory enough. When COMNET@Sengkang began running, there were participants from different ethnic groups. In order to promote inclusiveness, English was used as the major language of communication. However, it was found that for most of the elderly, they were only able to communicate in their own native tongue, for example, Mandarin (or variant dialects), Malay or Tamil. Hence, English was changed to Mandarin and Malay to communicate with the elderly. Over time, as COMNET@Sengkang began to see attrition as well (due to changing family circumstances or death), the group began to see an increase in Mandarin-speaking participants and a reduction in other ethnic groups. As the group became more ethnically homogeneous, so did the practices in the group. For example, Halal and vegetarian foods were not provided. Another example was an inadequate understanding of service users with foreign cultural backgrounds, which might discourage some service users from continuing participation. It is important to note that cultural sensitivity and competence would promote intercultural interaction, cohesion and empowerment. At this point, it is probably more difficult for the elderly of a different cultural background to feel included given the homogeneity of the group, however it is possible to take some initial steps towards inclusivity. For example, the group would benefit from having volunteers who can speak the various native tongues of the elderly, in order to help them build connections within the group. The group could also consider catering food from companies that provide halal and vegetarian options, so as to allow more elderly to participate in meals as a group and build cohesion. Fifth, the programme was not able to meet other needs such as singing, dancing and Qigong. Of major concern was that some of service users might gradually lose their interest in the structured exercise because they might

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perceive it as being monotonous. Several interview participants echoed this opinion that a broader view of service users’ needs was appropriate. We are always doing the same exercise every time. Sometimes it would be nice if we could do something else. Sengkang FSC is acutely aware of these gaps and understands that deriving more rewards from participation is important for service users’ sustained engagement. Therefore, it will spare no effort to bridge these gaps with a view to improving and maintaining the health, well-being and quality of life of older people in the programme.

Recommendations To enhance the synergising of the said tripartite empowerment in future, a more proactive and broader approach to empowerment-oriented practice can be utilised in the following ways. First, there is an increasing number of senior citizens in the Sengkang area as more of them move there from other parts of Singapore, so it would be better to take the initiative to increase and mobilise resources such as recruiting and training more volunteers. This would increase the likelihood of expanding the pool of elderly service users and help more older persons age successfully. Second, it would be appropriate to view older persons as heterogeneous. For example, different characteristics and needs between the young-old and the oldold need to be recognised and understood. Gaining deeper insights into elderly service users’ needs would facilitate more personalised services, such as having specific group exercises catered to those with slight loss of mobility or functioning in their limbs, compared to those who are more mobile. Services accommodating age-specific characteristics and needs and respecting heterogeneity would strengthen the empowerment of the programme, as programme staff and volunteers would be challenged to come up with better services to better meet the needs of participants. The greater personalisation of services would also encourage greater ownership shown by the participants, as they would be more willing to continue attending and participating in a programme that shows respect and accommodates their needs. Third, promoting senior volunteerism would help to ease the strain of having limited staff. It became manifest that many service users were not without desire and readiness to make contributions to the programme through volunteerism. An important aspect of senior volunteerism is to empower elderly volunteers to take the initiative, to cooperate with each other and to maintain their motivation. This would not only help them to spend time meaningfully, but would also help them grow in their interpersonal skills as they volunteer among their peers, boosting their self-esteem too. Fourth, adopting a culturally sensitive approach is of significance to empowerment. A great deal of attention needs to be paid to intercultural communication

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and interaction, catering for cultural diversity and multicultural strengths. As covered previously, the areas of language and food can be starting points for COMNET@Sengkang to work on improving cultural sensitivity. As different ethnic and religious groups begin to be included more, this would invite greater participation, thereby increasing the diversity of the group as well. From there, it can be a great launching pad for COMNET@Sengkang to consider new, culturally diverse yet inclusive activities as well. Finally, it would be wise to take a proactive stance to identify and empower those who are vulnerable or isolated so as to help them age in place. It has become increasingly evident that ageing in place is empowering (Wiles et al. 2011). While this may not be a current aim of COMNET@Sengkang, it is an area well worth considering, especially in terms of wanting to provide better services to the elderly in the community, as there are elderly who will not be able to leave their homes due to health issues.

Conclusion The evaluation study suggested that COMNET@Sengkang helped service users to maintain a sense of perceived control over the body and brought them social and psychological empowerment, thus conducing to their physical, psychological and social well-being. These achievements can be attributed to the synergy of the so-called tripartite empowerment. However, when looking at favourable outcomes of the programme, caution must be exercised due to limitations of the evaluation study including the cross-sectional design, self-reported data and the possible influence of social desirability. The current practices carried out by COMNET@Sengkang also reflect its conceptual foundations, in that the activities were designed with the aim of slowing down disability and disease, retaining a higher level of physical and cognitive functioning in the elderly, and continuing social engagement and productive activity for them. Through a collaborative approach with the Compassvale Vista Residents’ Committee, the empowerment of programme staff and volunteers also happen concurrently. Looking ahead, the challenges for the COMNET@Sengkang programme to grow include the lack of a bigger physical space, limited funding, as well as the presence of other elderly programmes in the community. As the physical space is provided by the Residents’ Committee, there is limited space where the programme can be held. Funding is also limited as the programme is currently funded mainly by the Compassvale Vista Residents’ Committee, with Sengkang FSC providing a more consultative role in the process. In addition, the presence of elderly programmes organised by other RCs will also mean that some elderly would choose to join these other programmes, either due to location, presence of friends they have in these programmes or activities that better suit their interests. The challenge of institutionalisation, as with certain programmes run for elderly, can also be real, especially given the low manpower usually available in

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running the programme. To counter this, the processes in place at COMNET@ Sengkang help to ensure that the views of the participants are taken into consideration. For example, the elderly are encouraged to provide feedback at group exercise sessions, and volunteers also ask for suggestions and feedback on the activities they should be organising. The elderly are also encouraged to participate and contribute, such as during festive celebrations, where the elderly voluntarily bring food to share in a pot-luck style. This allows them to take some level of ownership in the programme as well. The achievements and challenges of the programme set the foundation for future development. COMNET@Sengkang would make efforts to enhance the synergising of this tripartite empowerment. These efforts may include expanding the pool of elderly service users, recruiting and training more volunteers, viewing older persons as heterogeneous, taking a proactive stance to identify those who are vulnerable, promoting senior volunteerism, adopting a culturally sensitive approach and gaining deeper insights into elderly service users’ needs.

Acknowledgements The authors would like to express their appreciation to the following people who have contributed to this study: t
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References Braun, V. and Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2): 77–101. Breton, M. (1994). On the Meaning of Empowerment and Empowerment-Oriented Social Work Practice. Social Work With Groups, 17(3): 23–37. DOI: 10.1300/ +WO@ $PMFNBO
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Analysis: A Hybrid Approach of Inductive and Deductive Coding and Theme Development. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1): 80–92.

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'SBDtures Among Older Adults: A Review of the Epidemiologic Evidence. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 48(8): 883–893. Housing Development Board. (2015). HDB Annual Report 2014/2015. Singapore: Housing & Development Board. Retrieved from www10.hdb.gov.sg/ebook/ar2015/ key-statistics.html. King, A.C. (2001). Interventions to Promote Physical Activity by Older Adults. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 56 (suppl. 2): 36–46. %0*
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The Empowerment Approach to Social Work Practice: Building the Beloved Community
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Social Work Treatment: Interlocking Theoretical Approaches (5th FEO 
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The Gerontologist, 37(4): 433–440. DOI: 10.1093/geront/37.4.433. 3PXF
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House. Tan, K.P.A.S. (2003). Democracy and the Grassroots Sector in Singapore. Space and Polity, 7(1): 3. 8BMTI
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Theories for Direct Social Work Practice. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. 8JMFT
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of ‘Aging In Place’ to Older People. The Gerontologist, 52(3): 357–366. Zimmerman, M.A. (2000). Empowerment Theory: Psychological, Organizational, and $PNNVOJUZ
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11 Transforming long-term care of the elderly in three Chinese societies Shiyu Lu and Mattias G. Ottervik

Introduction This chapter compares long-term care of the elderly (LTCE) in three Chinese societies: the Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Taiwan. These societies are in the middle of a rapid transformation from overwhelmingly young to increasingly ageing societies, with a rising need for LTCE. This is a drastic break from the recent past when schooling, not elderly care, absorbed the attention of policy makers. These societies are directly influenced by Confucian culture and history, and are comparable from a developmental perspective (e.g. scoring 0.894, 0.922 and 0.975 respectively on the Health dimension of the Human Development Index in 2011) (UNDP 2013), but have been under very distinctive political systems with very different administrative histories. While this chapter is mainly descriptive by design, it will be able to speak to the larger issues of variance within and the nature of an East Asian welfare regime (cf. Aspalter 2006). Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan are theoretically interesting because of their shared culture and history, but very different political systems. ‘Culture’ is often considered to be an important independent variable in comparative studies, that is, East Asia is generally argued to be culturally coherent and comparing three Chinese societies controls for culture to a greater extent than other East Asian comparisons. While culture is controlled, the three cover a full range of political systems, for which scholars, for example Aspalter (2001, 2002), have argued to be a critical factor in the shaping of welfare commitments. LTCE is by itself theoretically interesting as it speaks to the tension between the two streams of research on the East Asian welfare state. One stream describes the welfare regimes of East Asian countries as Confucianist, that is, marked by ‘deference “upwards” … due care and protection downwards’ (Jones 1990: 450). Another stream, the developmental approach, emphasises the instrumental rational approach to welfare in East Asia as ‘social rights were, first and foremost, confined to the realm of economic participation and public commitment to investment in social development’ (Aspalter 2006: 290). There is a clear normative tension between the Confucian rite of benevolence (Solinger 2013) and the developmental state subordination of social policies to economic policy (Holliday 2000). This tension is clear in LTCE.

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Confucian ethics would stipulate ‘care and protection’ for the elderly who are both deserving of respect for their age as well as being the least able to care for themselves. The developmental state productivist approach would dictate little or no support for those who are unlikely to be productive members of society. A close study of LTCE in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan reveals very different LTCE regimes. The arrangements for financing, eligibility, scope of service, service delivery, administration and regulation all differ. Hong Kong LTCE is funded by the government through a tax-based regime. The elderly who need long-term care (LTC), regardless of their economic situation, are covered under the public tax-based LTC regime. There is co-payment in residential care but the government offers financial support for the needy. Although China has many policy pilot programmes in LTC, the main policy framework is still a means-tested model and with considerable familial responsibility. Taiwan is undergoing a paradigm shift in LTCE policy as it moves from a government subsidy and a means-tested model to a social insurance model. The transition to the social insurance expands the targeted group from poor and disabled elderly to all individuals with different levels of ADL impairments. When comparing LTCE policies in these three Chinese societies, which share the same Confucian roots, the effects of political systems and context stands out. The structure of this chapter is the following. The second section presents the three societies, as well as the overall structure of their welfare systems are also described here. The third section presents the study methodology and findings of how LTC is structured in the three societies. Finally, the article is concluded in the fourth section.

China and the East Asian welfare regime LTCE is interesting in relation to the East Asian welfare regime for two reasons. First, LTCE is a pure form of welfare spending. Unlike welfare programmes directed at the young or middle-aged, LTCE by itself offers no future economic returns produced by the recipients of the welfare. This is relevant as Aspalter argues that a ‘major attribute of the East Asian welfare model is its clear focus on productive investment in social and in particular human capital development, such as a commitment in education, healthcare, housing, work experience and training’ (Aspalter 2006: 297). According to this description, in developmental state productivist states in East Asia LTCE should be comparatively low as it is expensive, non-productive social spending. Second, and contradicting the first point is that a defining characteristic of the Confucianism that has marked much of East Asia is respect and concern for the elderly in general and parents in particular. Confucius had much to say on the topic of filial piety, arguing that children should obey and care for their parents. This is relevant as Jones (1993) has described the East Asian welfare regime as Confucianist. Benevolence lies at the heart of Confucian political theory. A government that does not concern itself with the welfare of its citizens, not least those elderly who are not able to care for themselves, treads dangerous moral ground. Confucianism was sponsored by

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the early modern state in Japan, Korea, as well as China, and their early modern history is incomprehensible without accounting for it (see Chang 1963; Rozman 1991). To discount its present-day influence is therefore problematic. While Jones’ Confucianist argument appears to have diminished in influence (Abrahamson 2011: 15), the historical influence of Confucianism on the region suggests that LTCE should not be an inconsequential area for policy makers. The primary research question is how three Chinese societies have structured their LTCE. In a rapidly ageing region, this is interesting per se and is the main focus of the paper. However, the question touches on the larger literature on the nature of welfare provision in a rapidly transforming East Asia. Three Chinese societies: Guangdong, Taiwan, Hong Kong There are two reasons for selecting Guangdong, Taiwan and Hong Kong as cases in this chapter. First, it is theoretically relevant to study the tension between Confucian benevolence and developmental state productivism as suggested above by comparing three Chinese societies. Guangdong, Taiwan and Hong Kong share the Confucian culture and the characteristics of the (East Asian) developmental welfare systems. By comparing LTCE policies in these three Chinese societies, variances will be observed on how China Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan apply strategies to respond to the typical unproductive group – the frail elderly who need LTC under different political systems. Therefore, this design facilitates our understanding of how different political systems present and respond to tension between Confucian culture and developmental state imperatives. Second, it is practically constructive to compare policy learning across Chinese societies. Policy learning is frequent among these three Chinese societies, especially by China Mainland which has in recent years increasingly analysed and transferred policies from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Currently China Mainland is conducting policy experiments in Qingdao, Shanghai and other cities on LTC insurance. Comparing China Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan offers insight into the different policy issues and challenges these regions. From China, Guangdong was chosen for its proximity, culturally as well as physically, to Hong Kong and because its developmental level is comparable to that of Hong Kong and Taiwan. On the Health dimension of the Human Development Index, Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan score 0.894, 0.922 and 0.975 respectively (UNDP 2011, 2013; TBS 2015). Guangdong was chosen because of the significant variance in development level and social policy in China Mainland. China has great disparities in elderly care services development and Guangdong is uniquely comparable to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Previous studies on LTC in three Chinese societies Very little comparative study of LTCE policy has been done across Chinese societies. Several strategies were used to identify potential relevant studies. The

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bibliographic databases Academic Search Premier, Social Services Abstract, Social Work Abstract, ProQuest 500 and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for the following series of key words: (1) longterm care, social services, social care and home care; (2) policy and system; (3) for the elderly, the old, the seniors, the retired and the aged; (4) Hong Kong, Taiwan and China Mainland. Results were narrowed down to include only published academic journals, reviews and books. Unpublished sources were searched for using Google Scholar. Because LTCE policy has changed rapidly in recent years, the time range was limited to 2000 to 2015. Based on above literature search strategies, six articles and books were found (see Table 11.1). From the literature review, it seems that little systematic, comparative study has been done on how Chinese societies under different political systems respond to the challenges brought about by an ageing population. Even though there are some comparisons of Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, few of them compare the three societies using a systematic framework. Most of them review the LTC policy on the services delivery level or administrative level. To understand how the three societies respond to their ageing population a systematic comparative framework is necessary. The framework use in this chapter is described here. Table 11.1 Summary of six articles (made by authors) Title

Author and year

The Comparison of LongTerm Care Policy for the Elderly between Taiwan and Mainland China

Chinchu Chuang Not included (2009)

Confucian Filial Piety and Ruiping Fan Long-Term Care for Aged (2006) Parents

Hong Kong

China Mainland

Taiwan

Included

Included

Included

Included

Not included

Long-Term Care in Asia

Terry Lum (2012)

Included

Included

Included

Long-Term Care in the 21st Century: Perspectives from Around the AsiaPacific Rim

Iris Chi (2013)

Included

Not included

Included

Tsung-hsi Fu and Not included Ageing in East Asia: Challenges and Policies for Rhidian Hughes the Twenty-First Century (2009)

Included

Included

Ageing in the Asia-Pacific Phillips (2000) Region

Included

Included

Included

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LTC in three Chinese societies The structure of this section is the following. First, the methodology of this study is discussed in the methodology section. Second, the definition of LTCE and the analytical framework is presented in the definition of LTCE and analytical framework sections. Third, the ageing population in the three Chinese societies is discussed. Fourth, LTCE in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan is presented in three separate sections. Finally, this analysis is concluded with a discussion of the findings. Methodology To examine the differences and similarities in LTCE under the different political systems in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Guangdong a systematic framework was used. Data on LTCE in these societies was analysed according to the five themes proposed by Doyle and Timonen (2007): (1) financing arrangements, (2) eligibility, (3) service delivery, (4) services and (5) administration and regulation. These themes, along with a definition of LTCE are discussed in the definition of LTCE and analytical framework sections. The scope of data collection included the official documents about LTC policy, journal articles and any published official reports. Definition of LTCE Conceptually, LTCE can be difficult to define (Sherwood 1975). The challenge of defining LTCE comes from the sub-concepts being unclear, including longterm (e.g. how long should care be for us to label it as LTC), what constitutes care and what are the characteristics of the elderly who need to use LTC. Largely because of this, definitions of LTCE vary from country to country and from scholar to scholar. As early as the 1950s, the most prevalent approach, formulated by the US Commission on Chronic Illness, was to distinguish LTC from acute care by applying a cut-off point of more than ninety days (Weissert 1984). However, there was no justification for using ninety days as a cut-off point. Later, scholars and practitioners distinguished between functional disabilities affecting the Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and dependency (Sherwood 1975). According to previous studies, LTC for the elderly have at least three characteristics. First, LTCE is different from acute care for the elderly (Norton 2000). It refers to a continuum of medical and social services designed to support the needs of the elderly living with chronic health problems that influence their ability to perform everyday activities. Unlike acute care, the main goal of which is to return the elderly to a previous level of functioning, the goal of LTCE is to prevent deterioration and promote social adjustment to stages of decline (McCall 2001). In some cases, acute care needs to be combined with LTCE and it is quite common for the elderly receiving inpatient care. However, after

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the acute care, LTC in nursing homes or by family is crucial for the quality of life for frail elderly. Second, LTCE is focused on the needs of the elderly who are frail or have functional impairments. If an elderly person does not have any functional problems that affect their daily living, they don’t need LTC. On the other hand, if the elderly have functional limitations, like eating, walking, hygiene maintenance, bathing and dressing, they can be seen as frail elderly and need to be covered by LTC. The frail elderly are defined as those who are over sixty-five years old and who depend on others for the ADL (Rockwood et al. 1994). In other words, frailty is equated with functional dependence in the ADL. Third, LTC is defined as the range of services required by persons with reduced functional capacity, physical or cognitive, and who, for an extended period of time, are as a consequence dependent on others for help with basic ADL. This personal care component is frequently provided in combination with help with basic medical services such as nursing care, as well as prevention, rehabilitation or services of palliative care. LTC services can be also be combined with lower-level care related to domestic help or help with instrumental ADL (Colombo et al. 2011: 12). It includes three main types of long-term care: community care, institutional care and informal care. LTCE refers to a range of services designed to support frail elderly who have functional limitations in activities daily living. LTC aims to prevent deterioration of functional capacity and help those frail elderly maintain their healthy functional abilities. It involves medical care and social services. Most of the services are personal care and home care. Community care, institutional care and informal care are main categories in LTC for the elderly. Analytical framework As discussed in the methodology section, the analytical framework has five themes, as shown in Figure 11.1. This is drawn from Doyle and Timonen (2007). Each theme is discussed in detail below. Financing structure The development of the LTC financing system and health care financing models in the developed countries are similar because OECD countries developed their LTC financing models based on the health care financing systems (Chui et al. 2009). Therefore, a review on the health care financing system is necessary for an understanding of LTC financing. According to a research report by The University of Hong Kong (Chui et al. 2009), health care/LTC financing mechanisms can be grouped into five categories, including tax-based, social insurance, private insurance and user fees.

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Services Community-based care can offer a mid-level living arrangement and medical attention for those who need but do not want to stay in a nursing home. It is also called ‘board and care homes’ or ‘continuing care retirement communities (CCRC)’. All nursing homes have medical and nursing care as their primary mission. Therefore, they are equipped with substantial facilities for medical treatment and recuperative therapies. Services delivery Services delivery model refers to the way in which services are provided to the clients. Services providers can be either from the public sector or private sector. Eligibility Eligibility refers to those who benefit from the services. It means the scope of services. There are two major categories of eligibility. The first one is a universal one, which is based on citizenship or social right. The other one is a selective one, such as by means of mean-tested approach. There is an assessment system to identify to the targeted group. Basically, age and need of LTC (Activity of Daily Living) and income.

151

Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies Regulation

Different LTC systems apply different means of regulation, like a centralised LTC system, where central governments are responsible for the planning, policy-making and implementation. It refers to which administrative department is responsible for the regulation. Ageing population in China Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan Ageing population China Mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have all witnessed rapid growth in the elderly population, that is, 65 years old or older, as a percentage of the total population (see Figure 11.2). Hong Kong has the largest proportion of elderly of the three Chinese societies. Over the last three decades, the proportion of the elderly has increased from 8.7 per cent in 1990 to 14 per cent in 2013. In Taiwan, the same group has increased from 6.22 per cent to 11.53 per cent of the population. Although China Mainland has the smallest proportion of elderly of the three, it actually has the largest population of the elderly in the world (about 132 million people, or about 10 per cent of the total population). The oldest old The oldest old (the elderly above age eighty-five) deserve special attention as members of this group as they are disproportionately likely to become frail and disabled, and thus reliant on LTC. In 2014, for every 100 Taiwan

Percentage of population

15

10

5

China Hong Kong Taiwan

0 1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

Figure 11.2 Population 65 and older (percentage of total) from 1990 to 2014. Source: Census and Statistic Department of Hong Kong (2012); National Bureau of Statistics of China (2014); Statistical Bureau of Taiwan (2015).

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residents there were eleven elderly. For every ten elderly Taiwanese, four can be classified as the oldest old. Similarly, in 2013 in Hong Kong, there were fourteen elderly per hundred people. Thus, 4.5 out of ten elderly in Hong Kong can be classified as the oldest old. A large ageing population does not necessarily mean a commensurate financial burden for society. However, the large oldest old population is almost by necessity a considerable burden. In less developed countries, LTC infrastructure is generally limited or unavailable. Financial fees are mainly paid by the family of the elderly, reducing the resources for education or employment. Similarly, migrant labour in developing countries has a direct impact on the availability of informal elderly care. These two factors – the absence of subsidised formal care and a reduction of informal care –jointly create challenges in the care of the oldest old in these societies. Along with the high rates of disability and longer life expectancy for females, women have become disproportionately responsible for the care of the elderly. In the following sections, LTCE in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan will be discussed in turn. LTCE in Guangdong There are currently several different policy initiatives in China in the area of LTCE. For example, Qingdao and Shanghai are testing a LTC social insurance model. Beijing is providing LTC service vouchers for users. Guangzhou will test integrating health care and LTC. Even though there is a significant divergence in LTC development, LTC policy remains unchanged in China Mainland. The article will take Guangzhou as an example to indicate LTC policy in China Mainland (see Figure 11.3). The reason for choosing Guangzhou as a case study to compare with Hong Kong and Taiwan is because: (1) the ageing population ratio in Guangzhou ranks median in the list of all the cities; (2) the basic policy framework is the same as most other parts of the China Mainland, unlike Qingdao and Shanghai which are conducting pilot programmes; and (3) Guangzhou is making efforts to promote its LTC services. Financing LTCE in Guangdong is similar to that in Taiwan. It is government-subsided model, based on targeting the elderly who are poor (sanwu ϝ᮴ and wubao Ѩֱ) and have impaired ADL functionality. There are two parts of financing sources: t


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Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies

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Needs assessment by District Bureau of Civic Affairs and platform of waiting list for public nursing homes (3 categories) Assessment criteria Activity of daily living Mental status Sensory and communication Social involvement

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Services LTC service in Guangzhou, as in most of the mainland, involves community care service, institutional care and home care services. Based on the national principles of developing LTC in China, the focus of service development is on the community-based and home-based LTC. Service delivery In institutional care, 70 per cent of residential care in Guangzhou is provided by the private sector. However, the private nursing homes are market-driven and the government encourages the development of private nursing homes through tax reductions, subsidies based on the number of special elderly (sanwu ϝ᮴ and wubao Ѩֱ) per capita. Public nursing homes also provide elderly care, but the target or primary groups are poor elderly with LTC needs. Recently, Guangzhou launched a waiting list mechanism to guarantee care for those with the most critical LTC needs. Regulation and administration Public LTC in most of the provinces is administrated by the department of civil affairs. The Ministry of Civil Affairs is responsible for setting the policy agenda and writing regulations. The Department and the Bureaus of Civil Affairs on the

Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies

155

provincial government level are responsible for making local polices and setting regulatory standards. While the Bureaus of Civil Affairs at the county government levels are responsible for implementing local polices and regulations, within the Department or Bureaus of Civil Affairs, the social assistance divisions or social welfare divisions are mainly in charge of the public LTC service. From this administrative organisation, China defines public LTC as social assistance services in the context of home-based and residential care. LTCE in Hong Kong The Hong Kong Government, before and after 1997, has persistently upheld the principle of ‘ageing in place’ in the development of LTCE services, which allows the oldest old to receive care in their own residence (Chui et al. 2009).

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The standardised care needs assessment mechanism Home-based care Integrated Home Care Services

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Residential care Care and attention home for the elderly Nursing home

Co-payment in public residential care, or, if necessary, apply for support

The department or social work service quality standards – 16 items funding and service agreement

Public and private sectors case management

Figure 11.4 Hong Kong financing of LTC from 2012–2013 to 2014–2015. Source: Social Welfare Department (2014).

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Financing The Hong Kong LTCE programme is basically funded by government through a tax-based regime (see Figure 11.4). Table 11.2 shows the trend of public expenditures on elderly services, of which LTC constitutes a large part. According to Social Welfare Department (2014), provision for 2014–2015 is HK$806.6 million (15.3 per cent) higher than the revised estimate for 2013–2014. This state of affairs has received a lot of attention since a tremendous fiscal burden on public finance would be posed by the increase of ageing population and life expectancy. In the community care service (CCS) domain, due to the limited development of private sector community-based care service in Hong Kong, the public model prevails. The tax-based model provides a significant subsidy to the CCS providers, mainly NGOs, which covers 80 per cent of the service cost, while a very minor portion of user fees (nominal fee) supplements public financing (Sau Po Center on Ageing 2011). In the residential care services (RCS) domain, there exists a mix of public and private modes. As far as NGOs are concerned, the government provides them with an array of support for the provision of subsidised RCS. Private residential care providers account for 70 per cent of the number of nursing beds. Eligibility To realise the policy of ‘Ageing in Place’ and ‘Continuum of Care’ and streamline the application procedures, since November 2003 the Social Welfare Department has implemented the Central Waiting List for Subsidised Long-Term Care Table 11.2 Hong Kong Financing of LTC from 2012–2013 to 2014–2015 2012–2013 (actual)

2013–2014 (original)

2013–2014 (revised)

2014–2015 (estimate)

2,076.8

2,218.7

2,226.5

2,342.5

31,239.4

40,334.0

39,622.1

40,180.3

Services for elders

4,894.6

5,438.1

5,272.0

6,078.6

Rehabilitation and medical services

4,003.2

4,378.6

4,253.6

5,051.6

Services for offenders

323.0

344.4

337.1

348.1

Community development

168.9

170.1

175.6

170.2

Family and child welfare Social security

Young people Total

1,771.1

1,838.9

1,859.5

1,737.9

44,477.0

54,778.8

53,746.4 (–1.8%)

55,909.5 

Source: Social Welfare Department (2014).

Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies

157

Services. This facilitates the registration of requests for subsidised long-term care services at a single entry point and the allocation of such services. Standardised care need assessment is arranged for older people at the time of their application for subsidised long-term care services with a view to assessing their care needs and matching them with the right kind of service. Assessors are professionals from various disciplines such as social workers, nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. They have received training and accreditation on the use of the MDS-HC assessment tool. Assessors conduct a comprehensive assessment of the applicants’ impairment level based on their abilities in ADL, physical functioning, memory, communication, behaviour and emotion, as well as the applicants’ health problems, environmental risk and coping problem and so on with a view to identifying their care needs (Social Welfare Department 2007). Service delivery The government does not provide LTC services directly, but rather provides funding to service operators/providers in both the CCS and RCS domains with service quality ensured through monitoring by the Social Welfare Department (SWD). The private market also plays an important role in the provision of LTC services. In the residential care services domain, there exists a mix of public and private modes. So far as NGOs are concerned, the government provides them with an array of support for the provision of subsidised RCS. The government also encourages NGOs to operate self-financing residential care homes or places in their subverted residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) to cater for the needs of elders who are financially more capable. In 2001, a new mode of selecting operators, which is competitive bidding, for subsidised RCHEs was developed (Chui et al. 2009). Benefits/services Residential care services are dominant in the LTC services even though the Hong Kong government has put ageing in place as a policy core (Figure 11.5). Currently, the Government’s provision of subsidised CCS as Long-Term Care services include the three aspects of Enhanced Home and Community Care Services Integrated Home Care Services (Frail Cases), Day Care Centers (DEs) and Day Care Units (DCUs). Issues and challenges The sustainability of long-term care financing is an outstanding problem in the Hong Kong LTC system. With an ageing population and increased life expectancy, the demand for LTC services will outpace supply. Thus, the future financial burden for government is likely to be considerable, especially since Hong

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Service scope Enhanced Home and Community Care Services (EHCCS)

Targets Aged 65 or above; and those aged 60–64 with proven needs, with moderate or severe levels of impairment.

Integrated Home Care Services (IHCS) Day Care Centres (DEs) and Day Care Units (DCUs)

Services

Basically the same as that of the EHCCS.

Older people (aged 60 or above) who suffer from moderate to severe impairment and are assessed as frail cases.

Screening mechanism

Care management, basic and special nursing care, personal care, rehabilitation exercises, day care service, carer support services, day respite service, 24-hour emergency support.

The Standard Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services (SCNAMES)

Personal care, nursing care, rehabilitation exercise, health education, carer support services, counselling and referral services, meals, social and recreational activities, transportation service to and from the centre, and carer support services.

Figure 11.5 LTC of community-based care services in Hong Kong. Sources: Sau Po Center on Ageing (2011) and Social Welfare Department (2014).

Kong is currently adopting a low tax regime (Sau Po Center on Ageing 2011). A few proposals have been suggested to deal with the challenge, like a meanstest mechanism (Chou et al. 2008), encouraging the private sector to take an active role, introducing a voucher system (Chou et al. 2008) and establishing LTC insurance. Increasing public expenditure has resulted in an imbalance between public and private LTC services and an imbalance between home care and residential care (Sau Po Center on Ageing 2011). LTCE in Taiwan LTC policy in Taiwan is in the middle of a shift (Figures 11.6 and 11.7). Taiwan became an ageing nation for the first time in 1993. In that year, people over sixtyfive years old accounted for 7.1 per cent of the population. In 2007, this figure was 10.1 per cent. In 2014, individuals over sixty-five reached 11.6 per cent of the population; in 2021, 16.5 per cent; and, in 2025, 20 per cent. However, Taiwan is working on the construction of social LTC insurance programme, which is expected to be launched in the coming two years (Nadash and Shih 2013). Unlike in Western countries, care for frail older people in Taiwan remains a private responsibility and a family obligation, as the country belongs to the familistic East Asian welfare regime (Kröger and Yeandle 2013). Financing In response to an ageing population, in April 2007, the Executive Yuan approved a Ten-Year Long-Term Care Plan with an investment of NT$81.7 billion (US$2.5 billion) to be made over the next decade. This is the nation’s biggest social welfare plan after the national pension programme (Executive

Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies

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159

Current LTCE system in Taiwan is financed by government subsidies by the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Health and Welfare

Low income 50–

The care management centres of local government change for the assessment Home-based services

Community- and home-based care

Home care Home modifications Personal care Rehabilitation services Skilled nursing

Adult day services Community care rehabilitation Foster care Meals Respite Transportation

The Department of Social Affairs The Department of Health Care management centre in local governments

Residential care Domiciliary institutions Long-term care institutions Nursing institutions

Allocating the services through private and non-profit organisations

Figure 11.6 Current system of public LTC in Taiwan.

Yuan 2014). The current LTC in Taiwan is out-of-pocket for most Taiwanese. In Taiwan, people under the age of fifty with disabilities who need LTC services belong to low-income households and receive limited health care services mainly through the National Health Insurance (Executive Yuan 2014). Government subsidies are from two departments, The Executive Yuan and Ministry of Health and Welfare.1 Between 2008 and 2011 subsidies increased rapidly (Table 11.3). Table 11.3 Financial support for the Ten-Year LTC Plan (Unit: NT$10 million) 2008

2009

2010

2011

Total

Executive Yuan Ministry of Wealth and Welfare

11.6 1.52

12.02 2.12

15.93 2.17

15.93 2.57

55.08 8.38

Total

12.68

14.14

18.10

18.54

63.46

Sources: Division of Nursing and Health Care (2013).

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Insured person

Long-term care insurance: object of insurance, employer, government in Taiwan

ADL

Mental disability

Application by insured person Home care Home nursing Home rehabilitation Home service Respite care

unit screen

assessment

Communitybased care

Residential care

Day care Community rehabilitation

All-day accomodation care

Cash benefits People with foreign caregivers not allowed to apply

10%: co-payment and remittance according to economic capacity

Department of Health long-term care service law

Public sector provided care management centre

Figure 11.7 Reforming public LTC in Taiwan.

Eligibility Under the plan, subsidised services will be available for four groups of people who need the following assistance in their daily lives because of reduced abilities: people over sixty-five; indigenous people in mountainous areas over fiftyfive; handicapped people between fifty and sixty-four; and old people who live alone and need help with ADL. In Taiwan, people under the age of fifty with disabilities who need LTC services are mostly in low-income households and receive limited health care services mainly through the National Health Insurance (Executive Yuan 2014). All cities have established care management centres and the assessment of LTC needs are conducted by these centres. The Ten Year Long-Term Care project has expanded the number of recipients who are disabled elderly. There was only 2.3 per cent coverage of targets in 2008 and it increased to: 5.7 per cent in 2009; 16.3 per cent in 2010; and then 21 per cent in 2011. In other words, the project has significantly improved LTC use.

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Services Services provided will include care services, in-home nursing, in-home rehabilitation, the purchase and lease of mechanical aids, assistance in making an in-home barrier-free environment, respiratory services, transportation, organisational care and the provision of nutritious meals. Subsidies will be based on extent of infirmity and family income levels and will range from full coverage to 60 per cent of the cost of care. According to the Ten-Year Long-Term Care Plan, costs of LTC services are shared between the government and users. Based on the economical situations of the disabled elderly, the government subsidises 70 per cent to the ordinary users, 90 per cent to the middle low-income users and 100 per cent to the low-income users Division of Nursing and Health Care (2013). Service delivery Service delivery systems are administered by local governments. All cities have established care management centres. They are responsible for assessment, allocating subsidies, monitoring and services quality control (Nadash and Shih 2013). Administration and regulation Central and local authorities share the financial responsibility according to the Ten-Year Long-Term Care Plan. According to the Division of Nursing and Health Care (2013), central authority subsidises a range from 75–95 per cent of costs to the local authorities based on their fiscal burden and service categories. However, local authorities are supposed to finance the three types of services: in-home nursing, in-home rehabilitation and respiratory services. Due to the differing ability of financing and allocation resources among various local governments, different areas have great disparities. Rural and relatively poor areas struggle to offer sufficient services (Yeh et al. 2009). Issues and challenges Due to the increasing ageing population, the prevalence of chronic diseases, female labour participation and lower fertility rate, the Taiwan government is planning to conduct LTC social insurance in Taiwan. This was promised by Taiwan leader Ma in 2008 (Li et al. 2013). The details of Taiwan LTC insurance policy is presented as follows in Figures 11.6 and 11.7. Discussion There are significant differences between the public LTC systems in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The differences include financing arrangements, eligibility, scope of services, service delivery, administration and regulation (see Table 11.4).

Largely funded by the government through a taxbased regime

Needs-based model, no means-tested mechanism

Largely relying on residential care, community care services relatively less developed, respite care

Services are provided through non-governmental organisations subsidised by government. The private market also plays an important role in the provision of LTC services

Social welfare department is responsible for the elderly care services

Financial

Eligibility

Service scope

Service delivery

Regulation and administration

Hong Kong

Focusing on the home and Benefits in-kind (home care, community care, no respite care community care and institutional care) and benefits in-cash Encouraging private sectors to invest into the nursing homes and providing services and government subsidy

Department or Bureaus of Civil Affairs in district-level administration implement and quality control

Rely on the public sector’s care management centre

Long-term care services law and long-term care insurance law

Focusing on the home and community care, available respite care Home and community care service delivery rely on local public sector’s care management centre. There are still private sectors in institutional care Shared financial responsibility among central and local authorities and division of health

Disability and poverty

Government subsidy and means-tested model

Physical or mental disabilities in need

Social insurance LTC, financed by government, the insured and employer

Government subsidy and means-tested model

Guangdong

Disability and poverty

Taiwan (reform-LTCE)

Taiwan (current)

Table 11.4 A summary of the findings of the survey of LTCE in three Chinese societies

Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies

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First, financing arrangements are different. Currently, from the perspective of financing sources, the three societies finance public LTC through general taxation. However, when observing financing arrangements from a broader perspective, the divergence of responsibility sharing between government and family are more clarified. The Hong Kong LTCE programme is basically funded by government through a tax-based regime. The elderly who are assessed to have LTC needs, regardless of their economic situation, apply for care services that are covered under the public tax-based LTC regime. There is co-payment in residential care, but if the applicants are in financial need, they can apply for financial support from the government. Although China has many policy pilot programmes in LTC, the main policy framework has stayed unchanged: a means-tested model with families taking on the main responsibility. Taiwan is undergoing a policy paradigm shift in LTC, moving from a government subsidy and means-tested model to a social insurance model, by expanding the targeted group originally who are the poor, disabled elderly to those who have different levels of ADL impairments. Second, the criteria of eligibility are not the same. There has been a hot debate on redistribution principles – universalism versus selectivity. Universalism means that social welfare and social services are redistributed based on social right. Selectivity means that social welfare is provided to those who cannot meet their own needs while those who can afford services from market pay out-ofpocket. Public LTC in Hong Kong is based on the principle of universalism. Those who are involved in the public residential care have a very small copayment. Those who cannot pay for themselves are supported financially by government. In contemporary Taiwan and Guangdong, public LTC is based on the principle of selectivity, just focusing on those residual seniors who have ADL impairments and have economic difficulty. However, the Taiwan administration has realised the burden brought by a selective mechanism on families and the LTC insurance reform will just screen for physical and mental needs for LTC. Hong Kong is also discussing whether to narrow the eligibility of public LTC. While Taiwan is moving towards a more Universalist system, Hong Kong is considering a move in the opposite direction. Third, the scope of services is not as different as the financing arrangements or the three other dimensions. The three regions provide the same categories of services, including home care, community care and residential care. Hong Kong, Guangdong and Taiwan all pursue the principle of ageing in place. However, according to (Chui et al. 2009), the institutionalisation rate in Hong Kong is the highest in these three regions. It indicates that the usage of home care, community care and residential care are different. The high usage of residential care might result in reduced development of home and community care and cause relatively high public expenditure. Respite care is only available in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The respite service is a form of temporary or short-term accommodation care service for the elderly. It aims to give a respite to family caregivers from the daily caregiving. It is very common in Scandinavian countries. It reflects support from government or

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NGOs to major family caregivers. Respite care has not been available in most of provinces in China Mainland. While Guangdong is planning to provide respite care it is still in the policy-making process. Fourth, service delivery strategies vary from one region to other. There are two options in service delivery strategies: public and private sector delivery. Although there has been a long debate about the strengths and weakness of both delivery strategies, outsourcing has been a popular one under the new public administration movement. Services in Hong Kong are provided through non-governmental organisations subsidised by government, but the private market also plays an important role in the provision of LTC services. The roles of the market or private sectors in Taiwan are comparatively weak. However, public LTC in China is provided through public sectors in residential care while home and community care are provided through NGOs. Finally, the approaches to administration and regulation among the three regions are slightly different. Public LTC in Hong Kong and Guangdong is under the departments of social welfare and civil affairs, which are both typically departments administrating social services. Public LTC is the department or division of health. Different administrations reflect different ways of organising LTC, either as a social service or as health care.

Conclusion This chapter has compared LTCE policy in three Chinese societies: Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan. These societies are facing the same challenges of a growing elderly population and the increasing need for LTCE. The societies are roughly comparable in terms of development and share the same Confucian cultural influence and history. They are also all in the middle of a demographic transformation, from relatively young to rapidly ageing societies. At the same time, their recent political system history has been quite different. As such, they speak directly to the issue of the existence and nature of a particular East Asian welfare regime. There are significant differences in the LTCE regimes of the societies surveyed in this chapter. What stands out the most is, however, the two inconsistencies with what is generally accepted knowledge about East Asian welfare regimes. First, LTCE in the three societies are different enough that they appear to defeat any attempt to group them together. Second, for lack of a better word, the benevolent care of the elderly found in these societies is inconsistent with Holliday (2000)’s description of East Asian welfare as productivist. These are discussed in detail below. First, with regards to the differences in LTCE regimes between the three societies. There are few similarities between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan from the perspective of LTCE. Although China has many policy pilots in LTC, the main policy framework has stayed unchanged – a means-tested model with families taking on the responsibility of care for the elderly. Hong Kong offers a LTC for the elderly programme that is basically funded by

Transforming LTCE in three Chinese societies

165

government through a tax-based regime. The elderly who are assessed to have LTC needs, regardless of their economic situation, apply for publicly financed care services. Taiwan is undergoing a paradigm shift in LTC policy, moving from a government subsidy and means-tested model to social insurance model, by expanding the targeted group originally who are the poor, disabled elderly to those who have different levels of ADL impairments. Confucianism as distinct welfare ideology, as suggested by Catherine Jones (1990, 1993), has been ‘controlled for’ when we narrowly observe Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan. What we find is that, in line with previous research, political institutions played a significant role in the discussion of LTC policy divergence (Aspalter 2002, 2006; Lynch 2006; Hieda 2012). As an independent variable, party and electoral politics has long attracted attention from Western scholars. For example, Lynch (2006) claims that party competition affects social service programme design. Hieda (2012) applied ‘historical rational-choice institutionalism’ to an analysis of the relations between political institutions and elderly care policy. In his analysis, the key independent variable was electoral rules (party-vote or personal vote) the dependent variable was the design of the elderly care programme (universal or particular). However, conclusion of this analysis is based solely on European data, which limits the applicability of the conclusion to regions like East Asia. Aspalter (2001) linked the political system with the particular development path of welfare states in East Asia. He argued that Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea are all governed by conservative governments. However, how to understand the relationship between different political regimes and LTCE regime divergence remains unclear. Party competition in democratic elections and pressure from social movements are supposed to lead to an increase in welfare commitment in Taiwan. Democratisation has played a critical role in the formation of the social safety net in Taiwan (Nadash and Shih 2013). In 2008, President Ma made a promise to launch LTC social insurance within four years in order to gain political support and maintain the advantageous competitiveness in the 2008 presidential elections (Li et al. 2013). Although there has been considerable criticism for the delayed implementation of LTC social insurance, the election nevertheless put it on the governmental policy agenda. Mainland China is also expanding LTCE coverage, but the eligibility mainly focuses on economic deficiency, ADL impairment, which is slightly different from the original target group who are ‘three nos’ or ‘five guaranteed’. The expansion of coverage is driven by the new social needs in a fast-changing society. Although there have been some academics who have advocated LTC social insurance in China (Dai 2012; Shi 2012), it is still not on the already well-filled national policy agenda. Hong Kong’s provision of tax-funded, non-means-tested and noncontributory financial benefits to the elderly is part of the limited universalism that Hong Kong is unique for in East Asia (Holliday and Wilding 2003). LTCE in Hong Kong is basically structured in the same way as the overall health care

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system. However, the Hong Kong government is discussing how to efficiently screen the target in order to reduce the cost of the system. In other words, the limited universalism of LTCE in Hong Kong might become more limited in the future. Hong Kong’s relatively weak government, which professes limited intervention in the market, shaped the LTC policy (Holliday 2000). Second, with regards to the benevolent care of the elderly found in these societies. A detailed study of LTCE in these societies paints a picture that is quite discordant with how Ian Holliday and other scholars described the East Asian welfare regime at the beginning of this century. Holliday identified a world of productivist welfare capitalism in East Asia (Holliday 2000). The essence of this argument is that social policy is chiefly directed towards boosting economic development. Public expenditures go into the productive group, while family is left to take care of the unproductive groups; unproductive expenditure has no clear economic pay off (Holliday and Wilding 2003). The findings, the benevolent treatment of the elderly in need of LTC, paints a very different picture than how productivist social policy has been described by academics. Holliday (2000) originally argued that the East Asian welfare regime has the following features: t
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These indicate that public expenditure on unproductive groups, the like frail elderly and the disabled, should be limited and the roles of the state should be limited and residual. The findings show that these three Chinese societies increased public expenditure on a quintessentially unproductive group and that they have all made efforts to reform LTCE. In these reforms, states are relieving families of caring for the elderly. While this limited study does not speak directly to the question of the nature of an East Asian welfare regime, these inconsistencies with generally accepted theory deserve closer study

Note 1 Financial support from Executive Yuan includes expenditures on LTC services. Financial support from the Ministry of Health and Welfare includes expenditures on assessment of LTC need.

References Abrahamson, Peter. (2011). The Welfare Modelling Business Revisited: The Case of East Asian Welfare Regimes, in Gyu-Jin Hwang (ed.), New Welfare States in East Asia: Global Challenges and Restructuring. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar.

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Aspalter, Christian. (2001). Conservative Welfare State Systems in East Asia. Westport, CT: Praeger. Aspalter, Christian. (2002). Exploring Old and New Shores in Welfare State Theory, in Christian Aspalter (ed.), Discovering the Welfare State in East Asia. Westport, CT: Praeger. Aspalter, Christian. (2006). The East Asian Welfare Model. International Journal of Social Welfare, 15: 290–301. Chang, Kia-Ngau. (1963). The Influence of Legalism upon Japanese Government and Economy. Tsing Hua Journal of Chinese Studies, 3 and 4(1): 1–19. Chi, Iris; Mehta, Kalyani K. and Howe, Anna L. (2002). Long-Term Care in the 21st Century: Perspectives from around the Asia-Pacific Rim (2nd edn). New York: Routledge. Chou, Kee-Lee; Chow, Nelson W.S. and Chi, Iris (2008). A Proposal for a Voucher System for Long-Term Care in Hong Kong. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 17: 85–106. Chui, Wing-Tak; Chan, Kin-Sun; Chong, Ming-Lin; Ko, Suk-Fan; Law, Chi-Kin; Law, Chi-Kwong; Leung, Man-Fuk; Leung, Yee-Man; Lou, Wei-Qun and Ng, Yeuk-Tze (2009). Elderly Commission’s Study on Residential Care Services for the Elderly: Final Report. Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong. Colombo, Francesca, Llena-Nozal, Ana, Mercier, Jérôme and Tjadens, Frits. (2011). Help Wanted?: Providing and Paying for Long-Term Care. OECD Health Policy Studies, OECD Publishing. Division of Nursing and Health Care. (2013). Ten-Year Long-Term Care Project. Retrieved on 25 April 2015 from www.mohw.gov.tw/cht/DONAHC/DM1_P. aspx?f_list_no=581&fod_list_no=1402&doc_no=3411. Division of Social Welfare. (2013). Progress on the Elderly Care Services in Guangdong. Retrieved on 25 April 2015 from http://fss.mca.gov.cn/article/lnrfl/dfdt/201312/ 20131200565594.shtml. Dai, W. (2012). Experiences and Lessons of Establishment of Elderly Welfare Since Economic Reforms (in Chinese). Journal of Wuhan University of Science & Technology, 14(4): 363–367. Doyle, M. and Timonen, V. (2007). Home Care for Ageing Populations. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing. Executive Yuan. (2014). Ten-Year Long-Term Care Project (First Stages From 2014–2016). Retrieved on 25 April 2015 from www.mohw.gov.tw/cht/DONAHC/ DM1_P.aspx?f_list_no=581\&fod_list_no=4530\&doc_no=42566. Hieda, Takeshi. (2012). Political Institutions and Elderly Care Policy Comparative Politics of Long-Term Care in Advanced Democracies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Holliday, Ian. (2000). Productivist Welfare Capitalism: Social Policy in East Asia. Political Studies, 48(4): 706–723. Holliday, Ian and Wilding, Paul (2003). Welfare Capitalism in East Asia: Social Policy in the Tiger Economies. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Jones, Catherine. (1990). Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan: Oikonomic Welfare States. Government and Opposition, 25(3): 446–462. Jones, Catherine. (1993). The Pacific Challenge, in Catherine Jones (ed.), New Perspectives on the Welfare State in Europe. London: Routledge. Kröger, T. and Yeandle, S. (2013). Combining Paid Work and Family Care. Bristol: Policy Press.

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Li, Yuchun; Lin, Lichan; Wu, Xiaoqi; Zheng, Wenhuai and Fu, Liye. (2013). Plan and Prospect of Long-Term Care Insurance in Taiwan. Community Development, 141: 85–106. Lynch, Julia. (2006). Age in the Welfare State: The Origins of Social Spending on Pensioners, Workers, and Children. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McCall, Nelda. (2001). Long Term Care: Definition, Demand, Cost, and Financing, in Linda McCall (ed.), Who Will Pay for Long-Term Care. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press. Nadash, Pamela and Shih, Yao-Chi. (2013). Introducing Social Insurance for Long-Term Care in Taiwan: Key Issues. International Journal of Social Welfare, 22(1): 69–79. Norton, Edward C. (2000). Long-Term Care. Handbook of Health Economics, 1: 955–994. Rockwood, Kenneth; Fox, Roy A.; Stolee, Paul; Robertson, Duncan and Beattie, B. Lynn. (1994). Frailty in Elderly People: An Evolving Concept. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 150(4): 489–495. Rozman, Gilbert. (ed.). (1991). The East Asian Region: Confucian Heritage and its Modern Adaptation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Sau Po Center on Ageing. (2011). Consultancy Study on Community Care Services for the Elderly: Final Report. Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong. Sherwood, S. (1975). Long-Term Care: A Handbook for Researchers, Planners, and Providers. New York: Spectrum Publisher. Shi, W. (2012). A Study of Long-Term Care System in Developed Countries (in Chinese). Beijing: Intellectual Property Publishing House. Social Welfare Department. (2007). Standardized Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Service. Retrieved on 20 April 2015 from www.swd.gov.hk/en/index/site_ pubsvc/page_elderly/sub_standardis/. Social Welfare Department. (2014). Controlling Officer’s Report. Hong Kong: Social Welfare Department. Solinger, Dorothy J. (2013). The State, the Poor, and the Dibao: Three Models of the Wellsprings of Welfare and Lessons for China. Working Paper. TBS. (2015). National Statistics, Republic of China (Taiwan). Retrieved on 14 May 2015 from http://eng.stat.gov.tw/. UNDP. (2011). Human Development Report 2011. New York: United Nations Development Programme. UNDP. (2013). China Human Development Report 2013: Sustainable and Liveable Cities. New York: United Nations Development Programme. Yeh, S.H., Jeng, B., Lin, L.W., Ho, T.H., Hsiao, C.Y., Lee, L.N. and Chen, S.L. (2009). Implementation and Evaluation of a Nursing Process Support System for Long-Term Care: A Taiwanese Study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18(2): 3089–3097. Weissert, William G. (1984). Estimating the Long-Term Care Population: Prevalence Rates and Selected Characteristics. Health Care Financing Review, 6(4): 83–91.

12 Flood disasters in Malaysia Psychosocial issues and social work intervention Noremy Akhir, Azlinda Azman and Taufik Mohammad Introduction The United Nation International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR 2009) defines disasters as a serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected society to cope using its own resources. Soliman and Rogge (2002) mentioned that disasters are events that disable community social functioning. This is because during disasters, individuals, families and communities suffer from trauma, stress and debilitation in every dimension of their daily lives from the loss of life and health, community infrastructure, properties, jobs, personal belongings and social ties. These effects of disasters require external assistance and response for recovery that requires reconstruction of shattered lives and the built environment. The external assistance and response should also include emotional and psychological components for helping the victims to cope and bounce back after disasters. This chapter will discuss disasters issues in the Malaysian context, where according to Malaysian National Security Council, Direction No. 20 (2013), disasters are defined as incidents that occur in a sudden manner, complex in nature, resulting in the loss of lives, damage to property or the environment as well as affecting the daily activities of the local community. Such incidents require the handling of resources, equipment and extensive manpower from various agencies as well as effective coordination and the possibility of complex actions over a long period of time. Yodmani (2001) stated that there are two types of disasters: natural disasters and technological disasters, also known as man-made disasters. Generally, natural disasters are linked closely with environmental concerns. They are categorised into four types which are: (1) geophysical events, such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions; (2) meteorological events, such as cyclonic storms; (3) climatological events, such as extreme temperatures, drought, forest fires; and (4) hydrological events, such as flooding. Apart from that, Tan (2004) added another category under natural disasters which is biological pandemics such as flu and outbreaks of viruses and germs. Meanwhile technological disasters (human-made disasters) include conflicts and wars, nuclear and chemical disasters, transport disasters such as air, train and ship crashes or accidents

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(Tan 2009). This chapter, however, will only focus on natural disasters under hydrological events which are flooding. Asia Pacific countries continue to suffer disproportionately from disasters caused by natural factors. During the past decade, on average, more than 200 million people were affected and more than 70,000 people were killed by natural disasters annually (Claudio 2009). In the Pacific sub-region from 2001 to 2010, an average of 200,000 people were affected by disasters annually. However, a closer look at the annual data reveals that 500,000 were affected in 2010 while only 9,000 in 2006. Meanwhile in South-East Asia, many more people have died as a result of natural disasters from 2001 to 2010 than during the previous decade, mainly because of the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004 and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008. In Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific (2011), the floods in Pakistan raised the death rates due to natural disasters to over 2,100 with over 18 million people affected. The floods in Pakistan contributed to the large economic damages and losses experienced by Pakistan in 2010 (US$7.4 billion), making it the most costly year with respect to natural disasters in at least twenty years. This shows that disasters can cause death, economic and environmental damage, and also severe setbacks for social development. On the other hand, Malaysia geographically lies outside the Pacific Rim of Fire and is thus relatively free from any severe ravages and destruction caused by natural disasters such as earthquake, typhoons and volcanic eruptions. However, recently, floods have been happening nearly every year. According to Malaysia Meteorological Department, floods are the most common natural disaster recently which have damaged both properties and human lives on massive scale. Given Malaysia’s geographical location, most floods that occur are a natural result of cyclical monsoons during the local tropical wet season that are characterised by heavy and regular rainfall from roughly November to March (Wan Hassan, Subramaniam and Yap 2012). Several low areas in Malaysia are easily exposed to floods every year due to the fact that Malaysia has 1,800 rivers covering 189 river systems and streams. The total length of the rivers is 57,300 kilometres (Najib et al. 2015). Besides the natural process and the environmental factors, flood cases in Malaysia have become more serious due to unplanned and uncontrolled infrastructure development. For example, in December 2014, Malaysia was shocked by the worst and the largest floods in the east coast of the country and it happened completely unexpectedly. Kelantan was the most affected state in Malaysia and almost all the districts in the state were badly affected – the disaster forced more than 104,000 victims to be evacuated to relief centres. As reported, a total of twenty-one people were killed and an estimated 2,000 homes were completely destroyed (total loss). Malaysia lost more than 1 billion Ringgit Malaysia due to the destruction of the environment and infrastructure as a result of the floods (Workshop on Kelantan Flood Disaster Management 2015). Besides that, victims had to also deal with psychosocial problems such as depression and trauma as a result of the 2014 flood disasters. Data from the crisis intervention and psychological support conducted by

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the Department of Social Welfare Malaysia found a total of 14,995 children and 289 adults were suffering from depression and trauma as a result of the floods (Rohani 2015). A discussion on disaster may involve multiple disciplines such as geography, engineering, environmental science, geology, psychology, social work and administration but for this chapter, psychological impact and social work intervention will be the key focus. According to Johal (2009), psychosocial aspects are best defined as the dynamic relationship that exists between psychological and social effects, each continually interacting with and influencing the other. Meanwhile, Tan and Rowlands (2008) stated that the purpose of social work after a disaster is aimed at providing the community with care and support, rebuilding and assisting the vulnerable by providing social-emotional support, advocacy, planning and capacity building for family and community recovery. Social workers play important roles in reaching out to the issues and problems that arise after a disaster and in finding the solution and intervention for community in distress.

Psychosocial issues In Malaysia, flood disasters are distinguished from other types of collective stress because flood disasters are a crisis. Regardless of the level of injury or loss experienced, most of the time people in the affected area will face a certain amount of emotional distress and anxiety (Landau, Mittal and Wieling 2008). As flood cases in Malaysia happen more regularly, the community’s lives are disrupted and dislocated and their future suddenly seems very uncertain. The psychological stresses that flood disasters victims face are extreme. In an instant, often with little or no warning, their entire lives are uprooted. Some may have lost spouses, children, parents or other family members or friends. As reported by Coppola (2007), the scenario of being homeless and jobless, with no proper psychological care at that time can lead victims into depression. In fact, depression can have extreme consequences for disaster victims as they may begin to neglect the tasks they depend on to survive their daily tasks and maintaining adequate health care. This consequently results in the manifestation of various psychological conditions other than depression that may further exacerbate the psychosocial issues faced by the victims. World Health Organization (WHO 2001) estimated that in the crisis situation throughout the world, 10 per cent of the people who experience traumatic events such as natural disaster will experience serious mental health problems and another 10 per cent will develop behaviour that will hinder their ability to function effectively. In the earlier stage of disaster management, the flood victims need medical attention, emergency safety, shelter, food and drinking water and financial assistance. However, at the same time, a large number of people can develop psychological problems following such traumatic events that need immediate psychological intervention. Therefore, even if the damages of the physical environment are repaired, the recovery of the victims will still be

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suspended unless their psychosocial issues are also addressed at the same time. This shows that psychosocial intervention is imperative and this need exists immediately after any disaster. Malaysia’s approach to disaster management focuses on rescue and physical rehabilitation. However, an effective recovery from disaster must include social and emotional support. The emotional pain, suffering and loss during and following flood disasters can lead to psychosocial problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder in the most severe cases. As stated by Brave and Maria (2000), proper psychosocial care can limit these effects. The availability of this intervention is a dire need for this suffering community to heal from their psychosocial problems before they get worse or develop into chronic PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that can occur following the experiences through nightmares and flashback, difficulty in sleeping and detached or estranged feelings. These symptoms can be severe and last long enough to significantly impair the person’s daily life (Coppola 2007). Considering the psychosocial issues and problems as a result of flood disasters in Malaysia, it is necessary to provide psychosocial interventions. It is understandable that flood disasters have severe psychosocial consequences. Therefore, psychosocial care and support is an essential component in response as each of such events is capable of causing traumatic stress to the floods victims. Thus, psychosocial support needs to be based on an understanding of the potential psychological impacts, the stressors that the disasters bring and their impacts on individuals, families and communities. Psychosocial support strategies need to be delivered in ways that will take into account different levels of need, different patterns of impact as well as the feasibility and cultural appropriateness of the response.

Psychosocial intervention: strength and limitation Internationally, disaster management initially focused mainly on physical recovery. However, the focus has expanded to also include the psychosocial needs of the victims of flood disasters. There are an increasing number of studies that discuss the ways these psychosocial needs can be addressed. From the literature, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines (2008) has suggested six principles of psychosocial intervention which are: (1) human rights and equity, (2) participation, (3) ‘do no harm’, (4) building on available resources and capacities, (5) integrated support systems and (6) multi-layered supports. However, a key to organising psychosocial support is to develop a layered system of complementary support that meets the needs of different groups. This is because during flood disasters, different people are affected in different ways and they require different kinds of support. Therefore, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC 2008) has formulated a Psychosocial Intervention Pyramid which has four layers of psychosocial support and care as in Figure 12.1. The first layer from the bottom of pyramid is basic services and security that address basic physical needs such as food, shelter, water and basic health care.

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Victims experiencing significant distress that disrupts their ability to function on a day-to-day basis will require specialised mental health and psychosocial support which should be provided by trained professionals.

Focused, non-specialised supports (Emotional support, livelihood support, basic mental health care) Community and family support (Family contact tracing, family reunion, healing rituals for reconciliation and vocational trainings, child support)

Basic services and security (Food, water, shelter, hygiene, functioning governance systems, health care)

A smaller percentage of the population, with particularly stressful reactions, will require more focused and specialised support interventions with attentions to the individual, family or group.

Support provided by caregivers, friends and community members. Victims who have experienced the loss of family and community level support, through death, separation and loss of livelihood opportunities will require specific support. Advocacy for psychosocial support and access to basic services into which psychosocial support needs to be mainstreamed and the assurance of security in order to re-establish well-being and mitigate further psychosocial harm.

Figure 12.1 Intervention pyramid for mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies. Source: The IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Setting (2008).

It is followed by the second layer which comprises community and family support due to loss, displacement, family separation, community fears and distrust, where care and support can be provided by caregivers, friends and community members. The third layer of the pyramid focuses on non-specialised support which includes psychological first aid and basic mental health care by primary healthcare workers. The top layer of the pyramid is to provide specialised services. This assistance should include psychological or psychiatric support for people with severe mental disorders, which should be provided by trained professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and social workers. However, in many cases, most of the victims fail to consider themselves to be in need of psychosocial services and therefore are unlikely to request them. During flood disasters, Malaysia provides basic services and security where the government gives food, water, shelter and basic health care to the affected community. Malaysia also has specialised services where psychosocial treatments are provided by registered counsellors under the Department of Social Welfare, Malaysia. However, the number of trained professionals is still low. This means that Malaysia has very limited resources in order to provide psychosocial support to the affected community in response to psychosocial issues resulting from flood disasters.

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There is another approach proposed by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The IFRC’s approach does not just emphasise the basic needs to affected population in the aftermath of a disaster, but also their capacities and skills so that they are more resilient in coping with future crises. People should not be seen as passive, helpless recipients of assistance. They need to be included as active participants in the assessment, planning and implementation of relief operations as mentioned by IFRC (2009). In fact, adequate psychosocial support is seen as a process of facilitating resilience within individuals, families and communities. It can be done by implementing relevant and culturally appropriate activities that respect the independence, dignity and coping mechanisms of individual and communities. This way, psychosocial support promotes the restoration of social cohesion and infrastructure within communities that have lived through disasters. Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies primarily use a communitybased approach in responding to psychosocial needs. This approach can help individual, families and communities to overcome stress reactions and adopt positive coping mechanisms through community-based activities. They believe that communities can be empowered to take care of themselves and each other. This way, external resources can be reduced through community mobilisation and strengthening of community relationships and networks. Similarly, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Setting (2008) also mentioned that a key principle that guides psychosocial intervention in the early stages of an emergency involves the building of local capacities, supporting self-help and strengthening the available resources which also has the element of community. Therefore, given that the community is a part of a wholesome intervention system after any given disaster, Malaysia should consider adopting a similar ideology in its flood disasters management. This ideology focuses on both the individual and community needs and the skills to cope and recover after a flood disaster. The integration of the element of community in the psychosocial intervention of disaster management is consistent with the Community Resilience Model by Paton (2005), which defines community resilience as the ability of people and communities to survive, adapt to and recover from loss and disruption during disaster. Peek (2008) stated that a capacity to adapt comprises two elements. One concerns the existence of the resources required to facilitate coping with the disruptions and loss associated with flood disasters. This makes preparation, the process by which resources availability is encouraged, an important component of resilience. The second component concerns the systems and competencies required by people and communities to coordinate and utilise these resources to confront challenging circumstances and adapt or adjust to the consequences of floods disasters. In addition, Daly and colleagues (2009) mentioned that in the resilience model of Paton, intervention must address factors at three levels: personal, community and institutional level. At the personal level, people need to know that

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the small things they do can make a positive difference for themselves, their families and their neighbours. At this level, people’s problem-solving skills (action coping) are developed, their belief in the benefits of flood disasters mitigation and their ability to confront flood disasters are mitigated. The second level is that of community where active involvement in community affairs is encouraged and the community’s ability to resolve collective issues is developed. The third level is the institutional level where communities are supported by civic agencies that encourage and empower community-lead initiatives and where mutual trust and respect exist. However, services focusing on mental health and psychosocial support have the potential to cause harm because they deal with highly sensitive issues. As one of the principles that guides psychosocial intervention by the IASC (2008) is ‘do no harm’, this should be observed by professional workers who are involved in psychosocial services. An example of a potentially harmful psychosocial intervention is Psychological Debriefing. According to Mitchell and Everly (1996), Psychological Debriefing was initially described as a group intervention for emergency workers and was seen as part of an approach to the management of traumatic stress. But, it has been extended to disaster-affected populations in general which is applied on individuals and as a stand-alone intervention. It was not developed as a form of psychotherapy, instead it was an approach for the victims to share responses to extreme events such as natural disasters. However, Psychological Debriefing may result in the exacerbation of symptoms. It does not prevent psychopathology and fails to recognise the fact that the majority of those exposed to trauma recover independently. This means that Psychological Debriefing may leave a victim feeling more vulnerable because they have revealed their feelings in front of a peer or other people and it may create anger, frustration, fear and resentment. Psychological Debriefing exits in various countries in various forms such as the psychological programme in the Philippines and multiple-stressor debriefing after a disaster in the United States (Armstrong 2000). Workers who employ these programmes with the ideology of Psychological Debriefing in these countries have pointed out that they are helpful on the disaster victims. This may be due to the satisfaction of the victims for being given a platform to express their feelings in the aftermath of a disaster, which may be viewed as therapeutic. However, this argument does not take into account the differences in cultures, prescriptions for dealing with such experiences and individual differences in coping mechanisms. According to Raphael (2006), in these programmes, people gather together and share their experiences called – ‘getting debriefed’ – even though there is no evidence that points to these programmes preventing the victims from developing PTSD. Therefore, formal psychological debriefing programmes are not recommended as psychosocial interventions for flood victims in Malaysia. It is critical that any psychosocial intervention does not cause harm. Thus, during the emergency phases, intervention should support survival strategies, provide information, comfort those affected and protect them both physically and psychologically.

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Conclusion In conclusion, flood disasters have severe psychosocial consequences. The emotional pain, suffering and loss during and following disasters can lead to emotional distress and psychological disorder. Proper psychosocial care and intervention can limit these effects. The emotional wounds may be less visible than the destruction of homes and physical infrastructure but it often takes far longer to recover from the emotional and psychological consequences than to overcome the material losses. Thus, psychosocial intervention should be provided at the individual, community and institutional level at the earliest stage in the aftermath of a flood disaster. Psychosocial support should also be seen as a process of facilitating resilience within individuals, families and communities. Service providers must enhance helping to build a social support network after a disaster. It is important to rebuild social network support and bolster the social and psychosocial well-being in community development and to address this problem in government planning. This is possible through sensitising policy makers in the development of psychosocial community services in order to meet the current demand and challenges during flood disasters in Malaysia. This way, the need for outside resources can be reduced through community mobilisation and strengthening the community’s networks and relationships. Even though training professionals in addressing the psychosocial needs of victims of disasters is paramount, empowering individuals and communities in organising their own resilience building programmes as a form of an intervention that employs the element of community in the psychosocial aspects of disaster management is equally pivotal. At the same time, the existing social worker and other community outreach programmes must be established to ensure that help is available and that the flood victims know where and how to get help. The availability of this intervention is a dire need for this suffering community to heal from their psychosocial issues before it develops into a critical psychological disorder. As a social worker, it is indeed important to promote more social care and support to increase psychological well-being in community development and to further address the community’s social needs in the aftermath of a disaster. This social transformation over time builds the resilience of the people and the community.

References Armstrong, K. (2000). Multiple Stressor Debriefing as a Model for Intervention, in B. Raphael and J. Wilson (eds), Psychological Debriefing: Theory, Practice, Practice and Evidence. New York: Cambridge University Press, 290–304. Brave, H. and Maria, Y.H. (2000). Wakiksuyapi: Carrying the Historical Trauma of the Lakota. Tulane Studies in Social Welfare, 21(22): 245–266. Claudio, R. (2009). The Wrath of God: Macroeconomic Costs of Natural Disasters. Retrieved from www.wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/ IB/2009/11/05/000158349_20091105181816/Rendered/PDF/WPS5039.pdf. Coppola, D.P. (2007). Introduction to International Disaster Management. Burlington, MA: Elsevier.

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Daly, M., Becker, J., Parkes, B., Johnston, D. and Paton, D. (2009). Defining and Measuring Community Resilience to Natural Disasters: A Case Study from Auckland, Tephra. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). (2008). IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings: Checklist for Field Use. Geneva: IASC. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). (2009). Psychosocial Intervention: A Handbook. Denmark: International Federation Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support. Johal, S.S. (2009). Foundations of Psychosocial Support in Emergency Management: Workshop Handbook. New Zealand: National Health Emergency. Ministry of Health. Landau, J., Mittal, M. and Wieling, E. (2008). Linking Human Systems: Strengthening Individuals, Families and Communities in the Wake of Mass Trauma. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 34(2): 193–209. Malaysian National Security Council. (2013). Definition of Disaster Based on Direction No. 20. Retrieved from www.mkn.gov.my. Mitchell, J.T. and Everly, G.S. (1996). Critical Incident Stress Debriefing: An Operation Manual for the Prevention of Traumatic Stress among Emergency Services and Disaster Workers (2nd edn). Ellicott City, MD: Chevron Publishing Corp. Najib, A.M., Che Su, M., Jihana, J. and Nur Hafizza, R. (2015). Stress and Social Support as Predictors of Quality of Life: A Case among Flood Victims in Malaysia. International Journal of Social, Behavioral, Educational, Economic, Business and Industrial Engineering, 9(10). Paton, D. (2005). Community Resilience: Integrating Hazard Management and Community Engagement. International Conference on Engaging Communities, 14th–17th June 2005. Queensland, Australia. Peek, L. (2008). Children and Disasters: Understanding Vulnerability, Developing Capacities, and Promoting Resilience: An Introduction. Children, Youth and Environment, 18(1): 1–29. Raphael, B. (2006). Overview of the Development of Psychological Support in Emergencies, in J.O. Prewitt Diaz, R.S, Murthy and R. Lakshminarayana (eds), Advances in Disaster Mental Health and Psychological Support. Voluntary Health Association of India Press: New Delhi, India, 6–20. Rohani, N. (TV Producer). (2015, 2 January). Bulletin Utama TV3. Seri Pentas Bandar Utama, Malaysia: Media Prima. Soliman, H. and Rogge, M.E. (2002). Ethical Considerations in Disaster Services: A Social Work Perspective. Journal of Social Work, 1(1): 1–23. Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific. (2011). Emergency Events Database. Retrieved from www.unescap.org/stat/data/syb2011/ii-environment/natural-disasters.pdf. Tan, N.T. (2004). Crisis Theory and SARS: Singapore’s Management of the Epidemic. Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development, 14(1): 7–17. Tan, N.T. (2009). Disaster Management: Strengths and Community Perspectives. Journal of Global Social Work Practices, 2(1): PAGES??? Tan, N.T. and Rowlands, A. (2008). Social Redevelopment Following the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Social Development Issues, 30(1): 47–58. United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). (2009). Terminology. Retrieved from www.unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology. Wan Hassan, W.A, Subramaniam, S. and Yap, K.S. (2012). Paper presented at Workshop on Natural Disasters and Climate Change in Asia 2012. UKM, Bangi: Malaysia.

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Workshop on Kelantan Flood Disaster Management. (2015). Development and Management for Flood Prone Area. Workshop on Kelantan Flood Disaster Management 2015. Kubang Kerian Kelantan: Universiti Sains Malaysia. World Health Organization. (2001). The World Health Report 2001-Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope. Geneva: WHO. Retrieved from www.who.int/whr2001/ 2001/main/en/pdf/whr2001.en.pdf. Yodmani, S. (2001). Disaster Preparedness and Management, in I.D. Ortiz (ed.), Social Protection in Asia and the Pacific. Manila, Philippines: Asia Development Bank. Retrieved from www.adb.org/Documents/Books/Social Protection/chapter 13.pdf.

13 Women in household decision-making and their contribution to agriculture and rural development in Nigeria Idris Hussayn, Imaji O.Z. Sule, Ismail Baba and Rajwani M.D. Zain Introduction Developing agriculture in the rural areas of the developing countries has become problematic. Infrastructure is particularly the cause of this problem in subSaharan Africa, and efforts geared towards agricultural development will be futile if this problem is not addressed. A considerable majority of farmers operate at the subsistence, smallholder level, with intensive agriculture being uncommon. A disproportionate portion of the agricultural production is left in the hands of these smallholder farmers with average holdings of about one to three hectares (CTA 2000). With little or no access to modern, improved technologies their general situation does not guarantee them reasonable investments in capital, inputs and labour. Food and nutrition security at the household level is dependent heavily on the effort of these women producers at the rural level which is a major contribution to efforts aimed at alleviating poverty in Nigeria. The first pillar of food security, therefore, is sustainable agricultural and food production, (Odurukwe, Matthews-Njoku and Ejioku-Okereke 2006). The Nigerian population witnessed a steady growth from the 1980s with a commensurate decline noticed in agriculture and food production in many African countries (FAO 1995). The diminishing capacity of agriculture to guarantee household food subsistence increased the workload shouldered by women as men withdrew their labour from agriculture. Emphasis is then placed on smallholder subsistence agriculture in ensuring food security, as about 73 per cent of the rural population consists of smallholder farmers (IFAD 1993). About three-quarters of the poor people live in rural areas and depend solely on agriculture and related activities (Kotze 2003). For development to be meaningful, food security guaranteed and poverty to be alleviated, rapid development in agricultural growth must take place. The problem will be how to assist poor people in rural areas to meet the challenges of enhancing their lives and achieving sustainable agricultural and food security. A monumental increase in agricultural productivity is pivotal to growth, income distribution, improved food security and the alleviation of poverty in rural Africa (FAO 2002).

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In all of these, the rural woman plays a central role and is crucial for the overall success of the efforts directed at agricultural development in rural areas but her household stands as an important beneficiary from the process as well. Women are so significantly relevant as they play a prominent and dominant role in meeting the challenges of agricultural production and development, and they can only be ignored at the peril of all efforts aimed at the emancipation of the rural poor (Nnadozie and Ibe 1996; Rahman 2008). Women make up some 60–80 per cent of the agricultural labour force in Nigeria (World Bank 2003), depending on the region and they produce twothirds of the food crops. In spite of this, men – and not women – make the key farm management decisions both at home and in the society in Nigeria. Occasioned by gender discrimination, female farmers are among the voiceless, especially with respect to influencing agricultural decisions and policies. Policies either underestimate or totally ignore women’s role in both production and the general decision-making process within the household. In patriarchal societies, socio-economic conditions, among other factors, affect the decision-making process in agriculture. The multifaceted roles of women in the agricultural sector that have led to an increase in agricultural and food production in Nigeria variously described in the literature (Rahman 2008; World Bank 2003; Amali 1989) have greatly been impacted by their role in the decision-making process, which has led to their overall effort being minimal (FAO 1995; Rahman 2008; Damisa and Yohanna 2007). The figures for women’s involvement are: about 73 per cent involved in cash crops, arable and vegetable gardening, while post-harvest activities had 16 per cent and 15 per cent in agroforestry (Abdulahi cited in Baba, Zain and Idris 2015). Over the years, their role in agriculture in Nigeria has attracted greater attention. While the production and processing of arable crops have been taken by women in some states (Afolabi 2008), they are also responsible for as much as 80 per cent of the staple food items. Estimates of their role in contributing to the production of food crops range from 30 per cent in the Sudan to 80 per cent in the Congo (FAO 1995) as they substantially contribute to national agricultural production and food security, even as they are responsible for the food crops. A variety of factors mitigate against women in their efforts to participate in agricultural and food production and also in their efforts to maximise the benefits from their efforts. These factors limiting the efforts of women include sociocultural and economic issues both at home and in the society. These obstacles are not only deeply rooted in the socio-cultural fabric of the society but the institutionalised gender considerations that strengthen these problems are far beyond the capacity of rural women to unravel.

Women and agriculture in SSA The responsibility for agriculture and food security borne by women in Nigeria is core to the provision and guarantee of sustainable growth of the poor people

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in the rural areas. The impact of their agricultural policies and new techniques on the well-being of Africa’s women farmers, agricultural policies and development agencies ignore these efforts (Grieco and Apt 1998). There is a need for a paradigm shift now: a gendered approach to agricultural policy in Africa cannot be delayed any further. The integral part of the argument involving the farming structure and that of the dominant agriculture policies with the disproportionate involvement and influence of external experts, have ignored this gender dimension at a very real cost to the Nigerian agriculture and to gender equity within the country (Boserup 1970; Saito and Spurling 1992; Gladwin 1997). Gendered issues have instituted an operational inattention to familial and agricultural programmes that women are involved in, such as transport and microfinance. A more worrisome aspect of this lack of attention is that it is carried along with a public statement that actively promotes participation and consultation as part of the development agenda. Meanwhile the participatory protocol and measures that are consequent upon ensuring the integration of gender into the process have not been put in place. There is an unwillingness to define precisely the measures that surround the gender split in specific benefits and directly target gender inequalities within an operational agenda. Then there needs to be a mainstreaming of the process into a paradigm that addresses women’s and men’s contribution in relation to the agricultural economy of Nigeria. The consequences of this unfortunate situation will be dire to all concerned. Arising from the ICPA 1994, the Beijing Conference on Women 1995 and the AU Charter on Women and Human Rights of women all over Africa have begun to demand participation and inclusion in development planning, policy formulation and economic process with regards to decision-making at home, in the social environment and in agricultural development, and have started to develop and promote local expert materials in the field of Agriculture (Duncan 1997). The importance of meeting the challenges of the agricultural contribution of women as regards issues affecting their capacity and capability cannot be overemphasised (Rahman 2008). Although men take more of the farm decisions and control the productive resources, the UNDP has confirmed the superior involvement of women in agricultural production and processing in Nigeria and indeed in Africa as a whole, which revealed that women make up 60–90 per cent of the agricultural labour (Pala 1976; Laming 1983; Spencer 1976; Spiro 1977). Saito and Weidemann (1990) showed that women in the sub-Saharan Africa region, including Nigeria, provide most of the labour and randomly some decisions for many agricultural activities, including where women are involved in cash cropping and animal production (Maigida 1992). To this extent, women constitute up to 90 per cent of the workforce involved in direct arable crop production, a fact that can only be overlooked at a serious price (Maliki 1991). Bryson (1981) and a series of other studies covering African villages showed that more women than men in families cultivate and do agricultural work and are usually working more hours than men. Where intensive agriculture is

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predominantly practised, female labour seems to be in use rather than where extensive agriculture is practised. Although agricultural systems in sub-Saharan Africa tend to be more extensive cultivation systems, the observation is to the effect that there is no significant difference between the labour usage practices of societies having extensive cultivation systems (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). This difference can be explained, in part, by factors such as the social structures in practice in those societies. The socio-cultural practice in the African family and inheritance systems combine to produce an agricultural system which assigns the major role to women. Such a system is unique to this region, being a hoe agricultural system compared to other systems such as the plough agricultural system in Asia and is rarely seen in other parts of the world. It was therefore concluded that the working with, rather than against, women could help overcome these problems (Bryson 1981). Aside from politics, other domains where women are actively involved are agriculture, urban workplace, the law and education. Women contribute tremendously to agricultural output but unfortunately, they hardly, until recently, benefit from agricultural incentives and innovation. Gender discrimination, rather than ignorance, is the reason for the lack of women’s participation in agricultural programmes and projects (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). That food production is mainly done by women in subsistence agriculture, with little contribution from the men (Boserup 1970), is supported by the observation from the Heluo community in Kenya many years later, where Pala (Pala 1976) found that the percentage of work done by women farmers far outweighs that of men. Similarly, in Ghana, for instance, smallholdings kept by women provide about 80 per cent of the total food production in the country. In Tanzania, however, 87 per cent of the women who live in rural areas play similar roles; while Zambian women contribute up to 80 per cent of their labour for household crops (Abdulahi cited in Baba, Zain and Idris 2015).

The role of women in agriculture and national development Nigerian women have over the years come to prove that they have and are ready to play a serious role in the male-dominated agricultural sector, if they are given the right avenue and opportunity to do so. When the gender considerations that hold women down are removed, they can make significant contributions to policy-making and governance (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). In spite of these unfavourable conditions, women have slowly but steadily advanced their contribution to agricultural development and are progressively beginning to dominate agricultural and food production processes in the country, which have to a large extent, impacted on the government and the government has responded positively in diverse ways. Statistics show neglecting the contribution of women or trivialising it will be to the detriment of rural development and to a large extent national development (Kishor et al. 1999). The keenness of the Nigerian government more than

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ever before to address poverty alleviation can be traced to the recognition of the important effect women are having in that sector and the ripple impact on women when the government invests in poverty alleviation programmes as the bulk of the poor are women (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). The deliberate efforts targeted at rural development in the form of agricultural development will have a significant effect on the decision-making power of women. The literature abounds with the various contributions of women to agricultural production in Nigeria (Amali 1989; Okonjo 1991; Rahman and Alamu 2003; Damisa and Yohanna 2007). The need therefore to explore the decision-making role of women in agriculture is very apt at this period. Damisa and Yohanna (2007) found that the decision-making role of women in agriculture was very minimal when they examined these variables in a study area using the Zaria in Kaduna State of Nigeria, examining the various levels of participation of rural women in the decision-making in different areas of agriculture, while studying the factors influencing their participation in the decisionmaking process in farm management. They found that women’s participation in decision-making was quite minimal (Table 13.1). In each of the farm operations, less than 20 per cent of women were consulted, except in the sourcing of farm credit, where about 28 per cent were consulted; about 13 per cent or less of the women had their opinion considered in each of the farm operations. However, only between 1 and 2.5 per cent took the final decision in all of the farm operations. Women’s participation in farm management decision-making process is said to increase with age – older women participate more in decision-making in the different areas of agriculture than their younger age group counterparts (Damisa and Yohanna 2007). The wealth status of women is also another major determinant of the role that women play in farm management decision-making. Women in Anambra State of Nigeria contribute more than the men in terms of labour input in farming and are solely responsible for household management duties (NEARLS 2000). In studies elsewhere in Nigeria, involving the Jukun people (Meek 1981) and the nomadic Fulfude women and Kulka women farmers, 70–80 per cent of agricultural labour force is represented by women (Ngur 1987). A survey of peasant agricultural women in northern Nigeria also revealed that rural women take part in income-generating activities, particularly in the processing of agricultural produce. In a related survey of food processing and cottage industries in three Zaria villages (Simmons 1973), Simmons observed that 90 per cent of the women were involved in at least one food processing activity or the other.

Women’s groups and organisations In an attempt to bridge the gap between men and women farmers in Nigeria, Ogunlela and Mukhtar (2009) opined that women farmers have joined different groups and have contributed immensely to the advancement recorded by women farmers in their newly found voice to aggregate and advocate their

176 (88.0) 156 (78.0) 162 (81.0) 189 (94.5) 135 (67.5) 111 (55.5) 28 (11.5) 156 (73.0) 161 (80.5) 117 (58.5)

Land preparation Time of sowing Manure/Fertiliser types and time of application Time of weeding Number of hired labourers and wages to be paid Time of harvesting Storage and marketing of farm produce Purchase and sale of farming implements Purchase and sale of farmlands Farm credit

Source: authors computation (2015).

Nil

Decision-making area 21 (10.5) 34 (17.0) 19 (9.5) 9 (4.5) 39 (19.5) 37 (18.5) 37 (18.5) 29 (14.5) 23 (11.5) 57 (28.5)

Only consulted 3 (1.5) 8 (40.0) 15 (7.5) 2 (1.0) 17 (18.5) 49 (14.5) 92 (46.0) 13 (6.5) 11 (5.5) 26 (13.0)

Opinion considered

Table 13.1 Extent of the participation of women in decision-making in agriculture in parts of Kogi State, Nigeria

0 (0.0) 2 (1.0) 4 (2.0) 0 (0.0) 9 (4.5) 48 (24.0) 48 (24.0) 2 (1.0) 5 (2.5) 0 (0.0)

Final decision

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needs in national development. One such group is the Women Farmers’ Advancement Network (WOFAN), a private initiative founded in the early 1990s with its headquarters in Kano, Nigeria. WOFAN works with 250 women’s groups in five different states in northern Nigeria aiming to mobilise and train rural women in the management of information and communication. Community participation is a key strategy in getting women to participate in learning activities and share experience (WOFAN 2003). Alongside this, the network also organises a weekly radio broadcast featuring rural women’s efforts. The main thrusts of WOFAN’s aims include creating a forum for women to express themselves, encouraging them to form community development groups through which they can access credit and insurance facilities, and introducing low-cost and labour-saving technologies, as well as modern farm implements and the use of solar energy. The efforts of national and international non-governmental organisations in providing the much needed assistance to the rural population is increasingly receiving notice; the growth in recent years of NGOs and women’s associations which pay attention to gender issues has benefited rural women immensely. In Sudan, there is a significant increase in the number of national NGOs working in the area of agriculture, as the number of regional and international NGOs decreased (Franklin 2007). In Tanzania, on the other hand, NGOs have become a dynamic arena for women’s empowerment and support to rural women in agriculture has increased with the formation of women-in-development at NGOs headquarters. Though few, the NGOs in Namibia are significant as they enhance women’s role in agriculture and food production and advocate on behalf of women farmers (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). Research has shown that one of the surest ways to reach women is by working through women’s groups. These have been found to be richly rewarding and can bring significant results – the ability of women’s groups to pave the way through initiating activities that will impact positively on poor households is very effective. The realisation that women belong to different formal and informal women’s groups led the government to expand the activities of women-in-agriculture (WIA) programme, for instance, the WIA programme used NGOs to help identify women beneficiary groups and for WIA field staff to target for the initiation and execution of project activities. Forming the WIA farmer groups has facilitated the dissemination of agricultural innovations and provided women farmers with better access to farm inputs and credit than they would have as individuals. Through the efforts of WIA agents women were now able to embark on all aspects of sub-projects, from identification through to planning and implementation (Kotze 2003).

Women-in-agriculture in Nigeria Women-in-agriculture was established in Nigeria in 1988, when it became clear that the role of the World Bank in building up Nigeria’s agricultural extension services has not impacted on women as expected (World Bank 2003), it became

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imperative to seek other viable alternative. Thus, within the existing state agricultural development programmes (ADPs), WIA programmes were created in 1990 to address the gender-related deficiencies within existing extension programmes. The aim of the programme was to integrate women into the development process using agriculture as a platform (Maigida 1992). Like every institution in a patriarchal society, the services provision was pro-male and gender-insensitive towards women farmers (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). Previous programming was male-centred while discriminating against female farmers who form half of the world’s population. Like all programmes, the WIA had its own teething problems when it was launched. It sought to improve women’s access to agricultural extension services; included in the programme is the training of home economics agents in agriculture with an emphasis on women’s activities. WIA in different states grew in an ad hoc and sporadic manner. While some states experienced tremendous growth, in others, it didn’t even take off. In a bid to address this anomaly, a national planning workshop was organised in 1989. Bringing together all the stakeholders, it developed a three-year action plan after sharing success and trying experiences (World Bank 2003). The importance of working through women was so great that from the state level down to the local government associations (LGA), women were to be involved in all stages of WIA activities and programming. The formation of the WIA farmers’ groups facilitates the dissemination of agricultural innovations and provides women farmers with better access to farm inputs and credit than they would have had as individuals. In order to monitor and measure the achievement of the WIA programme a rural household survey was conducted in three regions of the country. The programme developed better than expected due to the dynamism and resourcefulness of Nigerian women. Problems such as the shortage of extension agents due to the low ratio of extension staff to farm families made it almost impossible to pay individualised attention to each women farmer. Most WIA extension workers are not core agriculture-based (Chale 1990). The lack of adequate support from ADP management is another problem faced by the WIA programme.

Importance and roles of the WIA programme 1

2

3

The organisation contributes to economic growth of the country by ensuring household food security thereby stamping the fact that women’s productivity leading to recognition of their role in agricultural strategies and given a place in the country (Saito, Mekonnen and Spurling 1994). Their unparalleled role in boosting the income-earning capability of women farmers empowering women (Karikari and Mathew 1990; Hellandedu 2005), to be part of the decision-making process not only in their homes but also in the society (Muhammed 2006). The view that women farmers’ contribution to agriculture is significant has been reinforced by the activities of WIA, as their contribution to household

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5

6

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welfare and farm income is fast becoming the main source of income for rural families. Odurukwe et al. (2006) in their work alluded to the need to develop a suitable extension service strategy that is gender-specific and tailored to women farmers, which is too important to be ignored. Encouraging women to form farmers groups and join cooperative societies has facilitated the access of women to agricultural innovations. Although the WIA extension agent’s low-cost technology have been disseminated, the adoption rate has not matched the expected target. WIA agents have raised awareness but unfortunately, the result of their study reveals that a high awareness level does not imply high adoption rates (Odurukwe et al. 2006) – a situation the women attributed to the complexity of such technologies. The positive effects of women’s adoption of WIA packages were most felt by the women rather than the men and children. Similarly, there were high positive impacts on rural women more than their urban counterparts. The greater dependency of men on their wives for economic support as a result of women’s involvement in the WIA programme was also one of the positive impacts of the programme. Improved family food security and increased financial contribution to household needs were other reported benefits of the WIA programme.

Gender inequality in sub-Saharan Africa The most pervasive forms of inequality faced by women today is gender inequality as it cuts across all other forms of inequality (Franklin 2007). Different rules, norms and values govern the gender division of labour and resources, responsibilities, agency and power. These are critical elements for understanding the nature of gender inequality in different societies. Lineage-based households sustain gender segmentation in household arrangements in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and this is prevalent in Nigeria in the face of highly complex gender dynamism. Much of SSA is matrilineal, with women’s access to land being through their husband’s lineage group. Since women’s obligation to the family is both productive and reproductive, they are granted this access to enable them carry out these responsibilities. In parts of West Africa, including Nigeria, women do not have rights to separate holdings except through their husband’s lineage. Women’s low participation in national and regional policy-making, their invisibility in national statistics and their low participation in extension services have meant that those issues of most concern to women have been neglected in the design and implementation of many development policies and programmes. Women’s access to land was rarely discussed and thus their benefits from land reforms were few (FAO 1988). In the nine countries examined by Franklin (2007) in a recent study, he found that while women are present in greater degrees in agricultural/rural organisations, they tend to comprise a low

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proportion of the membership and are often not represented in the higher levels of leadership. Many rural organisations do not sufficiently concern themselves with the needs of rural women. The most striking example is in Zimbabwe, where despite the fact that women constitute 75 per cent of the members in the Zimbabwe Farmers Unions, only 5 per cent of the officials are women. Sudan, where 14 per cent of the office holders in agricultural cooperatives are graduate women, has the highest numbers of women in organisations. Overall, women hold an extremely low number of decision-making positions in the ministries dealing with agriculture and rural development. While women’s decisionmaking power tends to increase in many countries when the husband is not present, men may remain involved in making many of the most important decisions. The lack of access to land remains a major constraint for women farmers in Africa and land reform programmes have led almost exclusively to the transfer of land rights to male heads of households (FAO 1990). Even in countries where ownership and inheritance laws have been reformed in favour of women, in practice, women do not necessarily have more rights to land, as local customs and lack of information act as barriers. In rare cases where women own land, they are still at a disadvantage in the sense that their land holdings tend to be smaller and less fertile than men’s. There is a distinct division of labour between men and women as far as agricultural activities and tasks are concerned. Women and junior men provide labour on household fields that are controlled by the compound head (Sreekumar 2001). Tigwareyi (1987) noted that despite providing about 60–80 per cent of labour in food production, women in Africa receive little from the agricultural extension services due to the traditional prejudiced attitude towards women, the lack of time on their part to attend meetings and their limited decision-making powers. Malina (1988), who studied the problems women face in Tanzania, suggested that the impact of women’s activities on the farming system should be appreciated for agricultural research to be successful. Their needs and concerns should be understood, their traditional roles and needs are to be taken account of and their potential fully explored.

Reasons for women’s involvement in agricultural activities and barriers to achievement The desire to earn extra income has led women to embark on agricultural activities for a variety of other reasons. Among such reasons is that of being a family tradition and personal interest. The scenario whereby more and more men either temporarily or permanently migrate has caused a shortage of labour in rural areas. As a result, more women are left behind to do much of the farm work as paid or unpaid family labour (Abdulahi, cited in Baba, Zain and Idris 2015). Other reasons that have been identified include: the ease of handling, the lack of other

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alternative occupations, the acquisition of technical know-how and the husband’s influence. Apart from providing employment and income for resourcepoor small farmers, especially women, family poultry also serves as a means of capital acquisition and accumulation (Gueye 2003). In an effort to reach and engage the poor, we must recognise that some issues and constraints related to participation are gender-specific and stem from the fact that men and women play different roles, have different needs and face different challenges on a number of issues and at different levels. It cannot therefore be assumed that women will automatically benefit from efforts involving poor people in project design and implementation. Experience has also shown that unless specific steps are taken to ensure that women participate and benefit, they usually do not. A number of barriers to women’s participation in agricultural activities have been identified. Some of the very important ones will be discussed here. It has been noted that systemic gender biases may exist in the form of: (a) customs, beliefs and attitudes that confine women mostly to the domestic sphere; (b) women’s economic and domestic workloads that impose severe time burdens on them; and (c) laws and customs that impede women’s access to credit, production inputs, employment, education or medical care. In the Nigerian WIA, for example, specific steps have been taken to reduce the conflicts in women’s schedules and guarantee their regular attendance at meetings. It is important to seek women’s views by obtaining good information about gender roles, needs, activities, access to and control over resources, existing institutions and the constraints operating against women’s participation.

Women’s contribution to household economy, food production and food security Afolabi (2008) showed that rural women in Ondo State of Nigeria working in organised groups as they engage in more than one economic activity at a time are very strong pillars of the economy in the state. They have successfully managed human and economic resources to achieve optimum results; became employers of labour, thereby reducing unemployment; and maintained the environment and family food security (Todaro 1994). In SSA, agriculture accounts for approximately 21 per cent of the continent’s GDP and women contribute 60–80 per cent of the labour used to produce food (FAO 1995). The estimate of women’s contribution to the production of food crops ranges from 30 per cent in the Sudan to 80 per cent in the Congo, while their proportion of the economically active labour force in agriculture ranges from 48 per cent in Burkina Faso to 73 per cent in the Congo and 80 per cent in the traditional sector in Sudan. Data available supports the trend throughout Africa (FAO 1995). In most of SSA, the responsibility for the production of household food supply lies with women. As providers of food and nurturers of children, women ought to play a role in any attempt to increase food production and food

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security (Kotze 2003). Women perform almost all the tasks and activities associated with subsistence production, producing more than 74 per cent of household food in African countries and up to 70 per cent of food consumed by families in rural areas (Todaro 1994; Geier 1995; and Melamed 1996). The gender division of labour and social responsibilities in the household is to a large extent the deciding factor in women’s commitment to subsistence production and to fulfilling their responsibility to feed the family and ensuring food security for the household. Most women in the low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs), especially in rural areas, are therefore overburdened with a wide range of activities and tasks in agriculture, animal husbandry, and in the household (Gueye 2003). Women belonging to disadvantaged groups in most rural communities in LIFDCs, are mainly poultry owners, though there are variations within and between countries. According to (Gueye 2003), more than 70 per cent of chicken owners in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa are women. On the whole, women’s involvement in poultry farming tends to decrease with increased levels of intensification. Any serious attempt to eradicate poverty must address the role of women as producers of food, as their income earning capacity (Ogunlela and Mukhtar 2009). Any programme to increase food security among the poor must ensure not just representation but the full participation of women. Kotze (2003) concluded that the role of women in the household economy and their contribution towards food production and food security as a matter of urgency needs to be acknowledged in any policy, programme and project aimed at promoting food security and rural and agricultural development.

Conclusion Women’s access to basic economic resources such as land (as owners), low-cost labour-saving machines, food processing machines, credit and agricultural innovations needs to be improved. They need to address consideration which presents women as housewives and has excluded them from being identified in agricultural statistics, underestimating the role of unpaid workers in many countries and the ignoring the role of farm women – all of which underestimates the contribution of women to agriculture and food security. There is a need for a report monitoring and an evaluation of agricultural programmes to women and women groups as feedback, as this will allow equalisation of the full participation of women in the entire process. This would be a most effective and appropriate way forward. Support systems for women farmers within a holistic gender-sensitive framework are urgently needed to form policy development. The contribution of rural women to agricultural production and rural development in Nigeria is grossly underappreciated in spite of the dominant role women play in the sector. Women compete more favourably than men in terms of their participation in agricultural activities, the household economy and food security. The survival and sustenance of agriculture and rural development in

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Nigeria, as well as in many sub-Saharan African countries, rest squarely on rural women. They therefore, deserve to be given due recognition as far as decisionmaking process in agriculture is concerned. The following are some recommendations which, if put in place, will help in alleviating the problems of women in agriculture: 1

2 3 4

Education: A popular adage says educating a girl is equal to educating a nation. The major issue surrounding the gender gap is education; therefore educating the women should be the priority of government. That women should be empowered so as to enable them contribute to household decision-making. Women are encouraged to form cooperative societies so that they can speak with one voice. Finally, cultural practices of female seclusion should be abolished, so that women can contribute their own quota to societal development.

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Melamed, C. (1996). Adjusting Africa. Structural Economic Change and Development in Africa. Oxford: Worldview Publishing. Mohammed, R. (2006). Women in Horticulture. 24th Annual Conference of the Horticultural Society of Nigeria, Gombe, Nigeria, 17–21 September 2006. NAERLS (2000). An Assessment of Contribution of Women to Family Farming in North-Eastern Nigeria. Report of research sponsored by the National Agricultural Research Programme, Abuja, Nigeria. National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Service, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.30 Nairobi, Kenya: Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya. Ngur, N. (1987). Women and Development in Crop and Livestock Production in Nigeria. Paper presented at the seminar on Women Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 4–6 November. Nnadozie, B. and Ibe, I. (1996). Women in Agriculture: Problems and Prospects, in A.C. Nwosu, C.U. Nwajuba and J. A. Mbanasor (eds), Agricultural Transformation in Nigeria. Owerri, Nigeria: Novelty Industrial Enterprises. Odurukwe, S.N., Matthews-Njoku, E.C. and Ejioku-Okereke, N. (2006). Impacts of the Women-In-Agriculture (WIA) Extension Programme on Women’s Lives: Implications for Subsistence Agricultural Production of Women in Imo State, Nigeria. Livestock Research for Social Development 18(2). Ogunlela, Yemisi I. and Mukhtar, Aisha A. (2009). Gender Issues in Agricultural and Rural Development: The Role of Women. Humanities and Social Sciences Journal, 4(1) 19–30. Okonjo, K. (1991). Acknowledging the Existence of Women – Its Consequences, in M.O. Ijere (ed.), Women in Nigerian Economy. Enugu, Nigeria: Acena Publishers. Pala, A.O. (1976). The Role of African Women in Rural Development Research Priorities. Discussion Paper No. 203. Nairobi, Kenya: Institute for Development Studies. Rahman, S.A. (2008). Women’s Involvement in Agriculture in Northern and Southern Kaduna State. Journal of Gender Studies, 17: 17–26. Rahman, S.A. and Alamu, J.F. (2003). Estimating the Women Interest in Agriculture: The Application of Logit Regression Model. Nigerian Journal of Scientific Research, 4: 45–49. Saito, K. and Spurling, D. (1992). Developing Agricultural Extension for Omen Farmers. The World Bank, Washington, DC. Saito, K.A. and Weidemann, C.J. (1990). Agricultural Extension for Women Farmers in Africa. World Bank Discussion Paper. The World Bank, Washington, DC. Saito, Katrine A., Mekonnen, Haliu and Spurling, Daphne. (1994). Raising the Productivity of Women Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank Discussion Papers. Simmons, E.B. (1973). The Economics of Consumer-Oriented Food Processing Technologies in FAO. Review on Agricultural Development, 75(13): 40–41. Spencer, D.C. (1976). African Women in Agricultural Development. A Case Study in Sierra Leone, Overseas Liaison Committee, Paper No. 9, American Council on Education. Spiro, H.M. (1977). The Role of Women Farming in Oyo State, Nigeria. A Case Study of Two Rural Communities, Discussion Paper No. 7/80. Ibadan, Nigeria: Agricultural Economics, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria. Sreekumar, B. (2001). Women in Agriculture. An Evaluation of the Central Scheme in Palakkad district (Kerala). Discussion Paper No. 30. Tigwareyi, J.T. (1987). The Role of Women in Family Nutrition. Improving Food Production on Small Farms in Africa. FAO/SIDA Seminar on Increased Food Production Through Low-Cost Food Crops Technology, Harare, Zimbabwe, 2–17 March.

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Todaro, M.P. (1994). Economic Development (5th edn). New York: Longman Group Ltd. WOFAN. (2003). Women’s Farmers Advancement Network-Nigeria. Last updated 2 July 2003. Retrieved from www.comminit/en/node/126150/38. World Bank. (2003). Nigeria: Women in Agriculture, in Sharing Experiences – Examples of Participating Approaches. The World Bank Group. The World Bank Participating Sourcebook, Washington, DC. Retrieved from www.worldbank.org/wbi/publications. html.

Part IV

Community development and capacity building

14 Social development in agrarian and non-agrarian communities in the Philippines Violeta R. Hunt-Engracia

Introduction There are many ways to transform society to attain development. For some time now, the management of conflicts through land reform has been practised and applied by the Philippine government – since the time of the Huk problem in Central Luzon until the present involving other conflict-affected areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Robert Aura Smith (1958, in Abaya-Ulindang 2000) assessed that while government had succeeded in curbing the Huk rebellion through a total war approach, both a psychological and a physical one, the late President Ramon Magsaysay realised that land problem should assume a primary consideration stating that: Merely killing the dissidents will not solve the Communist problem. Its solution lies in the correction of social evils and injustice and in giving the people a decent government, free of dishonesty and graft. (Abueva 1971: 235, cited in Abaya-Ulindang 2000) The general situation in Mindanao today is not an exception. The predominantly Muslim communities which have evolved through the peace agreements, which previously created the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and with another now being drafted under the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), are some of the poorest in the country. The absence or the lack of basic social services such as water, sanitation and health care characterise these areas. Passable roads and other infrastructure facilities still leave much to be desired. The very core of the government’s effort in addressing this issue is land reform. Land reform was seen as one very viable approach to address the accompanying twin problems of peace and development. The Department of Agrarian Reform, one of the government’s poverty alleviation agencies, has been charged with performing the above gigantic task, adopting a ‘development approach’ anchored in the strategy of developing a viable community – the ‘Agrarian Reform Community’ (ARC) approach. At the present time, only a modest percentage are registered as Agrarian Reform Beneficiary (ARB) and only in ARCs. In furtherance of the number of ARCs, an

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inspired and stronger mandate of the newly elected national leadership is looked forward to. Indeed, such a drastic socio-political change is highly called for. Reconciliatory talks are now on the way with NPA as well as the MNLF and the MILF. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is at the helm of poverty alleviation as well.

DAR and the Agrarian Reform Community The Department of Agrarian Reform is in charge of intensifying intervention mechanisms to increase farm production, improve household income and promote sustainable development in the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs). Through the ARCs, the DAR showcases agrarian reform works that are holistic development efforts towards improved quality of life, people empowerment and sustainable agro-industrial development. ARCs serve as growth points in the countryside. They serve as the common area where Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) funds are channelled. As such, they become the convergence point to begin and facilitate an effective and synchronised delivery of support services to a defined area or target group. An agrarian reform community is a barangay at the minimum or a cluster of contiguous barangays where there is a critical mass of farmers and farm workers awaiting the full implementation of agrarian reform. These farmers and farm workers anchor the integrated development of the area. Each ARC covers about 2,000 hectares with 2 hectares average landholding per farmer beneficiary. Thus, ARCs nationwide count for an aggregate population of 5,000,000 and an area of 2,000,000 hectares. The end goal of all synchronised efforts directed towards the ARCs is for at least 70 per cent of the total number of beneficiaries to enjoy an average household income above the national poverty line. This end goal is governed by the CARP principle of social justice wherein the agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) and non-ARBs in the ARCs have full access to basic support services which will lead to increased productivity, an increase in household income, which will enhance their human dignity. In ARC development, DAR promotes social entrepreneurship and enterprise development. Social benefits are of equal importance to the tangible outputs, such as income derived from the business enterprises in the ARCs. In this context, a new social structure based on a more equitable sharing of wealth can be showcased through ARC development. It is in the ARCs that empowered ARBs and non-ARBs operate social enterprises to propel agricultural modernisation and industrialisation, contributing to the well-being of the entire community (Operations Manual on ARCs Development n.d.). Most ARCs are planting traditional crops such as rice, corn and coconut. Nationwide, these crops cover 93 million hectares of agricultural areas. However, these are plagued with problems. The rice and corn sectors lack production strategy and traders control the financing/credit for inputs, the postharvest facilities (including mills and warehouses) and marketing. The coconut sector, on the other hand, suffers from a continuing decline in production.

Social development in the Philippines 199 Areas planted for coconut have decreased during the past ten years. Aside from low price and profitability, the coconut industry is burdened by growing competition from coconut oil substitutes such as corn oil, palm oil, soy bean oil, grape seed oil and canola oil and among others. In 1998, ARBs in ARCs consisted only of 26 per cent of all programme beneficiaries. To increase the outreach of support services, the DAR issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 05, Series of 1999, or the Sustainable Rural Development Framework for Agrarian Reform Communities. This MC defines the concept of expanded ARC to address the issues on how to reach the ARBs with their limited resources (Farmers’ Center Operations Manual 2003). As of December 2002, the DAR has launched 1,543 ARCs nationwide covering 5,800 barangays in 1,112 municipalities. Cumulative land distribution in ARCs has reached almost 1.4 million hectares, representing 90 per cent of the 1.4 million hectares of target land acquisition, benefiting 674,548 ARBs. For 2003–2004, the target number of ARCs to have been established was 2,028 to cover 1.65 million ARBs or 91 per cent of the targeted 1.8 million ARC beneficiaries (Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development – Strategic Development Plan 2002–2003). This is part of the DAR’s commitment to the Philippine Medium-Term Development Plan (PMTDP) as a contribution to poverty reduction. Around 60 per cent of the 1.8 million target beneficiaries fall below the poverty line. The challenge is to move them above the poverty line and enable them to cope with the challenges of socio-economic realities.

The problem and objectives This is a study to find out: how ARC residents assess the peace and development situation in their respective areas vis-à-vis non-ARC residents of Regions 10, 12 and ARMM? It tried to determine further the factors which influence their perceptions and assessment. Are there differences in the peace and development situation between ARC and non-ARC communities? In what aspects do they differ?

Related literature This section reviews the literature related to the present investigation according to the following sequence: (1) The ‘Agrarian Reform Community (ARC)’ approach to peace and development; (2) Peace and development through people’s participation; (3) Development Through Culture Of Peace; (4) ‘Mutual respect, mutual acceptance’ approach to peace; (5) other perceptions on peace and development; (6) Roadblocks To Peace; and (7) Agenda for peace and development.

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The ‘Agrarian Reform Community (ARC)’ approach to peace and development To attain the vision of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) in alleviating poverty towards development in the countryside, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) adopted, in 1993, a development approach anchored in the strategy of developing viable Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs). The mandate of the DAR to pursue the ARC strategy was included in Republic Act 7905, which was issued in 1995 to strengthen the implementation of the CARP (Operations Manual on ARCs Development n.d.). To achieve focus, the agrarian reform community (ARC) was conceptualised in 1993 as a growth centre in the countryside and as convergence points for all resources and partnerships in the implementation of development programmes and projects for the agrarian reform beneficiaries (Farmers’ Center Operations Manual 2003). Peace and development through people’s participation The popular public sentiment that emerged both in government and nongovernment circles is that an all-out-war or armed response is not the best solution to the problem. Instead, an alternative strategy of attraction, reconciliation, mediation and consultation is seen as more welcome and acceptable. According to Mangorsi (1984), in order to foster a meaningful and relevant peacekeeping campaign in the South, it is imperative that a special programme be tailor-made for the Muslims to be included. Indeed, peace and development go together (Nuguid-Anden 2003). Its notion in the Philippines is largely founded on the general perception that major reforms will have to be implemented to address the sources of discontent and create the conditions for lasting peace. Alternative solutions will have to be found, root causes addressed and all sectors mobilised to contribute to the attainment of the quest (Coronel 2002). Thus, there is the need for consultation and people’s participation. Peace and order that leads to development is everyone’s responsibility (Nuguid-Anden 2003). Participation is the key. The term ‘participatory approach or strategy’ suggests a systematic method of soliciting the active involvement of the people in decisions and activities related to their welfare. People are encouraged to identify their common problems, analyse them carefully based on their personal experiences as well as on the objective conditions in which they arise and try to collectively formulate solutions. Lambatlaya/Redo (1990) considered such methods and activities as participatory, such as organising group discussions and public hearings, holding public meetings and community seminars, fielding research teams, conducting opinion surveys and interviews, launching fact-finding tours, collectively producing audio-visual materials for education and even using popular theatre.

Social development in the Philippines 201 Development through culture of peace Ledesma (2005), described culture as the means in which a group of people live, think, feel, organise themselves, celebrate and share life. In every culture, there are underlying systems of values, meanings and views of the world, which are expressed visibly, in languages, gestures, symbols, rituals and styles. What personality is to an individual, so is culture to a community. Ledesma further asked, ‘If religion is at the core of our cultures, and both Islam and Christianity are religions of peace, can we not then work together with all believers towards a culture of peace?’ (2005). In this sense, religion – a universal and pervasive phenomenon − is considered to be an important component of peace. Religion is interwoven with the social, economic and political life of the people. Religion, according to Durkheim, is a ‘unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things which unite into single moral community called church all those who adhere to them’ (Durkheim 1995 [1912]: 44). In short, our being members of a religion or a church speak of who we are, our values, identity and calling – or better still, how we want to be described as members of our own respective religions (Caperig 2005). All religions or churches have a culture – not programmes, sessions or rituals – but a culture. The multi-sectoral group coming from the civil society, from the churches, government, business sector, various people’s organisations and ethnic groupings that compose the consultations done by the National Unification Commission (NUC) in different regions of the country, likewise formulated ways of promoting peace. To address the major causes of conflict, the said consultation identified six paths to peace, namely; 1 2 3 4 5 6

Social, economic and political reforms to address the root causes of insurgency and social unrest, Consensus-building and empowerment for peace, Peace talks with different rebel groups, Reconciliation, reintegration into society and rehabilitation of all groups, Protection of civilians and de-escalation of conflict, including recognition of Peace Zones and protection of human rights; and Building a positive climate for peace. (Polestico 2001)

‘Mutual respect and mutual acceptance’ approach to peace The peace problem in Mindanao is not only economic and political. This is only one side of the reality. The other dimension of the problem is deeper than what is seen on the surface. Efforts to better understand each other should be initiated. Consider the following wisdom and perspectives:

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V.R. Hunt-Engracia The Mindanao problem has something to do with the way people look at themselves – the way they interpret their history, religion and culture; and the way they look at others – their neighbours, officemates, fellow farmers, classmates and even their friends. Hatred, prejudices, biases, suspicion, distrust, traumas, intolerance, polarization and inability to forgive – these are the little wars that are going on in the hearts of Muslims, Christians and Indigenous people of Mindanao that prove to be bigger than the real war itself. I have seen how the government implemented rehabilitation projects … But these interventions only address one aspect of the damage and fail to address the deeper problems that are psychological, social and relational in nature. Peace education seminars aimed at repairing the relationship of people should be conducted. What is important to us now is our relationship. (Layson 2003)

Prof. Rudy Buhay Rodil (2005), a well-respected historian from MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology, Iligan City, stressed: The tri-people approach to peace and development is now a by-word. The catch word is ‘mutual respect’ and ‘mutual acceptance’ among the Lumad, Muslims and Christians.… A major aspect of the problem is the relationship among the tri-people, something that has never been a subject of any GRPMNLF or GRP-MILF negotiations. There is a ‘crisis of relationship’ among the tri-people. Until this aspect has been sufficiently changed, we cannot say the peace process is complete. (Buhay Rodil 2005) World renowned pastor and author, Rick Warren, declared that: ‘What matters most is relationship. Life is all about love. Because God is love, he wants you to learn how to love. It is in loving relationships that we are most like God. Life without love is worthless’ (2002: 123). Other perceptions of a peaceful and developed community The meanings of peace range from philosophical to political, to psychological, to legal and to social shades. Some meanings emphasise ‘peace inside the mind’ and some other meanings emphasise the ‘peace in the outer environment’ (Encarta 2003). The scholastics defined peace as tranquillitas ordinis (the tranquillity of order). In terms of life in society, we are reminded that: ‘Peace is not just the absence of war. It is the wholeness of life where every person can live with dignity.’ Pope Paul VI has stressed that ‘the new name for peace is development’ (Ledesma 2005). Perhaps we could add: ‘Sustainable development’, and not a form of development that destroys our environment and undermines our very source of livelihood. Pope John Paul has summed up where peace begins

Social development in the Philippines 203 and ends: ‘Peace of the heart is the heart of peace. Peace is the fruit of solidarity’ (Ledesma 2005). Despite the dearth of local studies on peace, some are reviewed here. In an article, Deles (1994) stressed that indigenous people’s rights to ancestral domains have been and continue to be sacrificed in the name of modernisation and development goals which are often pursued and enforced with the use of arms. It also found that in the country today, when national land laws come in conflict with the indigenous land system, the indigenous communities are pressured into assimilating. Moreover, Deles discusses how the encroachment of capitalist exploitation and concessions in ancestral domains has caused the destruction of the environment, massive migration and the continuing marginalisation of indigenous people. All these contribute to conflict. In a consultation meeting done by Kalimudan Foundation, the following were found to be the primary causes of conflict in the province of Lanao del Sur in the Philippines: Election (politics); Land and natural resources; Family feuds; Murder/ killings; Ordinary quarrel due to simple misunderstanding, Jealousy or envy; Theft and robbery; Drugs; women (kanduaya, elopement or divorce); Maratabat; Backbiting/crab mentality; Corruption of leaders; Sky-high dowry; Last will and testament; Competition for honorific titles; Arrogance of LGUs; Favoritism/unfairness; Injustice; and Clannishness. (Kalimudan Foundation 2005a) Development, now more popularly called sustainable development, relies on a number of key elements but as many have realised by now, all development efforts can only become sustainable in the context of peace. Roadblocks to peace Tan (1977) insinuated that Islam has an inherent feature that predisposes its followers to violence. He suspected that this element paved the way for the Muslims to develop a culture which contains revolutionary elements. While a ‘grain of truth’ may exist in this thesis, Tan overlooks the fact that violence is not the monopoly of Islam as evidenced by the unresolved Christian versus Christian conflict in Northern Ireland, Spain and in many other parts of the world. In the case of the late Dr Peter G. Gowing (1979), he saw the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF ) rebellion as a new chapter in the continuing struggle of the Moros for self-rule since the time of the Spaniards. In his other works, Gowing also emphasised what he calls as ‘negative images’ built in the minds of both sides as a result of the long and bloody encounters between these two communities of faith. Similar to Noble (1983) and Majul (1985), they saw the ‘deepening Islamic consciousness’ of the Moros as opposed to the ‘integrating’ efforts of the Philippine government as factor to the current crises.

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During the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos, the National Unification Commission (NUC) conducted extensive consultations regarding the peace conditions in the country. The findings showed that the major causes of the conflicts were: 1 2 3 4 5

Massive poverty and economic inequity. Poor governance – (local justice not implemented, lack of response in terms of public services). Injustice and abuse of power – (human rights violations). Control of political power by few. Exploitation of cultural communities and lack of recognition of their ancestral land and/or domain. (NUC Report 1992–1993, cited in Polestico 2001)

Agenda for peace and development The study of Macansantos (1995) showed that peace and development could emerge only as one seamless web, one unravels as the other disintegrates. He recommended that for the Philippines to join the ranks of the ‘tiger economies’ in Asia, a regime of peace must be fairly established and sustained. As president and representative of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Archbishop Legaspi of Caceres, together with the rest of CBCP membership formulated and signed the following suggested agenda for peace and development contained in a pastoral letter, to wit: 1 Transforming values and mentalities into those that are truly oriented to God and to the common good. We need to be a people and leaders who are ‘maka-Diyos’ (God-centred) and ‘maka-bayan’ (nationalistic). Negative values, such as selfishness and greed must give way to generosity and sharing. 2 Dismantling the structures (systems, such as ways of relating and acting in economic and political life supported by laws, policies and entrenched practices) that favour the few and discriminate against the great majority of our people. Monopolies and a system of taxation that lies too heavily on those who have less are such structures that need urgent change. 3 Designing and implementing truly transformative programmes of agrarian reform, ecological promotion and socio-economic development geared towards the eradication of gross imbalances and disparities and permeated by a sensitive care for people and for the earth. Today, we still seem, for instance, unable to implement our laws against indiscriminate and illegal logging. 4 Peacefully resolving questions of self-determination of various groups in our country within the context of national sovereignty, problems such as posed by the MILF, MNLF (Muslim rebel armies) and CPLA (Cordillera People’s Liberation Army).

Social development in the Philippines 205 5 Coming decisively to a moral and political resolution of the complex questions that revolve around the tension of national autonomy and inter-dependence among nations as reflected by realities such as various foreign economic interests in our country, our external economic debts, the US military presence and inadequate transfer of technological knowledge so necessary for our economic growth and selfreliance. 6 Developing a satisfactory and effective educational system that should be critical and liberating and could be more responsive to our country’s needs as well as to the needs of the various members of the school community. 7 Freeing, once and for all, our most disenfranchised sectors, the rural and urban poor, from various forms of bondage, through a sincere practice of the evangelical option for the poor. 8 Effectively checking graft and corruption in private and public life. 9 Conscientiously observing the laws of our country and effectively delivering socio-economic services to our people. Just taxes, for instance, have to be paid faithfully and the government must spend them honestly and wisely for the good of the people. 10 Empowering people in law and in fact in order that decision-making and implementing processes may truly be participatory and oriented to the common good. (UCA News 1990) The above-mentioned studies indicate that peace and development are a worldwide concern and that there seems to be a dearth of peace literature on peace and conflicts involving the Maranao people. Hence, this study was undertaken.

Methodology This study was conducted in three neighbouring regions in Mindanao, chosen by purposive sampling, namely: Region 10, Region 12 and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Simple random technique was employed in selecting the rest of the samples of the six provinces (two provinces from each region); the six municipalities (one municipality from each province); and the twelve barangays (two barangays from each municipality – representing an ARC and a non-ARC barangay). Two provinces from each region were chosen, namely: Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental in Region 10; Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in Region 12; and Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao in the ARMM. One municipality in each province was selected. Finally, two barangays in each municipality – one Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) and one non-Agrarian Reform Community (nonARC) – were randomly selected as the locales of the study. A total of 520 respondents were involved in the study from twelve ARCs and non-ARCs of Region 10, Region 12 and the ARMM sampled from six

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municipalities. In terms of total number of respondents, both ARCs and nonARCs were almost equally represented with 256 and 264 respondents, respectively. Ultimately, 15 per cent of the residents from each identified barangay were taken as a sample through accidental sampling method. An interview schedule was utilised containing systematically arranged guide questions. Data from secondary sources such as books, journals and the like were utilised. Data-gathering was conducted by this researcher with the assistance of six hired research aides who are natives of their respective sampled barangays. In testing the hypothesis, a non-parametric test was used. A Chi-Square Test and Lambda were used to test the association between nominal variables on personal and socio-economic characteristics of the respondents and the perceived peace and development situation. The same tests were used to test the difference between ARCs and non-ARCs on the perceived peace and development situation, Lambda and Chi-Square Test were used. To test the difference between the regions on the perceived peace and development situation, Lambda and Chi-Square Tests were used. Wilcox on paired sample test was used to test the difference by type of the community in terms of: (1) infrastructure facilities, (2) institutions available, (3) basic services and (4) economic facilities. Finally, a test of difference by region was determined using the Kruskal Wallis H. Test to find out whether the three regions differ in peace and development situation as perceived by the respondents. Mean score analysis was utilised in the ranking of responses. In the operation of the Chi-Square Test for the null hypothesis, the data were dichotomised into high and low categories for both the independent and dependent variables.

Findings and discussions Respondents’ profile The majority of the respondents are quite young, males, married and in the low education category. Nearly half of the respondents are Roman Catholics, closely followed by Muslims. Many belong to the Maguindanao tribe, followed by Cebuano/Visayan and Ilonggo, respectively. The majority of the respondents belong to small families, with a monthly average income of P7,367 derived from farming which is the major source of livelihood. The majority are relatively new residents of the barangay. Many claimed to be tilling between 1–5 hectares of land as share tenants. The majority are non-agrarian reform beneficiaries (non-ARB) and are not affiliated with any organisation existing in the community. Many respondents produce coconut as their major crop, while corn came as a major secondary crop. Goat, cow and carabao are the major livestock raised.

Social development in the Philippines 207 Respondents as beneficiaries The majority have not received any assistance from any government organisation (GO), while the few who have received GO assistance mentioned the following as having benefited them the most: livelihood, cooperative and livestock raising, barangay justice and leadership training, post harvest facilities and farm inputs. Recipients of GO assistance claimed to have attended such trainings in livelihood, cooperative, livestock handling, leadership and dispensation of barangay justice. Less than half of the respondents (42.69 per cent) availed themselves of the assistance provided by non-government organisations (NGO), such as Support to Agrarian Reform – Central Mindanao (STAR-CM) (88.73 per cent), World Bank (60.81 per cent), Land Bank of the Philippines (52.25 per cent) and Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) (7.65 per cent). Among the help and assistance given by NGOs in the community, the following were mentioned as having benefited respondents the most: trainings/seminars, livelihood, postharvest facilities, credit support and farm equipment. The NGO-sponsored trainings widely attended by respondents were: livelihood barangay justice, cooperative and women’s rights, livestock handling and leadership. Conceptualisation of peace and development The following concept of a peaceful community were identified by the respondents, ranked respectively: (1) harmonious relations among neighbours, (2) freedom to move around, (3) security to property, (4) absence of conflict over land and ownership of other real estate properties and (5) absence of conflict in the family/ clan (rido). Closely related to these concepts, the peace situation that has been observed in the community revealed to be the following, ranked accordingly: (1) freedom to leave things/personal effects without being stolen, (2) absence of drug addiction, (3) security of property from thieves, (4) freedom to engage in sports activities and (5) freedom to move around. Overall, respondents rated the general peace situation in their community as ‘somewhat peaceful’, which they believed to be brought about by the following factors as contributing to the attainment of peace in the community: (1) love for God, (2) mutual understanding, (3) police visibility, (4) living together in harmony and (5) mutual respect for culture and religion as well as having law abiding citizens. On the other hand, those who believed otherwise, mentioned the following as factors hindering the attainment of peace in their community, ranked according to importance: (1) lack of training and education, (2) low moral values, (3) laxity of law enforcers, (4) family feuds (rido), moral decadence, election conflicts, murder and kanya-kanya attitude and (5) poor law enforcement. The ingredients of a developed community were perceived as follows: (1) stable source of income, (2) comfortable shelter, (3) consciousness to

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spiritual responsibility, (4) availability of potable water supply and (5) freedom to participate in assemblies. Comparing the above perceived ingredients of a developed community, the following were gathered: (1) able to read Arabic, (2) able to read both Arabic and English, (3) income is stable, (4) children are in school, (5) medicines are available, (6) free to participate in demonstrations, (7) free to elect qualified political candidates, (8) healthy family members, (9) free to attend assemblies and (10) dining facilities are available. In general, the majority rated the overall development situation of their community as ‘somewhat developed’ due to the following factors which they believed contributed to the attainment of development in their community: (1) fear of God, (2) efficient implementation of CARP, (3) good local governance, and employment and self-employment opportunities, (4) stable income and (5) availability of infrastructure facilities. Those who believe otherwise, mentioned the following factors hindering the attainment of development in their community: (1) corruption in the government, (2) poverty situation, (3) ineffective CARP implementation and (4) lack of employment opportunities. In general, the respondents rate their overall experience as residents of their community as ‘somewhat pleasant and satisfying’. Among the characteristics considered, only the major source of income was found to be, at least, weakly associated with their perception of their development situation. It means that there are other factors that may determine the respondents’ perception of their development situation. It is worth noting that in terms of all characteristics, the majority of respondents claimed that the development situation of their community is ‘somewhat developed’. Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) and non-ARCs compared Between ARC and non-ARC areas, respondents in both areas do not differ in their perception on peace indicators, such as freedom to move around, security of property, security of belongings, harmonious relations with others in the community, participation in sports, intermarriage with other tribes, absence of family conflicts and the absence of conflict over land and other real estate properties. They only differ in perceptions with regards to the absence of drug addiction in the community as an indicator of the peaceful situation in their community. A greater proportion of the respondents in ARC and only one-third in the non-ARC believed that the community should always be free from drug addiction in order to be peaceful. Generally, the development situation in their community was rated as ‘somewhat developed’. Respondents in ARC and non-ARC differ in the following development indicators: (1) availability of medicines, (2) availability of dining facilities at home, (3) availability of sanitary toilet facilities and (4) health conditions of family members. Almost one-half (45 per cent) of the respondents in ARC and only 39 per cent on non-ARC claimed that they always have available medicines. Seventy-eight per cent of the respondents in ARC and only 65 per

Social development in the Philippines 209 cent of the respondents in non-ARC always have available dining facilities. Only 9 per cent and 21 per cent respondents from ARC and non-ARC respectively said that they have no available dining facilities. The majority (78 per cent) of the respondents in ARC and only 68 per cent of the respondents in non-ARC claimed that they have always available sanitary toilet. The majority (71 per cent) and only 57 per cent of the respondents from ARC and non-ARC rated the physical condition of members of their family as always healthy. There are significantly greater proportions of respondents in ARC than in non-ARC who rated physical conditions as always healthy. There is no significant association between the type of community and the perceived development situation, although there is a slight percentage difference in the perceptions between ARC and non-ARC respondents. There were a majority of ARC respondents who perceive the development situation in general as ‘somewhat developed’ compared to those in the non-ARC who thought the same. In general, both ARC and non-ARC respondents perceived the development situation of their community as ‘somewhat developed’. There is no significant association between the perception of general life experience as residents of the community and the type of community as both ARC and non-ARC respondents perceive their community experience as ‘somewhat satisfying and pleasant’. Regions 10, 12 and ARMM compared Respondents in the three different regions differ in the following indicators of the peace situation: (1) security of property and personal belongings from robbers and (2) the absence of drug addiction. The majority of the respondents in ARMM and Region 12 claimed that they always have security of property from robbery, while only few from Region 10 claimed the same. The same picture was found with regards to security of belongings. More respondents in Region 12 and ARMM and only few in Region 10 claimed that they are always free to leave behind their personal belongings without being stolen. In terms of drug addiction, many respondents in ARMM (57 per cent), less than one-half in Region 12 and only 34 per cent of the respondents in Region 10 claimed that their community is free from drug addiction. It means that there may be greater presence of drug addiction in Region 10 than in Region 12 and ARMM. Respondents in the three regions differ in their perception of the development situation in their community in the following indicators: (1) availability of medicines, (2) stable income, (3) schooling of children, (4) health conditions, (5) freedom to attend demonstrations, (6) freedom to select qualified candidates and (7) unity and mutual understanding in the community. Respondents in Region 12 have greater access to medicines than those in ARMM and much more than those in Region 10. A higher number of the respondents in Region 10 believed that they have a more stable income than in Region 12 and ARMM. In terms of children’s schooling, more respondents in Regions 10 and 12 and only few in ARMM revealed that their school-aged children are always able to

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go to school. There are also a greater number of respondents in ARMM than in other regions who alleged that their school-aged children are not in school. Many respondents in Region 12 and ARMM and only few in Region 10 claimed that they always have heath facilities available. On freedom to attend demonstrations, the majority of respondents in Region 12 and Region 10 and only few in ARMM claimed that they are always free to attend demonstrations. There are a greater number of respondents in Region 12 who are politically conscious than in other regions. The majority in Region 12 and 10 and only few in ARMM revealed that they are always free to select qualified candidates. A greater majority of respondents in Region 12 (82 per cent), 55 per cent in ARMM and 38 per cent in Region 10 claimed that there is unity and mutual understanding in their community. There is significant association between the type of community and the infrastructure facilities available. The study revealed that there are more school buildings, multi-purpose centres, markets, road networks, box culverts and sports facilities in ARC than in non-ARC. The non-ARC areas have excelled only in terms of the number of waiting sheds and ablution centre. There is a significant association between the type of community and institutions available. There are also a greater number of institutions like churches, banks, cooperatives and people’s organisations in ARC areas than in non-ARC areas. The non-ARCs excelled only in the number of mosques. In terms of basic services, the ARCs have a greater number of communal irrigation, potable water systems and solar dryers. While the non-ARC have more post offices, rice and corn mills and corn shelters. Nevertheless, statistical tests revealed that there is no statistical difference between the two types of communities in terms of their basic services. There is no difference between the type of community and economic livelihood available. However, frequency counts show that there are more of the following in the non-ARCs: goat raising, bamboo production, mango production, cassava production, sari-sari stores, vegetable production, commercial shops, poultry raising and peanut production. Only very few livelihood economic activities are present in non-ARCs, such as: corn production, banana production, balut and salted egg production, Maranao needlecraft, rubber production, bamboo furniture making, mechanised farm implements, cultivation machinery and duck/egg raising. In terms of the type and number of conflicts recorded in the Barangay Hall or police station, there is no significant difference between ARC and non-ARC areas. The ARCs however have more cases of the following than the non-ARCs: physical injury, conflict on property/land ownership, malicious mischief, harassment and estafa/swindling. The non-ARCs have more recorded conflicts related to the following: destruction of plants and crops, theft, threats, family problems, slander/moral damage, killing of animals, public disturbance, attempted murder and the destruction of a waiting shed. More conflict cases were fielded in Region 10 compared to the other regions. Region 10 has a more or less complete and updated listing compared to the other two regions. The top most recorded conflicts by region are the following:

Social development in the Philippines 211 physical injury, property ownership, destruction of plants and crops, malicious mischief and harassment. Almost all or the majority of these recorded conflicts were amicably resolved at the barangay level except the following which were elevated to the higher courts: one case of moral damage in Region 12; one case of breach of contract; two cases of land dispute; and two cases of child abuse in Region 10. No reported cases of conflict or complaint were seen in ARMM as conflict situations in this area are reportedly not documented or do not reach the police or barangay office because they themselves resolve the conflict by either taking the law into their own hands, or resolve it through traditional means.

Concluding remarks This study intended to focus on agrarian reform communities, yet findings showed that majority of respondents were not agrarian reform beneficiaries. The CARP, however, provided for the social justice principle which assures both ARBs and non-ARBs in the ARCs full access to basic support services for increased productivity, increased household income and human dignity. Further, the findings suggested that there were no significant differences in the perceived and actually observed peace and development situation between ARC and nonARC communities. Despite all these, it is still highly recommended that residents register for membership as ARBs. In light of the findings, the respondents’ concept of peace and social transformation revolve around harmony with others and the freedom to live with one another which further implies security to their belongings despite their varied cultural and demographic backgrounds. Indeed, the data insinuated societal peace and holistic at that: societal because it involves everyone; and holistic because it encompasses several factors. The causes of the peace and order problem as perceived by respondents are somehow related to factors/solutions contributory to achieving peace and order. Specific causes of the problems all point to the diversities of the various sectors of the community in terms of training, education, morals, attitudes and traits. Thus, findings of the study showed that respondents perceived the love of God as an overall factor to encompass the diversities of people in the community coupled with the latter’s changed attitudes. Findings suggested that respondents’ concept of development revolved around a combination of material, spiritual and socio-cultural dimensions. Indeed, it follows the adage Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa (God helps those who help themselves). It did not come out however exactly the same when respondents assessed the actual development situation in their community in as much as the spiritual aspect was put aside a little. Generally however, the material aspect takes central role. Underdevelopment, perceived by respondents to be caused by corrupt local governance and related political processes, implies the respondents’ distrust on government. It therefore implies that respondents believe that change in

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government practice would allow for development to take place. These views were expressed by the respondents in the study. The finding that respondents rate their life experiences in their communities as somewhat pleasant and satisfying regardless of personal and socio-economic background implies that peace is universal. It has no boundary. Everyone should help to achieve it. Indeed, the study has shown that agrarian reform matters most, the data on the difference between ARC and non-ARC suggests that overall, ARCs are at an advantage as they are better provided with basic services and infrastructural support facilities. Similar findings between ARCs and non-ARCs call for a better monitoring and assessment mechanism of ARCs in order to determine how to improve programmes. Understandably, the responsibility lies greatly on government and its agencies, for example, the Department of Agrarian Reform, and offices directly implementing the programmes. CARP-ARC constituents should look into opportunities to augment what CARP has laid down for them. CARP should inspire them to help transform society by expanding their outlook in life and be cooperative enough to volunteer and offer what they could as partners of CARP for the full attainment of peace and development in their communities. This calls for citizens/residents in ARCs to be encouraged to register as ARBs to enjoy the full benefits of the Agrarian Reform Approach of the DAR. With the just recently concluded national elections, installing a new highly determined national leadership, there is high hope for a more viable societal transformation.

References Abaya-Ulindang, Faina C. (2000). Land to the Landless – The Magsaysay-Lansdale Approach to the Huk Peasant Unrest (1949–1953). CSSH Graduate Research Journal, 2(3–4), July–December. Abueva, Jose Veloso (1971). Ramon Magsaysay: A Political Biography. Manila: Solidaridad Publishing House. Anden-Nuguid, Charmaine. (2003). Enhancing Business- Community Relations. Retrieved from www.new-academy.ac.uk. Arguillas, Caroline O. (2005). Enlarging Spaces and Strengthening Voices for Peace: Civil Society Initiatives in Mindanao. Retrieved from www.c-r.org. Caperig, Joel. (2004). Church Sermon at Rivers of Life Fellowship. Tibanga, Iligan City, August. Deles, Teresita Q. (1994). Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights, in Ruel Hermoso (ed.), Development and Democracy. Manila: Ateneo De Manila for Social Policy and Public Affairs. Durkheim, Émile. (1995 [1912]). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Trans. and Introduction by Karen E. Fields. New York: The Free Press. Encarta. (2003). Peace and Development Issues. Retrieved from www.prasena.com. Farmers’ Center Operations Manual. (2003). KapitBisig Laban saKahirapan (KALAHI). Department of Agrarian Reform.

Social development in the Philippines 213 Gowing, Peter G. (1979). Muslim Filipinos: Heritage and Horizon. Quezon City: New Day. The Holy Bible. (1984). New International Version. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. Kalimudan Foundation. (2005a). Proceedings of the Workshop on the Contextualization of Culture of Peace (COP) Module in the Maranao Context. Marawi City: Kalimudan Foundation. Kalimudan Foundation. (2005b). Trainers’ Manual on Maranao Culture of Peace. Marawi City: Kalimudan Foundation. Lambatlaya/Redo. (1990). Development Through People’s Empowerment. In Proceedings of 1st National Conference on Participatory Strategies for Countryside Development. Quezon City: UP Press. Layson, Robert C., OMI. (2003). Reflections on Public Participation in Peace Process in Mindanao. Paper presented during the seminar-workshop on ‘Learning Peacemaking from Public Participation’. Gen. Santos City: Sydney Hotel. Retrieved from www. mindanews.com. Ledesma, Antonio J. (2005). Healing the Past, Building the Future (Soundings from Mindanao). Quezon City: Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc. Macansantos, Rosello C. (1995). Building a Culture of Peace in Southern Mindanao: Retrospect and Prospects. Mindanao Forum, 21(1). Majul, C.A. (1995). Contemporary Muslim Movements in the Philippines. Berkeley, CA: Mizan Press. Mangorsi, Alongan A. (1984). Government Responses to the Muslim Problem in Southern Philippines. Marawi City: Mindanao Journal, 10: 1983–1984. Noble, L.G. (1983). Politics in the Marcos Era, in John Bresnan (ed.), Crisis in the Philippines: The Marcos Era and Beyond. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 70–113. Operations Manual on the Development of Agrarian Reform Communities (2nd edn). Bureau of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Development, DAR. Peace. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org. Polestico, Rachel V. (2001). Towards a Culture of Peace: The Role of the Civil Society in the Philippines. Paper Read at the 17th Annual Assembly of the Okumenische Philippineconferenz, Wurzburg, Germany. Rodil, Rudy. (2004). Wave of Peace-Building Washes across Mindanao. Davao: MindaNews. Retrieved from www.cyberdyaryo.com. Tan, S.K. (1977). The Filipino Muslim Struggle: 1900–1972. Metro Manila: Filipinas Foundation. UCA News. (1990, 2 February). Philippine Bishops Outline Vision for Peace in the New Decade, UCA News. Retrieved from www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/ 1990/02/02/philippine-bishops-outline-vision-for-peace-in-the-new-decade&post_ id=30013. Warren, Rick. (2002). The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here for? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

15 Host organisation perspectives of volunteer traits Implications for selection and training Sarita Barton, Brad Tucker and Benjamin Lough Introduction Over the past several decades, the international volunteer service has grown significantly in popularity and influence. What began as a form of state-level aid to post-conflict and developing nations has evolved into a type of personal service to disadvantaged communities around the world. Moreover, the structure of the international volunteer service has adapted to the needs of volunteers and communities alike, moving from traditional long-term immersive service models to include shorter-term commitments and tourist-like experiences that attract volunteers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The typical international volunteer is Caucasian and originates from countries in the Global North – that is, the USA, Canada and Western Europe (Lough 2013; Brassard, Sherraden, Lough 2010; Caprara et al. 2012). Generally, these volunteers are between the ages of 15 and 44. Most have above-average levels of education (Lough 2013). However, there is increasing interest in volunteerism among many Asian and African communities (Brassard et al. 2010; Caprara et al. 2012) as more and more volunteers from the Global South are seeking volunteer service experience. Despite the global prevalence of the international volunteer service, little is known about the impact of the international volunteers and how they can best contribute to the organisations and communities that host them. Rather, research in the field has largely focused on the motivations of international volunteers (Hudson and Inkson 2012; Chen and Chen 2011) and the personal impact that their service experiences have had on them (Lough et al. 2014; Carano 2013; McBride, Lough and Sherraden 2012). Similarly, conceptual pieces on the wider societal benefits of the international volunteer service have tended to concentrate more on its positive implications for international relations and diplomacy, and less on the potential capacity building contributions of international volunteers in targeted communities (Clinton 2010; Quigley and Rieffel 2008; Rieffel and Zalud 2006). The international volunteer service is predicated on its ability to assist disadvantaged communities in their development but evidence for its efficacy in this area is mixed. Studies have shown that

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international volunteers may, at the individual level, aid in the building of capacity through the provision of skills, innovation and resources (Hawkins, Verstege and Flood 2013; Contreras 2010; Irie et al. 2010). However, international volunteers may also hold dichotomous worldviews that reinforce stereotypes of the third world and uphold existing power structures that undermine local autonomy (Simpson 2004; Vodopivec and Jaffe 2011; Laleman et al. 2007). Given this conflicting evidence and the general lack of consensus in the literature, additional study aimed at assessing the impact volunteers have on their host organisations and communities is warranted. Through a series of in-depth interviews and focus groups, this chapter examines what individual-level traits or characteristics increase the likelihood of volunteers having a positive impact on their host communities and organisations. The participants selected for this study were key informants among host organisation staff and host community members. These individuals were believed to hold a unique perspective on the potential which international volunteers have of positively contributing to the ongoing development of beneficiary communities. The findings of this examination are then applied to organisational processes of selecting and training volunteers for international service.

Literature review In one sense, the distinction between international and other forms of volunteering is relatively straightforward. Typically, volunteers work in their home country, likely among relatively familiar communities (Corporation for National and Community Service 2007). International volunteers, on the other hand, cross at least one international boundary to serve in a foreign environment (Devereux 2009). And, though the same altruistic impulse could motivate all volunteers, the diverse contexts of the international volunteer service require distinctive personal capabilities (Kealey and Ruben 1983). Consequently, considerations for the selection and training of individuals for the international service should differ from the typical performance criteria for domestic volunteers. However, evidence has not yet clarified which characteristics should be emphasised. The literature from the Peace Corps sheds some light on this puzzle. Years of research by social scientists helped to determine that volunteer dimensions of success were a combination of professional competence and personality characteristics (Jordan and Cartwright 1998). A 1965 study by Mischel showed that measures of authoritarianism, self-confidence and anxiety more accurately predicted teaching performance than the Peace Corps selection board (Mischel 1965). Similarly, an investigation from 1967 which examined adaptability, interpersonal relations and language capacity indicated that tests of personality, intellectual capacity and values equalled the predictive ability of a full clinical assessment (Gordon 1967). Years later, Harris demonstrated that volunteer performance was better accounted for by measures of values and personality strength than technical competence (Harris 1972).

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Over time, this particular line of inquiry evolved to study the professional performance of expatriates in diverse fields (i.e. overseas businessmen, military and religious personnel and technical assistance workers) (Kealey 1989), as opposed to volunteers serving abroad. However, the focus on individual personality traits as predictors of overseas success remained. As more research was conducted, the number of traits under study began to complicate the applicability of investigator’s work (Jordan and Cartwright 1998) leading to attempts to synthesise findings into the identification of criteria that were essential to successful international performance which Kealey and Ruben defined as an ‘overseas type’ (Kealey and Ruben 1983: 32). To that end, Arthur and Bennett (1995) categorised five characteristics significant to international work: job knowledge and motivation, relational skills, extra-cultural openness, intelligence and flexibility/adaptation. The reason expatriate assignments require distinct personality traits, and thus the reason international volunteer service requires different considerations than domestic volunteering, relates to the challenges of working in a foreign environment. Behaviour is the result of personality and contextual social expectations (Hogan and Roberts 2000). Expatriates, relative to their domestic counterparts, experience greater ambiguity in terms of social expectations (Harrison, Shaffer and Bashkar-Shrinivas 2004). They experience what Mischel referred to as ‘weak situations’, in which behavioural norms are unclear and there is no common understanding of what is required (Mischel 1977). Consequently, individual predispositions may come to dominate behaviour, exhibiting greater influence over the performance of expatriates than would be seen in their domestic settings (Shaffer et al. 2006). As a result, the success of international assignments cannot be determined in the same manner as domestic work. Factors such as cultural adjustment and cross-cultural competency must be considered alongside technical proficiency (Caligiuri 1997; Shaffer et al. 2006). Since moving away from studies of Peace Corps volunteers, expatriate literature has been largely neutral on the professions of international workers. However, this may be an important factor to consider when assessing performance, as the significance of any specific trait or skill will depend on both the task being accomplished and the environmental conditions that affect adjustment and effectiveness (Kealey and Ruben 1983). In particular, development workers often have to make greater cross-cultural changes than corporate expatriates, moving to a new country that may be radically different in terms of economic development (Hudson and Inkson 2005). In the case of international volunteers, the transition is even starker as they go from paid employment or educational settings to voluntary work situations (Hudson and Inkson 2005). Two studies shed light on the performance of expatriate development workers. In 1981, Kealey and Hawes found that a mix of technical and nontechnical competencies, including flexibility, respect and cultural sensitivity, initiative and job commitment, was related to successful performance abroad. Likewise, Kealey’s 1989 investigation of the cross-cultural effectiveness of Canadian technical assistance professionals abroad showed that successful work practices for these individuals depended, to a degree, on selflessness. For

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example, significant predictors of effective skill transfer were a lack of concern for upward mobility, lack of self-centredness and an ability to care for others. Lack of concern for upward mobility was also highly associated with higher levels of cross-cultural understanding. Additionally, enhanced effectiveness at skill transfer was linked to greater participation in or integration into the local culture. Predictors of integration included, among other factors, altruistic motivations and values. From this, it appears that more humanistic development workers do better in their overseas assignments. Since most international volunteers serve in poor and often marginalised communities and they do so with little to no compensation (Devereux 2009), it follows that a fervent humanistic orientation, a heightened sense of altruism and a strong commitment to values are probably necessary prerequisites for such service. One can presume that international service volunteers likely possess a keen penchant for self-sacrifice or self-denial in order to serve abroad (Rehberg 2005). Overall, the literature on overseas performance continues to stress the significance of social factors in appraising successful work. However, it often fails to incorporate the perspective of local colleagues and managers. Most studies have only Westerners in their study population, but still generalise their findings to other settings. This oversight is troubling because host country nationals have unique considerations they must take into account when evaluating their expatriate counterparts. They weigh social factors differently and have varied considerations when evaluating expatriates for success (Kealey and Hawes 1981; Sinangil and Ones 1997). Consequently, their perspective may not be adequately represented in much of the research. Yet, compared to Westerners, local co-workers appear more aware of the social dynamics that govern expatriate performance and are more sensitive to its implications (McWha 2011; Kealey and Hawes 1981). Better incorporation of the host country’s points of view is needed, as locals spend considerable time working with and supervising expatriates, including international volunteers, and their input may prove invaluable when determining the most significant personal traits for overseas work (Sinangil and Ones 1997). The limited participation of host organisations and host communities in the selection and training of volunteers almost certainly reduces the ultimate success and impact volunteers may have on targeted beneficiaries. Sending organisations, often entities founded in the Global North, with headquarters in Western cities and staffs of primarily Western origin, typically dominate the selection and training process (Graham et al. 2011). Opportunities for jointly implemented selection and training opportunities are severely limited and far from the norm. Recruited and dispatched volunteers, however, will be embedded in local host organisations while living and working in local host communities. It is, therefore, critically important that selection and training processes be informed by the knowledge and perspectives of local organisations and community members. Local organisations and communities should play a central role in both identifying the parameters for volunteer selection and determining the most important training necessary prior to overseas assignment. This study hopes to identify

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what traits and characteristics local organisations and communities deem most important to successful and impactful volunteering and thereby increase the voice of host communities in the volunteering arena.

Methodology The data for this chapter were originally collected in 2012 by Dr Benjamin Lough in collaboration with the International Form on Development Service (IFDS), a global network of International Volunteer Cooperation Organizations (IVCOs). IFDS exists to ‘share information, develop good practice and enhance co-operation across the international volunteering and development sectors’ (FORUM 2015). Secondary analysis of the data was conducted to pursue a line of inquiry that Dr Lough and his team had not previously considered. Fourteen IVCOs responded to an exploratory survey distributed to IFDS member organisations in preparation for fieldwork. Nine of the fourteen respondents were selected as partner organisations for this study. These organisations were primarily large publicly financed organisations from Canada, Western Europe and Japan, who asked to remain anonymous. Kenya was chosen as the focal country for this study because of the large number of volunteers these organisations had placed with local affiliates in various sites around the country. All volunteers sponsored by partner IVCOs were required to spend at least one month in their host countries. Sponsored volunteers were also required to meet minimal educational and occupational requirements such as completion of an undergraduate university degree. Within Kenya, twelve placement sites in Nairobi, Kisumu and Lari towns were chosen as field sites for the current study. Data were collected through a combination of key-informant qualitative interviews and participatory workshops. Key-informant interviews Interviews were conducted with selected staff members of local organisations that had extensive experience hosting international volunteers from IFDSmember IVCOs. One to four staff members were interviewed at each of the twelve placement sites in Kenya. The principal investigator personally interviewed a total of twenty-four staff-members, who had specifically been identified as being able to comment on volunteer contributions to organisational programming. Interviews lasted from 45–60 minutes and employed a semistructured interview guide that had been developed following feedback from in-country partners and an IFDS research working group. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed. The ages of the staff interviewed ranged from 24–53 with an average age of thirty-seven. Thirteen of the twenty-four informants were men and eleven were women. Given the difficulty of segregating the degree of programme and organisational impact due specifically the contributions of volunteers, interviewees were asked to describe, in as much detail as possible, the ‘added value’ volunteers brought to the organisation.

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Participatory workshops Participatory workshops – or more specifically structured focus groups – were conducted with members of the benefiting communities who had frequent contact with volunteers placed in their localities. Community members were asked to compare the contribution of volunteers to the contribution of other staff working for the host organisations. Workshops were conducted at seven placement sites in Nairobi, Kisumu and Lari. Each workshop lasted from 3–4 hours and was facilitated by one of the investigative team with the assistance of a local research assistant who could translate when necessary. A total of fiftynine community members participated in the workshops. Workshop proceedings were also digitally recorded and transcribed. Analytical approach Written transcripts of all key-informant interviews and workshop proceedings were entered to NVivo – qualitative analysis software – for coding. Using a grounded theory approach, text was inductively coded (aka ‘coding down’) to identify key themes and frequency of similar responses to questions (Charmaz 1990). From these themes, codes were developed and then re-applied to interview and workshop transcripts.

Results and implications On the whole, respondents were satisfied with the work of international volunteers and valued their capacity building contributions to the hosting organisations (twenty-two references). They were also able to identify particular volunteer attributes that either facilitated or hindered the volunteers’ work with the organisation and the local community. Generally, responses fell into three broad categories, which are elaborated on in the following paragraphs. Technical expertise refers to the professional or academic background of volunteers as well as the introduction of new skills and ideas to the host organisation. Commitment relates to the focus or energy that volunteers brought to their work. And, flexibility describes the ability of volunteers to adjust and adapt to the new cultural, social and organisational environments they encounter during service, as well as the ability to modify their expectations. Among volunteers, these attributes were seen to facilitate successful service with hosting organisations and increase the organisations’ capacity to positively impact communities. Technical expertise/skill Though much of the literature surrounding expatriate performance emphasises the significance of personal characteristics relative to professional expertise, technical skill remains an important factor in determining the impact of international volunteer service. Respondents in this study frequently indicated that the

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academic or professional backgrounds of volunteers were critical to their service (thirty-five references). This does not mean that unskilled volunteers or volunteers who lacked skills relevant to the host organisation’s mission and goals provided no contributions. Such volunteers served as ‘an additional pair of hands’ in the completion of basic office tasks or physical labour (nine references). However, as indicated by respondents, volunteers had the greatest impact when they possessed academic or professional backgrounds that could be strategically utilised by hosting organisations (fourteen references). Skilled international volunteers added value to hosting organisations in several ways. First, they required less supervision. As one respondent articulated: The more skills we get from the volunteers I think the more the outcome … Like if you get somebody who is very skilled in his field even the time you will use to monitor this person is less … The more the skills the more the output – yeah! The need to monitor volunteers can drain resources from the organisation which limits its service capacity (Cuskelly et al. 2006). However, when volunteers require only minimal supervision, organisational resources that would have been occupied overseeing them, can instead be directed towards the client community, thereby increasing the host organisation’s ability to serve. Second, trained international volunteers may enhance existing skill levels in the community through the direct utilisation of volunteer expertise or the transfer of skills to host organisation staff. International volunteers often come with academic or professional backgrounds that can be utilised to improve the host organisation’s provision of service (eleven references). They can directly apply their knowledge to work with the community, filling existing holes in service provision (eleven references), such as the case of one volunteer whose background in education was seen as an advantage by host community staff because the refugee camp in which they worked had only untrained teachers. Conversely, volunteers can indirectly serve their host communities by instructing host organisation staff and other community members in relevant areas, increasing the local availability of knowledge and abilities (twenty-seven references). Even simple skills in communication, fundraising and organisation can be viewed as important contributions (twelve references) because they improve the host organisation’s capacity to secure needed resources and provide services. You know the problem is the communication. She knows the way she writes it. Even she writes a proposal or a letter from edition. The way he writes it, the way she writes it is different, yeah. The way he wrote it is somehow it is not appealing you know. But that is, these are things that we have learn from them. When an international volunteer can provide expertise that an organisation or community lacks, they help to increase or improve the organisation’s contributions to the wider community.

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Third, international volunteers provide new ideas and perspectives to host organisations. Due to the international origin of these volunteers, they are often unfamiliar with the local and organisational culture of their host environments. Consequently, local staff repeatedly viewed their thoughts and suggestions as innovative (seventeen references). This guys when they come out of hearing … they bring … they bring changes. They come and they find a very different culture, very different from their own. So they are learning. We the locals … We also learn from them … Their way of life … Some of them bring innovations out of what they do best … out of their professions. In this way, volunteers are able to impact their hosting organisations and communities through an exchange of knowledge and ideas. Commitment In addition to their professional and academic backgrounds, volunteers also possess personal attributes. Of these, one of the most significant to international volunteer service is commitment. This trait represents the energy, persistence and focus that volunteers apply to the tasks they perform during their service. In interviews and focus groups, respondents often commented on the commitment of volunteers, praising them for their energy and hard work (forty-three references). Those who seem to be very effective are people who work extra mile. They are so much enthusiastic … Very much … Aah zealous … And you’ve seen them get hold of job. Actually they even go beyond our expectations, compared to our local volunteers like the ones we host here locally. They do extra work. Additionally, respondents preferred volunteers who were persistent and who focused on their service and on their goals. I think for me I like a mature person who you are not pushing, is here, he knows or she knows what she is here for. Such individuals were seen to make the best impact because, as one respondent stated, The volunteer is here for a year and he wants to make the best out of it and put his or her all in to it. Respondents believed that volunteers who knew what they wanted to accomplish and took initiative had greater impact than those who were less committed.

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The value of volunteer commitment was highlighted when volunteers were specifically compared to professional development workers (eight references). Respondents felt that volunteers worked harder than their paid professional counterparts, even though they provided contributions of similar quality. As one respondent commented: The difference I can say is that maybe if somebody has no income generating activity. That’s the only difference I can say. But truly a volunteer with somebody being paid in fact a volunteer is working more than somebody who is being paid. Many respondents (seventeen references) attributed this to the motivation or ‘heart’ of volunteers. In other words, they believed that the unique commitment of volunteers was the product of a ‘volunteer spirit’. To them, volunteers who served ‘whole-heartedly’ were ‘exceptional … [because] they had that enthusiasm … in carrying out their work’. This ‘heartfelt engagement’, ‘volunteer spirit’ or ‘fervent enthusiasm and commitment’ was a significant factor that many study participants identified as a one of the major intangible benefits that international volunteers brought to their host organisations and communities. Flexibility The primary objective of international volunteering is to provide a service to the host organisation and community. As a result, it is natural to focus on the work that volunteers do for the organisation and how the mission of the organisation is enhanced by the professional and personal qualifications of volunteers. However, volunteers do not work in a vacuum and, as the literature suggests, the contexts in which they serve may influence how they are able to perform. Consequently, an international volunteer’s ability to adapt to different professional and social situations is an important consideration in determining their value to a hosting organisation. When remarking on the challenges of hosting volunteers, respondents often named challenges related to the volunteers’ language abilities (eleven references) and adjustment to the local environment (thirty references), including both the physical and cultural settings. For example, one respondent identified volunteers that had difficulty with the local climate, while another named the mismatch between volunteers’ behaviour and the community’s cultural norms. While not expected to fully assimilate, stark differences between the volunteers conduct and locally acceptable behaviours was sometimes viewed as disrespectful and considered a drawback to hosting volunteers. Conversely, volunteers who showed a willingness to engage with locals and who respected most cultural practices were held up as examples of cross-cultural exchange or easy adaptation. This was true even in cases where volunteers acted in contradiction to existing social norms. For instance, male volunteers who performed traditionally female tasks were seen as offering an alternative view of gender roles because they

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behaved in a respectful fashion and in accordance with the expectations of host organisation staff. In addition to the community context, volunteers also needed to be flexible with their expectations of the host organisations. Though international volunteers are frequently educated and in possession of specific skills (McBride and Lough 2010), the ability of volunteers to apply their expertise during service will depend on the particular needs of the volunteer’s host organisation. Consequently, where organisational needs and volunteer skills do not match, the volunteer may be required to perform tasks that fall outside of his or her area of expertise. In such cases, volunteers may be asked to provide unskilled labour, despite their educational backgrounds. Volunteers who cannot adjust their expectations to the reality of the situation can be troubling to the hosting organisation. One respondent explained: A last challenge will be that once they come to the program, you know they come with a lot of expectation. So the integration of the expectations with the normal working operations and procedures or maybe plan, might not necessary meet what they want. As a result, respondents preferred volunteers who had an ‘open mind’ or could adjust their expectations to align with the organisation’s needs (fourteen references). Demographic characteristics In addition to their valued traits and capabilities, respondents were asked about the optimal demographic characteristics of international volunteers. Respondents often had no preferences as to the race, gender or age of volunteers (twelve references). But, when partialities were expressed, they were usually related to the selected population group’s possession of highly valued capabilities and personal traits such as technical skill, commitment or flexibility. For example, in discussing whether men or women made better international volunteers one respondent stated that men were better because they brought more energy to the completion of their tasks. Conversely, a different respondent preferred women because they had more ‘heart’. In both cases, the respondent indicated one gender was better than the other, but only insofar as they represented a greater likelihood that the host community would receive a committed volunteer. Similarly, age preferences, when expressed, indicated a deeper desire for volunteers with technical skill, high energy or commitment. Older volunteers were seen as more professional and likely to be more qualified, while younger volunteers were believed to have greater energy and more innovative ideas. A number of respondents identified ‘nationality’ as a stand-alone trait they thought was particularly important to volunteer success or impact (fifteen references). In particular, international volunteers from other African nations were

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often devalued in comparison to Western volunteers. Ideology held over from colonial periods probably provides the best explanation (Perold et al. 2013). As respondents describe it, community members were more likely to respond to a Western volunteer than an African one because they believed Western countries to be superior in their development. Using this logic, they wondered what help African volunteers could contribute if their own countries had failed to make similar progress. However, despite the issue of national origin, it appears that the value of international volunteers to hosting organisations depended less on their demographic characteristics and more on their possession of relevant skills and personal strengths.

Programmatic and policy implications Although this study has shown that host organisations greatly value the contributions large or small of all volunteers, its results highlight the critical importance of matching the knowledge, skills and background of volunteers to the specific needs and priorities of host organisations. A synchronistic match between a volunteer and his or her host organisation is more likely to maximise volunteer impact and thus organisational impact on target communities and other groups of beneficiaries. Sending organisations should, therefore, be more strategic and intentional at: a) identifying host organisations that have needs that could best be met by international volunteers; and b) recruiting volunteers who have the necessary training and skill-sets to meet very specific identified needs. To increase the likelihood of an optimal volunteer–host organisation match, host organisations should play a much more active role in the volunteer recruitment, identification and placement process than they often have done in the past. In addition, recruitment efforts should develop and test specific strategies for assessing levels of volunteer ‘commitment’ to the purpose and mission of both the sending organisation and the host organisation as well as volunteer ‘flexibility’ or ‘adaptability’ to new cultures and unexpected situations or circumstances. While measuring a prospective volunteer’s ‘commitment to mission’ or ‘adjustment to change’ would be challenging, failure to attempt to recruit volunteers with greater levels of commitment and flexibility would be intentionally overlooking factors that benefiting communities have repeatedly identified as central to volunteer effectiveness. Changing recruitment and volunteer identification and placement processes may require significant challenges to the existing approaches of many sending and host organisations. The US sending organisations, for example, have often focused their recruitment efforts on individuals aged 18–25. While persons in this age bracket may have a fervent commitment to the social-change objectives of host organisations and may possess noteworthy levels of flexibility and adaptability to new situations and circumstances, they may not possess the same degree of technical skill and experience as individuals in other age brackets.

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The methods an organisation uses to ‘market’ volunteering opportunities to 35–40 year olds will most likely have to be significantly different than those used to appeal to the 18–25 year old cohort. Older volunteers may also be looking for a more substantial ‘support package’ (stipend, insurance, etc.) than younger volunteers. This would significantly impact both the recruitment rate and management of the particular cadre of volunteers. Sending organisations, in particular, should carefully consider the potentially significant programmatic and policy implications from two somewhat unexpected findings generated by this study. Several respondents thought of volunteers from Western countries as having greater value than volunteers from other African countries. These individuals perceived Western volunteers as having greater training, skills, etc. than African volunteers and thus were better positioned to make lasting contributions to the development of host communities. Regardless of a sending organisation’s opinions of this perspective, the organisation may very well have to contend with this kind of sentiment. The sending organisation should be very careful that its policies and practices do not reinforce potentially racist, unjust stereotypes. Rather, an effective sending organisation desiring to reduce the historical North–South global development gap should actively engage in countering a paradigm that overvalues Western contribution to community development and undervalues African contribution. The importance of cultural sensitivity and cultural adaptability of international volunteers to their host cultures is well known in the field of international volunteer service. This study underscored the importance of flexibility and adaptation to new cultures and new mores. However, this study also revealed that the friction or tension caused by the ‘meeting’ of two different cultures (as represented by the international volunteer and his or her host culture) may actually ‘stretch’ long-held mental models in positive and ultimately constructive ways. While both the sending and host organisations should make every effort to recruit volunteers with high degrees of cultural flexibility or adaptability and sending organisations should diligently prepare volunteers for cultural differences they will encounter, volunteers may, through their different perspectives and mental models, introduce new and innovative ideas that advance the host community’s development. For example, a volunteer’s background and practice in child development may increase a community’s uptake of exclusive breastfeeding of newborns (a scientifically proven best-practice) even though exclusive breastfeeding may clash with long-held community practices. It is noted that volunteers are key forces that may be mobilised for social change. Careful selection and training of international volunteers will enable them to be social change agents.

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16 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) An alternative path for community development Aissetu Barry Ibrahima Community and community practice have been central to social work history and development as communities provide the context for social work intervention (Hardcastle, Powers and Wenocure 2004; Weil 2005). Community is often defined in three ways (Craig 2005; Reed 2005): (1) community of place or geographical community, which includes people living in a defined physical space such as a neighbourhood, a rural village or a refugee camp; (2) Community of identity: people who share common goals and identity which could be based on religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation and so on; and (3) communities of interest or issue-based communities: people who share common goals or interests that are engaged in short-term programmes such as campaigns around environment protection or housing projects. However, these definitions are not exclusive of one another as we could find a community of identity or a community of interest within a geographical community. Human organisations and social relationships form the domain of social work (Rubin and Rubin 2005). Practitioners have also recognised the importance of social relationships in successful interventions. Relationships and ties are even considered as social capital that facilitate collective action in communities (Green and Haines 2008). Understanding communities would facilitate effective and sustainable interventions.

Values of communities in Ethiopia Ethiopia is a country with a collectivist culture. Collectivism as a cultural pattern emphasises the extended family, community, caste, tribes, country, etc. (HajYahia and Sadan 2008). Members of collectivist societies have a sense of obligation to their collective community. Their personal satisfaction, self-actualisation and fulfilment is defined in reference to their community; and accordingly they are able to maintain harmony with their collective (Haj-Yahia and Sadan 2008). Based on these relationships, we can assume that community is ‘a good warm word’ and can be taken as a prototype of extended families (Tuan 2002). People use ‘we’ and ‘us’ to draw some boundaries and ensure their cohesion and belongingness to a given community (Tuan 2002).

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In Ethiopia, where seasonal farming is the major means of livelihood, communities are the backbone of existence. Farming is a communal activity, especially when it is labour intensive and seasonal (Tuan 2002). Households in Ethiopia rely on their communities and neighbourhood to get every activity (ploughing, weeding, harvesting, building/constructions and so on) done within the specific season of production. Even for people living on cattle rearing, their community is very important. They move around with their cattle in search of water and grazing land. They keep their herd in a group. Their tribe is their security system. In Ethiopia, people depend on their community at times of difficulties since there is no social service system provided by the government. Communities provide support for widowed mothers and single parents, orphaned children, elders, new mothers and their infants, people with disabilities and people who are sick. People get together in their happiness and sadness, that is, weddings and childbirth as well as illness and funerals. Religion also plays a significant role in Ethiopian society as more than 98 per cent of the population belongs to a religious group (DHS 2016). The Abrahamic faith (Christianity, Islam and Judaism), which is followed by the majority of Ethiopians, promotes and nurtures communal life. In sum, in Ethiopia, community is very influential and provides identity for individuals. Community elicits powerful images of a harmonious and equitable place where reciprocity and mutual concern prevail. All things ‘communitybased’ are looked upon favourably, despite an absence of an investigation of the actual features of those groups that are called, or call themselves, communities (Lysack and Kaufert 1994). Development interventions that were community based were proved to be effective and sustainable (Kidane and Morrow 2000). Therefore, ensuring community participation is salient for community empowerment. Likewise, communities should be the centre of attention for any development intervention.

Community development: definition and concepts According to Midgley and Livermore, the concept of community development was created by the British in the 1950s ‘to connote small scale rural development programmes that combined local labour with government resources’ (Midgley and Livermore 2005: 158). Community development is committed to raising the incomes of the poor communities through local economic activities, agricultural improvement, development of small-scale industries and crafts, provision of infrastructure, construction of schools, clinics and community centres, the introduction of a health service and safe drinking water (Midgley and Livermore 2005). Then, in the 1960s, the concept became a ‘social movement championed by colonial powers, international development agencies, and nationalist independence leaders. Ghandi stressed its indigenous roots and compatibility with traditional cultures’ (Midgley and Livermore 2005: 158). The British government promoted community development in all the colonial territories.

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The UN and other international development agencies also become active proponents of community development. The Budapest Declaration, which was the outcome of the international conference of The International Association for Community Development (IACD), held in 2004, in Budapest, Hungary, defined community development as ‘a way of strengthening civil society by prioritizing the actions of communities, and their perspectives in the development of social, economic and environmental policy’ (Budapest Declaration 2004: 2). Community developments programmes empower local communities – geographically based communities as well as communities of interest or identity that are organising around specific themes or policy initiatives. According to this declaration, community development also: strengthens the capacity of people as active citizens through their community groups, organizations and networks; and the capacity of institutions and agencies (public, private and non-governmental) to work in dialogue with citizens to shape and determine change in their communities. (Budapest Declaration 2004: 2) Community development requires specific skills and a knowledge base. It also plays a significant role in promoting the voice of underprivileged and at risk communities, hence, it recognises a set of core values including: human rights, social inclusion, equality and respect for diversity. Therefore, community development entails more than enhancing household income, or communities’ economy through creating more jobs, infrastructure development and the provision of health and educational services. It pushes and stretches community organisers and/or social workers to be aware of structural and human rights issues, to bring about fundamental change that could be sustained. Community practice is critical to bringing about community development because it is ‘a work to improve quality of life and increase social justice through social and economic development, community organizing social planning and progressive social change’ (Weil 2005: 10). This process requires cooperation between practitioners and their clients, which could be individuals, groups, organisations, communities and coalitions (Weil 2005). Johnson (2008) differentiated community-based practice from the generic community practice. Community practice encompasses a wide scope of practice, ranging from ‘grassroots organization and development to human services planning and coordination’ (Weil and Gamble 1995: 577). Community-based practice is ‘a direct service implemented in the context of the local community (geographic area, neighborhood, etc)’ (Johnson 2008: 41). Community-based practice requires the integration of direct services at the micro and macro levels of practice (Johnson 2008). Based on this context, the coming sections of this chapter examine Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), as an approach for community-based practice and development, which may allow the integration of macro and micro orientations and skills.

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ABCD: a guideline of community development The concept of ABCD was introduced by John Kretzmann and John McKnight, co-directors of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at North Western University, in Chicago, Illinois, using their popular book Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets (1993). This book portrays ABCD as an alternative path (apart from the needs-based approach) for community development that allows the local community to invest themselves and their resources to develop their community. The basic assumption in ABCD is that ‘every single person has capacities, abilities, and gifts’ (Kretzmann and McKnight 1993: 13), and there is no neighbourhood that is changed due to outside intervention. Therefore, development must start from within the community. With this background, McKnight, defined community organising as ‘the way of putting together the gifts, skills and capacities of local people together so that they can be producers than consumers’ (McKnight 2005, lecture video). In their book (1993), Kretzmann and McKnight criticised the needs-based approach for being deficiency oriented and ‘expert’ driven, ignoring the strength within the community. Needs-led approaches only guarantee survival by maintaining the status quo rather than introducing fundamental changes that bring community development. Therefore, ABCD replaced the ‘needs maps’ that demonstrate the problems in a community with ‘asset maps’ that exhibit the gifts, skills and capacities of the individuals within a community. ‘Asset maps’ could then be mobilised to bring sustainable change in a given community. ABCD recognises five building blocks of community. The first one is the gifts, skills and capacities of local residents. The gifts include: gifts of the head, the heart and the hand; while the skills can be those learned at schools, workplace and from growing up. The second building block consists of associations, small groups who volunteer for the benefit of their community. The third is institutions, which are formalised structures: business groups, agencies and government groups. Institutions are those that are created to last. The fourth building block includes physical assets such as land, buildings, space and funding the physical space where the community operates. The fifth and the final block includes connections based on the economy and interactive exchanges in the community. From these five building blocks, the first three should be given attention by a community organiser as change is instigated by coordinating the three constituents. ABCD also has three important defining characteristics. It is asset-based because it starts with assessing what is present in the community, the capacities of its residents and workers, and the associational and institutional base of the area. It is also internally focused as it recognises the agenda-building and problem-solving capacities of local residents, associations and institutions. Local definition, investment, creativity, hope and control are appreciated. Moreover, it is relationship driven: building and rebuilding relationships between and among local residents, local associations and institutions is central to the success since,

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strong ties form the basis for community based problem-solving. Formal and informal associations, networks and extended families are treated as assets and also as the means to mobilise other assets of the community. Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) provided a comprehensive guideline on: how to unleash individual capacities; how to release the power of local associations and organisations; how to use local institutions; how to mobilise an entire community; and how to provide support for asset-based development. They stressed and reminded their readers that: ‘this guide must not be regarded as a cookie cutter set of solutions. All of the creative work remains for community leadership to perform’ (Kretzmann and McKnight 1993: 10). In order to transform inequitable social relations, within a community, the non-governmental organisations (NGO) sector focused its attention on participatory development research and practice (Mathie and Cunningham 2002). In considering its potential for international development practice, ABCD can be viewed as a response to global changes in the social, political and economic landscape as it offers a coherent strategy for tying innovative development agency practice, in both local and international development contexts (Mathie and Cunningham 2002). The capacity inventory developed by Kretzmann and McKnight (1993) can be applied to community development work in Ethiopia with minor adjustments, since it allows practitioners or community mobilisers to assess and understand existing gifts, skills and capacities in a community. So far, community-based interventions have scored better results in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support programmes, promotion of safe motherhood, malaria prevention and control programmes, orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) care and support programmes, and peace building and conflict resolution programmes. According to USAID (2008) and Ministry of Health reports (2015) community-based HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support programmes in Ethiopia use volunteers from the community to provide care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), and carry out HIV/AIDS prevention programmes in schools, market places and neighbourhood meetings. Appropriate trainings will be given to volunteers (peer educators, home-based care givers), government experts, teachers, representatives of PLHIV association and community leaders. Similarly, safe motherhood programmes included awareness raising, service coordination and referral of mothers for prenatal, natal and postnatal care; and other reproductive health services using volunteer communitybased reproductive health agents (CBRHAs) and health extension workers (HEW). Malaria prevention and control programmes were also very effective when the programmes were community based. Kidane and Morrow (2000) found a 40 per cent reduction (95 per cent Cl from 29·2–50·6; paired t test, p < 0·003) in under-five mortalities in endemic malaria areas through training local mother coordinators to teach mothers to give under-five children antimalarial drugs. In collectivist countries like Ethiopia, community-based interventions appear to be successful because they capitalise on the capabilities of the community,

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provide people in the community with a chance to be part of a solution through training, experience sharing and other capacity building schemes rather than bringing in external ‘experts’.

The Awra Amba community: successful indigenous initiative in community building and mobilisation Awra Amba is a ‘community with a truly extraordinary life style, especially in terms of gender equality, social security, atheism, democracy, honesty, hard work and ecology’ (Joumard 2010: 1). It is located in the northern part of Ethiopia, Amhara region, South Gondor Zone, a place called Fogera. The Zone (county) has 2.4 million people of which 95.5 per cent are followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Zumra Nuru, a visionary leader, founded the community and established its principles. Zumra Nuru’s parents were farmers and he never attended a formal school. When he was thirteen years old, he claimed that he had a dream to start a unique community, where the equality of human beings is ensured, peace prevails, and honesty rules and guides relationships. In his twenties, he started travelling and preaching his principles. When he turned thirty (in late 1970s or early1980s), he realised his dreams, forming the Awra Amba community with sixty-six members. The Awra Amba community has four pillars of rules: (1) gender equity; (2) the rights of children; (3) the principle of helping the less fortunate, ill and old; and (4) the principle of honesty and integrity that highly discourages community members from lying, stealing and murder. In Awra Amba, there is no religious and tribal difference, since everyone is perceived as a creation of God and descendants of Adam and Eve. Due to their principles on gender equity and ‘no religious affiliation’, the Awra Amba community faced massive opposition and violence from their surrounding community that follow Orthodox Christianity and accept a more conservative gender role. Zumra Nuru encountered death threats from community members who perceived him as a threat to their long-standing believes and religion and he was imprisoned for months without charges (Joumard 2010). In the late 1980s, the community members were forced to leave their community and flee to Bonga town, located in the south-western part of the country. During this time, they lost twenty people due to hunger and infectious illnesses. They returned back after the fall of the Derg Regime, in 1993. Even though most of their fertile land was taken by the surrounding community, they managed to secure 17 hectares of land (43 acres). Currently, the community has 403 members in 109 households. Living among a society where gender equity is still a struggle, the Awra Amba community is an isolated space where the rights of women are respected and girls and boys are treated with equal privilege – like adult men. Wives have equal decision-making power in the family. If divorce is inevitable, the wife has the right to share 50 per cent of the property. Early and forced marriage is

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forbidden. Contraception is encouraged and widely used. Moreover, female genital mutilation was abolished before the approval of the revised family law in Ethiopia. New mothers get three months of maternity leave and are helped by a special committee. An assigned attendant looks after the welfare of all the young children whose parents are working. Children’s right to education and to play is respected in the Awra Amba community. The children go to the community school and spend time in a library, which is creatively made out of a mud hut. When they grow up and reach the age for high school, they proceed their education in public schools in the nearby towns. Work is communal and everyone works five days a week. Profits are shared at the end of the year equally among about a hundred families. The sixth day of the week is dedicated to helping the elderly, the ill and the needy. Everyone is free to do as they please at the seventh day. The sick are treated in a small infirmary within the community that is run by a doctor and two nurses who were born in the village. The elderly are respected and cared for 24 hours a day by community members. The Awra Amba community believes in hard work, so charity is not accepted. To share his story and his success in building and mobilising the Awra Amba community, Zumra travels all over the country. I was fortunate enough to participate in two such valuable programmes and to learn about his life first hand. The above description of the community is based on what I heard from Zumra and written accounts about his community. Overall, the principles of the Awra Amba community are compatible with ABCD. Awra Amba is built on recognising the five building blocks of ABCD: (1) Local residents: gift, skills and capacities of local residents. These would include having a visionary leader, Zumra, who is within the community and manages to organise community members and use their skills to develop his community. Community members also use their skills to provide for themselves and bring income for the community through farming and weaving. They also mobilise their skills and knowledge to building different structures within the community, such as library, day-care and senior home, using the available resources. (2) Associations: Small groups who help the elderly, the ill and the needy at least once a week and help mothers during maternity leave. (3) Institutions: People who came together under formalised structures: business groups, agencies and government groups. Institutions are created to last. (4) Physical assets: land, buildings and the overall space. And (5) Connections: business with the surrounding community – selling their weaving products and different produce. The Awra Amba community is also asset-based: fully utilising the capacities of its members, volunteers and institutional base of the area. This community is also internally focused: it recognises the needs of the community and use their capacities to solve that problem in terms of childcare, gender equity and religiosity. Moreover, the Awra Amba community is relationship driven: building and rebuilding relationships between and among local residents, local association

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and institutions is central to its success since strong ties form the basis for community-based problem-solving. The whole process of building the Awra Amba community from the start to the current status is an inspiring success story of community development, magnifying the value of wisdom from within (not expert based). The fundamental changes impacted not only on the specific community, but also the surrounding communities that used to challenge the Awra Amba community and oppress them as they had better resources. This community has managed to liberate itself from its oppressor and managed to be liberating their oppressor as well, through creating awareness, sharing their success stories and demonstrating the benefits of their guiding principles in forming strong and sustainable community. Freire indicated that: ‘only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both’ (Freire 2003: 45). Hence, the struggles and success of the Awra Amba community have brought change to their neighbouring community and the nation at large.

Challenges of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) Asset Based Community Development (ABCD), even if it is considered to be applicable in different parts of the world and has been proved to be an effective approach, has some challenges. It is sometimes difficult to rely on social assets to enhance community development, based on the principles of ABCD, given the challenges of extreme poverty. Mathie and Cunningham (2002: 483) identified five major challenges of implementing ABCD. 1 Fostering an endogenous process It is important and challenging to define the role of external agency, to avoid dependency, since one of the cardinal principles of ABCD is that it should be a community-driven process. The role of external agencies is as facilitators of a process and widening network of connections within and outside the community. This challenge is observed in the Awra Amba community as well. As mentioned earlier, the Awra Amba do not accept charity. However, as many communities in Ethiopia, they are highly affected by poverty and lack of capital for infrastructural development. Hence, they solicit support from external institutions such as NGOs that are willing to provide technical support and capacity building. However, this is a difficult process since only few NGOs are willing and capable of providing technical support and invest in capacity building. Many NGOs are involved in charity works that provide short-term support. However, capacity building requires more financial investment and commitment to bring sustainable development.

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2 Selecting enabling environments The external environment will influence the capacity of communities to realise their potential. It could be difficult for the Awra Amba community to be confined to a specific geographical space as the population increases, children grow up and join various higher institutions and start careers outside their community – Awra Amba. Hence, it is challenging for community members to adhere to the Awra Amba principles while they are in a competitive and hierarchical environment. In general, to apply the concept of ABCD, it is important to consider the degree to which norms of trust and reciprocity extend beyond the associational level. In addition, the degree to which regulatory environments, including donors and local institutions are fair and responsive is important. 3 Handling the fluidity of associations Over time, and dependent on changes in social and economic circumstances, the form and function of associations and informal networks will change. The Awra Amba community has to consider the changes in social and economic circumstances to be sustainable. 4 Fostering inclusive participation It could be challenging to execute the principle of inclusiveness – a process in which the contributions of all are valued and appreciated in communities where social hierarchy excludes or marginalises some groups. Mostly marginalised groups include women and lower caste or lower-class groups. However, in the Awra Amba community, this will not be a challenge since there is an established system where social hierarchy based on gender and social class is eliminated. How ABCD unfolds in different settings will depend on how compatible existing norms and cultural practices are with the principles and values of ABCD. 5 Fostering community leadership ABCD is community-driven. Therefore, leadership to sustain a strength-based approach like ABCD becomes a central issue. So far, the Awra Amba community has been under the leadership of Zumra Nuru, the founder. For the coming generations, it is important to nurture the young generation who could potentially take Zumra Nuru’s place as an integral community leader navigating the wider socio-economic changes. As it unfolds in different settings, it will be important to learn about the qualities of essential leadership both in terms of the particular individuals involved and in the nature of leadership itself. In addition to the five major challenges (Mathie and Cunningham 2002), ABCD does not have a space to change or confront existing power structures. This situation makes the relocation of power to communities, which is the central theme of ABCD, difficult. Moreover, consciousness raising, which is an

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important part of community development, was not given due emphasis since, ABCD starts with the assumption that the community is aware of its challenges and has the capacity to deal with them. However, in reality people adapt to their existing situation and stop questioning existing circumstances, and become fearful of change even if it means freedom (Freire 2003). Thus, empowerment would be possible through consciousness raising and capacity building. ABCD also heavily criticised the needs-based approaches and needs-maps. Yet, needs-maps can still be important if they are delineated with the involvement of the community. Needs-maps could be important tools to help the community understand and own their problems. People must first critically recognise the cause of their problem so as to transform their situation (Freire 2003). In addition, needs-maps help prioritise the pressing problems and strategise interventions accordingly, since it is difficult to address every problem in a given community.

Summary and conclusion Given the collectivist culture of Ethiopia, high value is given to community development. Community development strategies build and empower local community to invest in themselves and harness their resources to develop stronger community. Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is an approach that is used to bring about social transformation in communities. ABCD is a holistic, affirmative practice that focuses on community as a unit. Its interventions could be short term or long term. Forming relationships and networking are key components to success in ABCD hence, it requires passion, charisma, commitment and enthusiasm. The universal application of ABCD according to the basic principles could be very challenging since every community is unique and requires contextual response. Yet, the Awra Amba community could serve as an example, demonstrating a successful community-based initiative that adheres to basic principles that are congruent with those of ABCD’s.

References Central Statistical Agency (CSA) [Ethiopia] and ICF. (2016). Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey 2016: Key Indicators Report. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Rockville, MD. CSA and ICF. Craig, G. (2005). Community Capacity-Building: Definitions, Scope, Measurements and Critiques. Retrieved from www.iacdglobal.org/publications-and-resources/iacdpublications/community- capacity-building- definitions-scope- measurements-andcritiques#attachments. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Health. (2015). Health Sector Development Program IV Annual Performance Report 2014/15, Version 1. Freire, P. (2003). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. Gray. M, Coates, J. and Yellow Bird, M. (2008). Indigenous Social Work around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant Education and Practice. Farnham: Ashgate.

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Green, G.P. and Haines, A. (2008). Asset Building and Community Development (2nd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Haj-Yahia, M.M. and Sadan, E. (2008). Issues in Intervention with Battered Women in Collectivist Societies. Journal of Martial and Family Therapy, 34: 1–13. Hardcastle, D. and Powers, P. (2004). Community Practice: Theories and Skills for Social Workers. Retrieved from www.abundantcommunity.com/home/videos/abcd_101. html. Johnson, A.K. (2008). The Revitalization of Community Practice: Characteristics, Competencies, and Curricula for Community-Based Services. Journal of Community Practice, 5(3): 37–62. Joumard, R. (2010). Awra Amba, an Ethiopian Utopia, According to the Web. Retrieved from http://local.attac.org/rhone/IMG/pdf/Awra_Amba_web_RJ_281210_EN.pdf. Kidane, G. and Morrow, R.H. (2000). Teaching Mothers to Provide Home Treatment of Malaria in Tigray, Ethiopia: a Randomized Trial. The Lancet, 356(9229): 550–555. Kretzmann, J. and McKnight, J. (1993). Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. Evanston, IL: The AssetBased Community Development Institute, School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University. Lysack, C. and Kaufert, J. (1994). Comparing the Origins and Ideologies of the Independent Living Movement and Community Based Rehabilitation. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research – Internationale Zeitschrift für Rehabilitationsforschung, 17(3): 231. McKnight, J. (2005). Lecture video. Mathie, A. and Cunningham, G. (2002). From Clients to Citizens: Asset-Based Community Development as a Strategy for Community-Driven Development. Occasional Paper Series, No. 4, Coady International Institute, Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Midgley, J. and Livermore, M. (2005). Development Theory and Community Practice, in M. Weil and M. Reisch (eds), The Handbook of Community Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 153–168. Mills, D. (2004). Defining Community: A Critical Review of ‘Community’ in Family and Community History. Family and Community History, 7(I). Reed, B.G. (2005). Theorizing in Community Practice: Essential Tools for Building Community; Promoting Social Justice, and Implementing Social Change, in M. Weil and M. Reisch (eds), Handbook of Community Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Rubin, H.J. and Rubin, I.S. (2005). The Practice of Community Organizing, in M. Weil and M. Reisch (eds), Handbook of Community Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. The Budapest Declaration. (2004). Building European Civil Society through Community Development. Retrieved from www.communitydevelopmentalliancescotland.org/ documents/inPractice/Budapest Declaration.pdf. Tuan, Yi-Fu (2002). Community, Society, and the Individual. Geographical Review, 92(3): 307–318. USAID’s HIV/AIDS Care and Support Program PY2 Semi-annual Report, 1 July 2008–31 December 2008. Weil, M. (2005). Introduction: Contexts and Challenges in the 21st Century Communities, in M. Weil and M. Reisch (eds), Handbook of Community Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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Weil, M.O. and Gamble, D.N. (1995). Community Practice Models, in Richard L. Edwards (ed.), Encyclopedia of Social Work (19th edn). Washington, DC: NASW Press, 577–593. Weil, M. and Reisch, M. (2005). Handbook of Community Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

17 Social work education for social transformation1 Vimla V. Nadkarni

Introduction All pedagogy is supposed to be transformative. The whole point of education is to mould impressionable minds, develop character and to impart or pass on skills where there was only raw potential and talent before. That is the whole point of individual transformation: this is best illustrated by a famous Sanskrit prayer, that pleads for the march from darkness unto light, from fallibility into grace or perfection: ‘Tamasoma jyotir gamaya. From darkness lead us into light’. But this is only one aspect of the transformation we are all gathered to talk about. As against individual transformation is that of larger groups, clans and societies. Again, by implication, this supposedly leads to social transformation at a macro level, which leads in turn to systemic change. These changes may happen at the political, economic, technological and cultural levels (Genov 1999). Karl Polyani in his book The Great Transformation (1944) refers to the economic and political upheavals ‘in western societies brought about by industrialization and modernization, or more recent changes linked to decolonization, nation state formation, and economic change’ in Asia (Castles 2001: 2). These global processes gave rise to major social transformations throughout the world, so that old economic and cultural dichotomies such as ‘modern and traditional’, ‘highly-developed and less-developed’, ‘eastern and western’, ‘the South and the North’ have lost their sharpness. (Castles 2001: 15) These massive changes haven’t really resolved the problems of poverty, inequalities or social injustice at the fundamental level. How do we justify or countenance the fact that the top 20 per cent of the population continue to enjoy more than 70 per cent of the total income (Ortiz and Cummins 2011: vii). Can we or should we wait for an estimated 800 years for the bottom billion to achieve 10 per cent of global income under the current rate of change!! (Ortiz and Cummins 2011). As the economist Thomas Picketty, dubbed as the Toqueville of our age, observes in his magisterial opus Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Piketty

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2014) we are becoming ‘less equal, less mobile and less democratic’ with the increase in capital accumulation in a few hands. Piketty’s analysis shows that while there are increasing inequalities within countries, the inequalities between countries are much larger (IASSW 2014). In general, the concept of societal transformation in the social sciences refers to the change of society’s systemic characteristics (Genov 1999: 21) that pertains to change of existing parameters of a societal system, including technological, economic, political and cultural restructuring. Castles suggests that we study social transformation in contrast to notions of development (2001: 15). Development envisages human progress as a ‘continual process of internal and external expansion based on values of rationality, secularity, and efficiency’. Quantitative growth principles are replaced by qualitative growth namely sustainable environments and enriched livelihoods leading to a crisis of development theory (Castles 2001: 15 and 16). From a social work perspective, social workers as change agents would like to see a society that is more equitable, more compassionate and more inclusive. Hence only by addressing structural problems at their root can social work education hope to lead social transformation. This would entail: engaging with the systems that oppress people, causing social injustice and inequalities; with systems, institutions and practices that discriminate and violate human rights; partnering with the affected people and with those who can make a difference through imaginative and daring strategies of innovation and involvement. Given these caveats, let us look at some examples of how social work education has made a difference and needs to re-orient the curriculum and field education to enable the students to work towards social transformation. I draw on stories of individual transformation which you and I have collected over the years, thanks to the compassionate training and mentoring for self-development that we provide through our courses.

Transforming the self and individual I am presenting a few illustrations of social work graduates from India who steered their social work education careers away from regular jobs towards socially transformative work within and outside a systems or structural framework, starting with the mobilisation of people against social injustices and the violation of human rights at the micro level to developing mass movements at the national, regional and international levels. They have been recognised internationally in various ways for their commitment to the poor and oppressed, discriminated against and oppressed populations. In the cases of the two women social activists, despite facing state violence, they persisted with their non-violent methods of mobilisation of people locally and globally. The transformation of Medha Patkar, a social work graduate of Tata Institute of Social Sciences, into ‘Mother Narmada’, as a champion of the dam-displaced tribals and villagers, is one such stirring narrative. She lived with the tribals of the Narmada Valley in the mid-1980s and alerted them to the fate that awaited

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them with the proposed construction of two largest dams namely the Sardar Sarovar and Narmada Sagar. Having founded Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), she remains one of its main catalysts, strategists and mobilisers. During the Narmada struggle, Patkar has faced repression and has been arrested several times. Inspired by the Gandhian methods of non-violent struggle, she undertook many Satyagrahas (pledge for truth) and long fasts. The movement that influenced the international community of supporters compelled the World Bank that supported the dam with a US$450 million loan to review the Sardar Sarovar project. NBA has been effective in its multiple strategy at the executive, legislative and judicial levels, campaigning against the destruction and displacement caused by large dams and for the rights of the affected people – farmers, labourers, fishermen and others (Narmada Bachao Andolan n.d.). She was recipient of The Right Livelihood Award in 1991. Medha Patkar is a founder member and continues to be active in the National Alliance of People’s Movements which is an alliance of progressive people’s organisations and movements, who while retaining their autonomous identities, are working together to bring the struggle for primacy of rights of communities over natural resources, conservation and governance, decentralised democratic development and towards a just, sustainable and egalitarian society in the true spirit of globalism (National Alliance of People’s Movements n.d.). Another inspirational story is that of Ruth Manorama, who also received The Right Livelihood Award in 2006. She became an acclaimed leader of the Dalit women in South India and was also invited at the World Conference on Social Work and Social Development in Durban as the Eileen Younghusband Lecturer, an award established by International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). She too started out as a student of social work in Loyola College, Chennai. Born into the Dalit community herself, she witnessed the oppression of Dalit people at close quarters. Manorama has been consistently associated with a range of issues – the rights of slum dwellers, domestic workers, unorganised labour and Dalits, and the empowerment of marginalised women. She stresses the interconnectedness between these issues and the common cause that marginalised people share the world over. Like Medha Patkar’s work, her interventions have crossed transnational borders, borders between grass-roots movements, mass mobilisation and international movements. Manorama’s working life has been spent on organisation building, mobilisation of people and advocacy on behalf of Dalit women through a large number of organisations at the local, national, regional and international levels (Manorama n.d.). Minar Pimple is senior director of global operations in Amnesty International UK. A social work graduate of College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan in Mumbai, he began his professional life as coordinator for the Para Professional Training Programme at the College where he made a seminal contribution to the concept and methodology of training for transformation. Youth from the slums in Mumbai who had dropped out of school were recruited as trainees after assessing their interest and leadership qualities. Lessons learned from this experience encouraged him to devote twenty-five years of his life to establishing

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and developing ‘Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action’ (YUVA) in 1984, an organisation that works towards human rights and sustainable development for the urban and rural poor in India. Minar Pimple became Deputy Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign in 2006, leading the Campaign to promote the Millennium Development Goals and governance accountability in the Asia Pacific region (Pimple, Minar n.d.). He trained many professionals in India and abroad and supported building issue-based advocacy networks focusing on human rights, sustainable livelihoods and land rights (UNDP n.d.). We can swap many similar stories from all over the world. These bear eloquent testimony to a unique aspect of social work education and that is, our students become vehicles for social change at the micro levels and at the macro level too. All the above examples provide lessons for social work students and professionals that social workers are significant change agents and can challenge unfair and unjust societal structures, both from within and outside institutional structures. So what separates these socially conscious men and women from the boys and girls who come from the general stream? Social work education imparts social work values and attitudes, people skills; social work education fosters resilience to face adversity and it also enables our students to work with people to overcome adversity as well, even as it imparts an analytical attitude that enables them to take on issues of social and economic inequalities, social injustice, discrimination and oppression. These are students sensitised by their own experience of transformation. Thus, they develop the confidence and acquire the skill-sets needed to transform the lives of the poor, disadvantaged and oppressed people. It is the latter aspect that we need to strengthen, deepen and innovatively enlarge using the latest insights gleaned from cutting-edge breakthroughs in social sciences, behavioural and cognitive sciences and communications theory and practice. In many of the programmes around the world, students are admitted into social work after some experience of volunteering in the field. In several of our institutions in India, our students come as fresh graduates with limited field experience. We want students who are motivated to work for social transformation at whatever level. Social work education has to meet the challenge of maintaining this motivation and help it grow as well as give direction to our students to engage more effectively and empathetically with people, understand the root causes of their problems and work with them for their empowerment. Both self-development and social transformation go hand-in-hand in the struggle for social justice (McLaren and TadeuSilva 1996: 52, cited in Carroll and Minkler 2000: 33). It is however important to recognise the challenges which professionally trained social workers would face when opting for radical action through grass-roots activism – the risks involved in struggles against state oppression, injustices and violation of human rights of the most vulnerable in society. While there are many personal, familial, community and societal factors influencing the pathways to becoming social change agents for social transformation, strengthening the curriculum in all its aspects – theory, practice, research, advocacy – would be a necessary step.

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Social workers mobilising people at the community level for land rights for tribals or indigenous people, for instance, have to face threats from the dominant political party in that area. The use of violence against mass movements, especially sexual violence against women and young girls, filing false cases against the social workers in connivance with the local government bodies and the police is most common. These are means used to discourage the social workers and to oust them from the area of interventions. Globally several social workers and activists have faced incarceration when they have raised their voice against corruption, the land mafia and the government. There is the recent case of the Turkish government arresting twenty-seven academics including one social work faculty member from a member association of the European Association of Schools of Social Work. EASSW states: ‘Academics from different universities across the country have been demonised and vilified simply for voicing their opinions about the current political situation in the regions of Near and Middle East’ (IASSW/IFSW 2014). Social transformative positioning does not always imply that social workers will come into conflict with the state and the law. However, even to take these methods and apply them in public services requires a re-orientation of the social work curriculum so that students are better able to analyse the contexts and respond appropriately.

Re-orienting the curriculum How do we orient our curriculum towards a socially transformative perspective and approach? How do we instil these values and energy in our students to work towards social changes? This is a challenge for faculty in schools of social work and the school or department as a whole. Social work education for social transformation is not a new idea or paradigm in our programmes. To enable our students to become social change agents, we social work educators would need to move away from the ‘banking concept’ of education and provide freedom for creativity and innovation to our students. In many of our institutions, our curriculum is constantly being revised to make it more relevant to address our changing social realities. They are experimenting to gear their programmes so that each of the students and faculty become harbingers of social change. If we want to make any systemic shifts, we need to train our students to look into the depths of the issue and analyse the new forms of social differentiation at the international and national levels, polarisation between rich and poor, and social exclusion problems affecting most countries as well as the relations between them (Castles 2000). ‘The response to social transformation may not entail adaptation to globalisation but rather resistance. This may involve mobilisation of traditional cultural and social resources, but can also take new forms of “globalisation from below” through transnational civil society organisations’ (Castles 2000: 6). Students have to be oriented to the different theoretical perspectives that would enable them to adopt a macro understanding of the context and social

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reality and organise macro level interventions. Radical social work, feminist social work and anti-oppressive work need to be taught if we have to train our students to go beyond the traditional clinical model of individual casework and group work or even community organisation. As rightly articulated by Michael Reisch in his analysis of professional social work in the United States, The theoretical constructs which have been most influential in shaping social work practice also reflect the structure of the master narrative. These include the linearity of bio-psycho-social and spiritual needs which reflect the presence of a universal, static, individually-oriented hierarchy, which people pursue rationally; and the notion of fixed boundaries of various environmental systems. (Reisch 2011: 8) With communities becoming ‘glocal’, campaigns becoming ‘virtual’ and yet influencing governments and international bodies to change policies and become more people-centred, a new social work needs to evolve. Radical social work is not new but got lost with the development and influence of psychology and psychiatry in the West and was replaced by individual-based problemsolving and developmental theories. With increasing inequalities even in developed nations and further oppression of the poor, social workers are realising the need to get back to more anti-oppressive and radical forms of social work. Creating and influencing social policy and advocacy, as well as partnerships with people to protect their human rights work including challenging the very structures that provide the profession sanction and support (Reisch 2011: 10) are methods that are increasing in importance in social work curricula around the world. In Australia and some parts of Europe, critical social work is being taught and is informed by and linked to a range of perspectives like radical, feminist, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice, and structural social work (Fraser 2009). Fraser gives a description of the teaching of the course on ‘Advocacy and Social Action’ at RMIT University in Melbourne and she specifically recommends the avoidance of false dichotomies that split the collective from the individual, the practical from the theoretical and micro from macro politics (Fraser 2009: 249). Critical theory focuses on the root causes of social problems such as inequality and social injustice and critical social work derives its methodology based on this theory. In 1982, Prof. Armaity Desai, a Katherine Kendall Awardee, took over as Director of Tata Institute of Social Sciences and moved TISS towards a paradigm shift in social work education from an urban, institution-based, remedial model to a more rural-oriented community- and rights-based approach (Tata Institute of Social Sciences n.d.). In the second phase of restructuring with our current Director Prof. Parasuraman in 2006, there was an overhaul of the Institute and the departments gave way to schools each with academic centres. Thus,

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Social Work was housed into one of the largest schools in the institute. New areas of concentrations or specialisations gave way to the traditional specialisations. Each thematic area has emerged with a clear mission to work for equality, justice, human rights and good governance. ‘Women-centred social work’ and ‘Social Work with Dalits and Tribals’ are for instance new areas for socially transformative social work education. There has been also a move to strengthen the role of social work in social policy analysis and development as well as research. We have to understand and adopt Paulo Freire’s paradigm of praxis. Speaking at the Social Workers’ World Conference in Stockholm, Sweden in 1988, Freire (1990, cited in Carroll and Minkler 2000: 5) argued that: The role of the progressive social worker is ‘not only to stimulate and develop a permanent critical curiosity toward the world in themselves, but also to do so in those with whom they work’.… He advocated for informed action and a consciousness that would lead to reality transformation. And the importance of stimulating praxis in the people we work with as partners in social change. The concept of ‘education for critical consciousness’ or ‘conscientisation’ has influenced not only social work in Latin America but several schools in the Asia-Pacific region. There is need to revive and strengthen Freire’s approach to working with people which did not separate his politics (democratic socialism) from his pedagogy. (Carroll and Minkler 2000: 23) Similarly, many schools of social work around the world teach courses on Human Rights and are encouraging students towards a radical form of social work to address social injustice and discrimination. Student placements with campaigns and movements are critical to assimilate these perspectives and practice them in the field.

Re-orienting field education Students are inspired by the work they see in the field: fieldwork initiated by their faculty, their field instructors as well as the vision and mission of the university and college. Universities and educational institutions that have grown on the foundation of social work values continue to pursue the vision and mission of an egalitarian and socially just society. It is possible for the university to be a model for social transformation in many areas where there is great need for trained people like in mental health, work with the elderly, work with adolescent and youth, livelihoods and environmental sustainability. A vivid example of how a university faculty took informed action on government policy that oppresses people is ‘The People’s Inquiry into Detention’ under the auspices of the Australian Council of Heads of Schools of Social Work (ACHSSW) that sought not only to change asylum seeker policies in Australia but to have the stories of this era of social policy on the public record

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for the future of the nation (Briskman 2009: 298). ‘And as a group of academic social workers the Council had the credibility to use its knowledge, expertise and passion to conduct a national investigation’ (Briskman 2009: 298). Public hearings were held where the findings were shared: students were involved and fieldwork placements were organised with these groups. As related by Briskman, ‘The strength of the work is the documentation of the stories, told by those affected, while they are still current’ (2008). This was undertaken by a research assistant who went through masses of unpublished materials; thus evidence gathered on such a large scale was compiled into a report in November 2006 which was later published into a book titled Human Rights Overboard written by three social workers (Briskman 2008: 10). We have examples of faculty who have innovated field action projects to demonstrate new forms of interventions that build new resource systems for the poor and disadvantaged people. Jeroo Billimoria began her work with street children in distress when she was faculty at TISS. She innovated the Childline Foundation India for child protection. The idea of providing helpline services to these children attracted the attention of the then Central Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment. Today this project has become a national programme anchored in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Jeroo Billimoria now leads six global organisations, all for the protection and economic empowerment of children. The role of universities is essential, for, as Hamilton and Maddison tell us, they: are essential for producing educated, informed and questioning citizens with some capacity to scrutinise government decisions. The academics who staff these institutions require a high level of academic freedom to pursue research that may, at times, challenge a government’s values and agenda. (Hamilton and Maddison 2007: 13, cited in Briskman 2008: 13) Social work academics should take advantage of using this freedom to challenge the oppressive systems. The tension between social workers and their organisations funded by the state is inevitable when there is value-conflict. The former often get co-opted to support human rights violations as is seen in cases of doctors in public hospitals who get compromised in not reporting cases of abuse in their settings, or treating the consequences of torture in detention centres but not reporting them. Students thus also get confused in the stands they should take when placed for fieldwork in these settings. There is however scope for fieldwork students to be placed with campaigns and movements to test out radical and critical social work approaches. Ferguson and Smith (2012) write about their experience of placement of a small group of fourth-year social work students in a variety of settings which included organisations that followed radical strategies where they could focus more on

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community work concepts and skills, systems approaches and strengths perspectives (with trauma and action research being identified as gaps in the current teaching) and not just the ‘individualised-reformist social work approaches that focus on status quo maintenance, remediation and development and fail to address issues of structural inequality’ (Ferguson and Smith 2012: 991). The authors do admit however that as it was a small qualitative research, they would hesitate to draw conclusions but instead raise research questions for further exploration.

Social policy, advocacy and social research for social transformation The curriculum should also involve students in learning to analyse and help develop relevant social policy on various issues. Here again social work educators, practitioners and researchers should show the way through modelling, documentation of processes and outcomes and involvement of students in the policy-making processes. At the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, social policy is taught to social work students like all other mandatory social work methods. All social work students are required to complete a research project as a prerequisite for the master’s degree in social work. The theory and skills taught thereof have challenged the School of Social Work in re-orienting theory and fieldwork of students so that they are exposed to radical approaches, policy development and research in the practice agencies where they are placed. Students are thus taught to use social work practice skills to influence policy to achieve the goals of social and economic justice. Another very striking example is in the formulation and enactment of the Right to Information Act. The process of advocacy by activists and social workers with the government to pass the Right to Information Law in India is well documented by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS: Worker and Farmer’s Strong Collective) which was formed in 1990 basically to ensure minimum wages to the rural labour affected by drought (Roy and Dey n.d.). Although the Rajashatan state had passed the law on minimum wages, this was not being implemented. When the people asked for information, they were told it was privileged information. Thus a neutral form of strategy called ‘jan sunwais’ (people’s hearings) were organised where the government bureaucrats and local leaders were asked to provide detailed expenditure statements of government works to a panel of experts in which the village people were the jury. Through these village hearings people learned about the corruption and how they were being cheated. They realised how their personal lives were impacted by political democratic processes (Roy and Dey n.d.). Using a range of grassroots strategies and social media, pressure was put on Rajasthan to enact the law. This was further followed by the formation of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI). The Right to Information Law was first enacted in Rajasthan in May 2000 and later became a Central Law (Roy and Dey n.d.). There were continuous threats by the local mafia to prevent

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the people’s gatherings but these were not heeded. Community mobilisation of people at the grassroots on a common cause was the key. The above illustration demonstrates the importance that social workers need to sharpen their research skills to collect evidence on the ground to inform policy and systemic change. As pointed out by Barusch, the above example demonstrates the four groups of activities in policy practice namely assessment and analysis, coalition building, advocacy and empowerment. I would add research for data gathering to build a case along with the affected people and other stakeholders for policy and programmatic changes.

Conclusion According to the Global definition of the social work profession, Social work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and structures to address life challenges and enhance wellbeing. (IASSW/IFSW 2014) Social work as per the definition is mandated to promote social change and engage with both people and structures. Social change for social transformation would mean that social workers would have to engage with changing systems that oppress people, cause social injustice and inequalities that discriminate and violate human rights. However, this is not possible alone; we need to work with people and through partnerships with different stakeholders to see change at a macro level. By implication, education leads to social transformation at a macro level which brings about systemic change. The ‘transformative’ upheavals as a result of urbanisation and modernisation have not solved the problems of poverty, inequalities or social injustice. By addressing structural problems at their root social work education can contribute to social transformation to build a more just, equitable, compassionate and inclusive society. I conclude by asking ourselves what more we can do to engage our students in class and in the field and impact their young minds with relevant social work theory and practice to follow the pathways to social justice, equality, empowerment and emancipation for all those in poverty and those displaced by development, war and conflict and disasters – those oppressed by various ‘isms’. Our Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development (IASSW/IFSW/ICSW 2012) would be an important reference point for further action in our programmes. I wish to end with this ‘slam’ poem which I have borrowed from the global poetry website:

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You stand before hundreds, Yet your words Stir every single one! The world waits For your passion, courage and wisdom As there are many Who want to be free … (Global Poetry n.d.)

Note 1 This chapter was originally presented at the 19th International Symposium of the International Consortium for Social Development on Transforming Society: Trends and Models in Community Leadership and Social Development, 7–10 July 2015.

References Barusch, Amanda. (2002). Foundations of Social Policy, Social Justice, Public Programs and the Social Work Profession. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock Publishers, 375. Cited in Chapter 1. Defining Policy Practice in Social Work. Retrieved on 6 February 2016 from www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/. Briskman, Linda. (2008). Recasting Social Work: Human Rights and Political Activism. Eileen Younghusband Lecture, Durban. Briskman, Linda. (2009). Refugee Activism and Social Work, in Carolyn Noble, Mark Henrickson and In Young Han (eds), Social Work Education Voices from the Asia Pacific. Carlton North, VIC: Vulgar Press, 288–306. Carroll, Julie and Minkler, Meredith. (2000). Freire’s Message for Social Workers: Looking Back, Looking Ahead. Journal of Community Practice, 8(1): 21–36. Castles, Stephen. (2000). Development, Social Transformation and Globalisation, Retrieved on 15 June 2015 from http://web.iaincirebon.ac.id/ebook/moon/Social Matters/castles%20on%20social%20transformation.pdf. Castles, Stephen. (2001). Studying Social Transformation. International Political Science Review, 22(1): 13–32. Ferguson, Iain and Smith, Linda. (2012). Education for Change: Student Placements in Campaigning Organisations and Social Movements in South Africa. British Journal of Social Work, 42: 974–994. Advance (accessed 11 October 2011). Fraser, Heather. (2009). Designing Advocacy and Social Action Curriculum: Reflections from the Classroom, in Carolyn Noble, Mark Henrickson and In Young Han (eds), Social Work Education Voices from the Asia Pacific. Carlton North, VIC: Vulgar Press, 243–263. Freire, P. (1990). A Critical Understanding of Social Work. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 1(1): 3–10 (translated by M. Moch). Genov, Nikolai. (1999). Managing Transformations in Eastern Europe. Publication of the ‘Personal and Institutional Strategies for Management of Transformation Risks in Central and Eastern Europe’ Project, UNESCO-MOST Regional and Global Development, Sofia. Global Poetry. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.globalpoetry.net/social-change/the-activistspodium/.

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IASSW/IFSW. (2014). International Association of Schools of Social Work President’s Speech for the Closing Ceremony on 12 July 2014, World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development, 9–12 July 2014. Retrieved on 4 February 2016 from www.iassw-aiets.org. IASSW/IFSW/ICSW. (2012). Our Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development. Retrieved from www.iassw-aiets.org. Manorama, Ruth. (n.d.) The Right Livelihood Award. Retrieved on 20 June 2016 from www.rightlivelihood.org/ruth-manorama.html Narmada Bachao Andolan. (n.d.). Medha Patkar and Baba Amte/Narmada Bachao Andolan. The Right Livelihood Award. Retrieved on 20 June 2016 from www.right livelihood.org/narmada.html. National Alliance of People’s Movements. (n.d.). Retrieved on 2 February 2016 from http://napm-india.org/aboutus. Nobel Prize. (2014). Kailash Satyarthi – Facts. Retrieved on 15 June 2015 from www. nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/satyarthi-facts.html. Piketty, Thomas. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century, trans. Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Pimple, Minar. (n.d.) One Just World. Retrieved on 20 June 2015 from www.onejustworld.com.au/Speakers/Minar-Pimple. Polanyi, K. (1944). The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. New York: Farrar and Rinehart. Reisch, Michael. (2011). Being a Radical Social Worker in Reactionary Times. Keynote Address to the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Social Welfare Action Alliance, Washington, DC. Roy, Aruna and Dey, Nikhil. (n.d). The Right to Information: Facilitating People’s Participation and State Accountability. MKSS Rajasthan. Retrieved on 15 June 2015 from www.10iacc.org/download/workshops/cs54b.pdf. Tata Institute of Social Sciences. (n.d.). Rethinking Professional Social Work. Retrieved on 20 June 2015 from http://tisstory.tiss.edu/tisstory/rethinking-professional-socialwork.php. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (n.d.). Retrieved on 3 February 2016 from www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/speakers-corner/ speakers/minar-pimple.html.

Index

Activities of Daily Living (ADL) 145, 148, 149, 152, 153, 154, 157, 159, 160, 163, 165, 170 advocacy (influencing social policy) 70, 171, 173, 243, 244, 246, 249, 250, 75, 246 ageing 26, 30, 41, 58, 112, 131, 132, 134, 141, 144, 146–51, 163–6 agrarian communities 197–200, 206–12 Airbnb 45, 46 anthropology 70 apartheid 68, 71, 72, 77 Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) 229, 235–8 asset building 35, 38–40, 42 Australia 53, 57, 78, 245, 247 Bangladesh 25, 57 barangay 198, 199, 205–7, 211 Brunei 113–19, 121–4 Cambodia 57, 112–18, 120–5 capacity building 11, 56, 63, 74–5, 171, 214, 219, 234, 236, 238 Central Provident Fund (CPF) 34 change agents 225, 242, 244, 245 Child Development Account (CDA) 35, 40, 45 Child Support Grant (CSG) 73, 74, 104 China 45–6, 57, 60, 71, 76, 115, 120, 145–7, 151–2, 154, 155, 163–5 citizenship 49, 72, 97–100, 103–8, 150 civil society 3, 14, 56, 62–3, 68, 72, 74, 105, 111, 123, 126, 201, 231, 245 collectivism 229 colonial 23, 34, 102, 224, 230 Commissioner of Charities 49, 52 communication technology 53, 61, 123 community: development 35, 156, 176,

185, 225, 229–33, 235–6, 238; rehabilitation 160; resilience 16, 174 community-based care 150, 156, 158 Confucianism 145–6, 165 Congo 57, 180, 189 consciousness raising 237–8 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 104, 150 Copenhagen 23, 24, 29 corporate social responsibility (CSR) 14, 73 corruption 7, 28, 39, 42, 62, 111, 116–17, 203, 205, 208, 245, 249 curriculum 5, 64, 242, 244–5, 249 de facto statelessness 97, 98, 104–6 demographic 23, 26, 48, 57, 58, 83, 133, 164, 211, 223, 224 digital divide 57, 61, 62 digitisation 14, 51 diplomacy 15, 32, 214 disaster 11–12, 16–17, 27, 57–8, 110–11, 120–1, 125, 169, 170–6 disaster management 12, 16–17, 125, 170–2, 174, 176 diversity 26, 56, 62, 69, 70, 94, 114, 141, 231 drugs 27, 110–11, 121, 125, 203, 207–9, 232 earthquake 12, 120, 169, 170 East Asian Welfare Regime see welfare regime, East Asian ecology 16, 28, 55, 56, 58, 63, 120, 204 Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) 27, 53, 60 education 4, 6–8, 12, 24, 31, 34–6, 38–9, 42, 47, 49, 51, 53, 56, 58–64, 4, 6–8, 12, 24, 31, 34–6, 38–9, 42, 47, 49, 51,

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education continued 53, 56, 58–64, 70–2, 84, 100–13, 123, 145, 152, 158, 182, 189, 191, 200, 202, 205–7, 211, 214, 216, 218, 220, 223, 235, 241–50 effective citizenship 99 elderly persons 26, 48, 53, 58, 63, 65, 73, 112, 122, 125–6, 131–3, 135, 137–49, 151–2, 154–8, 160–6, 235, 247 employment 15, 23, 25–6, 45–6, 58, 60–1, 63, 70, 74, 81, 82–3, 93–4, 100, 117, 119, 122–4, 152, 166, 189, 208, 216 Employment Hope Scale (EHS) 83–7, 92–5 empowerment 16, 70, 73, 84, 88–91, 93, 122, 131–4, 139–42, 185, 198, 201, 230, 238, 243–4, 248, 250 enabling environments 237 endogenous process 236 Ethiopia 229, 230, 233, 234–6, 238 faith-based organisation 70, 71 family 5, 8, 15, 26, 35, 36, 39, 50, 54, 60, 68, 74, 75, 92, 999, 103, 115, 133, 137, 139, 152–4, 156, 158, 161, 163, 166, 171, 173, 182, 187, 191, 203, 207–10, 229, 234 feminist 69, 70, 73, 246 First World 23, 50 flood disasters 169, 171–6 fluidity of associations 237 food production 60, 179, 180, 182, 185, 188–90 food security 179, 180, 186–7, 189, 190 fundamental values 56 gender 110, 121 gender inequality 122, 187 Gini coefficient 36, 57 globalisation 45, 46, 51, 245 goal orientation 84, 86, 88, 89, 91–3 Google 47, 87, 147 governance 23, 27–8, 42, 53, 57, 62, 64–5, 106, 111, 115, 173, 182, 204, 208, 211, 243–4, 247 government 4, 5, 7, 8, 14, 17, 31, 35, 37–40, 44–51, 56, 58, 59, 63, 64, 70, 71, 74–6, 99–106, 110, 116, 120, 122, 123, 131, 145, 147, 151–7, 159–66, 173, 176, 182–6, 191, 197, 200–3, 205, 207, 208, 211, 212, 230, 231, 245–9 grassroots/grass-roots 56, 72, 151, 231, 243, 244, 249, 250

gross national happiness 59 Guangdong 144–6, 148, 152–5, 161–5 habitat 27, 60, 106, 145 health 4, 6–7, 16, 24–5, 32, 34–7, 44–5, 49, 54–6, 58, 60–1, 63, 70–2, 84, 100, 110, 116, 118, 122–3, 125, 131–2, 134–6, 139, 140–1, 144–6, 148–9, 152, 157–62, 164–6, 169, 171–6, 197, 208–9, 230–1, 233, 247 healthcare 6, 32, 34–7, 45, 58, 60–1, 71–2, 100, 123, 149, 152, 159–61, 164–5, 171–3, 197 HIV 24, 116, 118, 125, 233 home ownership 7, 8, 35, 37 home-based care 153–5, 159, 233 Hong Kong 4, 57, 144–9, 151–2, 155, 156–66 hope 5, 12, 25, 41, 54, 64, 68, 76, 81, 83, 93–4, 212, 217, 232, 242 human capital 38, 44, 54, 81, 145 Human Development Index (HDI) 112, 114, 144, 146, 185 human trafficking 27, 109, 110, 111, 119 immigrant 49, 50 inclusive participation 237 inequality 69–71, 73, 81, 110, 121–2, 125–6, 181, 187, 241–6, 249, 250 informed action 247 inheritance 34, 98, 182, 188 innovation 14, 17, 25, 31, 33–7, 39, 43–5, 61, 62, 71, 76, 182, 185–7, 190, 215, 221, 242, 245 iPhone 45, 52 intergeneration 39 internally focused 232, 235 International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) 17, 18, 245, 250 International Labour Organisation (ILO) 34, 74 International Volunteer Service 214–16, 219 job readiness training (JRT) 82 jus sanguinis 98, 103, 105–6 jus soli 98, 103, 105–6 Laos 57, 101, 113–25 liberty 11–12, 15–16 long-term care of elderly 143, 144, 145, 147, 149, 156–62 Malaysia 112–22, 124, 169–76

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mass movements 242, 245 mentor/mentoring 134, 242 meteorological 169, 170 migration 14, 26, 42, 54, 97, 99, 103, 106, 119, 203 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 23–4 modernisation 198, 203, 250 multidisciplinary 13, 17, 54, 64 Myanmar 57, 97, 99–107, 113–25

rehabilitation 15, 149, 153, 156, 158–61, 172, 201–1 religion 25, 31, 36, 50, 54, 69, 110, 115, 125, 201, 207, 230, 234 residential care 145, 153–60, 162–5 resiliency: resilient spirit 12, 50–1, 174; resilience 174, 176 restorative peace 15 rural development 179, 182–3, 188, 190, 199, 230

New Zealand 53, 57 Nigeria 23, 57, 179–91 non-violent struggle 242–3

Satyagraha 243 Singapore 4, 6–8, 13–14, 18, 23, 31–42, 44–51, 57, 82, 112–25, 131, 133, 140 social change see social transformation/ social change social cohesion 16, 28, 174, 250 social compact 44, 50 social development 11–17, 23, 26, 29, 31, 33, 38, 46–7, 51, 53–7, 60, 62–5, 68–76, 120, 122–3, 144, 170, 197, 243, 250 social engagement 132, 141 social inclusion 16, 23, 231 social innovation 14, 24, 31, 33–4, 37, 41–2 social leadership 11–14, 17 social mobility 4–7, 12, 47 social movement 11, 68, 165, 230 social policy 3–4, 7, 11, 14, 17, 31, 33–5, 37–42, 44, 51, 72–6, 112, 115, 146, 166, 246–7, 249 social protection 26, 35–6, 63, 68, 71–4, 106, 110, 112, 123, 126 social research 66, 68–9, 72, 74–6, 249 social rights 97, 144 social safety nets 48–9 social transformation/social change 11, 13–14, 16–17, 28–9, 44, 51, 55–6, 68–70, 72, 74, 81, 93–4, 176, 106, 211, 224–5, 231, 238, 241–50, 247, 250 social welfare investment 110, 123 social work 12, 15–17, 31, 35, 64, 70, 110, 112, 123, 125–6, 132, 147, 155, 157, 169, 171, 173, 176, 229, 231, 241–50 social work education 241–50 social work intervention see social work social-emotional support 171 sociality 31–2, 41 sociology 70, 142 strengths 94, 131, 141, 164, 224, 249 South Africa 68, 70–4, 76, 120, 226

older persons see elderly persons partial deprivation 104–6 participation 14, 16–17, 29, 56, 58, 62–3, 72, 111, 125, 132–3, 135–41, 144, 161, 172, 181–90, 199–200, 208, 217, 230, 237 peace 12–13, 15, 17, 26, 28, 51, 55, 102, 108, 110–11, 126, 197, 199–209, 211–12, 215–16, 233–4 people participation see participation philanthropy 49–51 Philippines 25, 57, 112–25, 175, 197, 199–205, 207, 209, 211 policy development 12, 17, 56, 63, 190, 249 positivist 69 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 172, 175 poverty 13, 23–6, 29, 53–5, 57–8, 61, 63, 65, 70, 72–4, 82, 110, 116–17, 121, 125, 153, 162, 179, 183, 190, 197–200, 204, 208, 236, 241, 250 pragmatism 145 productivist states 143 psychological debriefing 175, 176 psychological problem/issues 16, 171, 173, 176 psychological recovery 169, 171–2 psychosocial support/care 170, 172, 174–6 public education 4 public housing 35–6, 44–5, 72, 83, 131 purchasing power parity (PPP) 114–15 recovery 16, 169, 171–2 Red Cross/Red Crescent 174, 177 reform 48, 53, 62, 160, 162–3, 166, 188, 197–201, 204–8, 211–12, 249

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Index

sports 51, 207, 208, 210 stateless/Statelessness 97–100, 103–7 Stockholm 45, 247 Sub-Sahara 29, 57, 179, 181, 182, 187, 190, 191 sustainable development 23, 28, 55, 57, 59, 62–3, 76, 198, 202–3, 236, 244 sustainable development goals 28, 55, 57, 76 Sweden 4, 45, 247 Syria 14, 15 systemic shifts 245 Taiwan 4, 115, 144–8, 151–2, 158–9, 165 technology 17, 42, 45–7, 50–1, 53, 57–9, 61, 111, 123, 187, 202 telecommunication 61, 66 Thailand 97, 100–5, 107–10, 112–25 theoretical perspectives 245 Tianjin 45 training 15, 38, 44, 47, 53, 64, 75, 82–4, 111, 120, 123, 134, 140, 142, 145, 157, 176, 186, 207, 211, 214, 215, 217, 224, 225, 233, 234, 242, 243 transformation 11, 14, 17, 28–9, 44–5, 51, 54–5, 65, 68, 71–2, 74, 81–2, 93–4, 97, 106, 110, 144, 164, 176, 211–12, 238, 241–5, 247, 249–50 Transparency International (TI) 116, 117

United Nations 23, 28, 41, 59, 99, 104, 111, 244 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 50, 61 United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) 25 United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) 27, 169 USA 6, 15, 40, 48, 52, 82, 214 viruses 169 volunteer/volunteer selection 16, 131, 133–5, 138–42, 212, 214–25, 232–3, 235, 244 Volunteer Welfare Organisation (VWO) 50 volunteerism 50, 140, 142, 214, 217 wealth inequality 23, 25 welfare regime, East Asian 144–5, 158, 164, 166 women: decision-making 179, 183–4, 186, 188, 191; social activists 242 workforce 47–8, 81–3, 85, 93–4, 181 World Health Organization (WHO) 171 World Summit for Social Development 23, 26 Zimbabwe 188

Uber 45, 46