Creating SPACE

Marciana L Popescu,Dana Alonzo

doi:10.18060/25090

Abstract

Escalating conflicts, climate change, rising inequality, a global pandemic: Complex emergencies are leading to a reconfiguration of the world as we know it. Rapid flow of information allows increased visibility and understanding of the impact of these crises on the most vulnerable. Yet at the same time, marginalized communities are rendered invisible, and their fundamental human rights are being erased. In such contexts, providing a framework that engages communities and ensures that they are at the core of any capacity building endeavor is an important professional mandate for international social work and social development. This paper introduces the Strengths and Participation to Accomplish Capacity and Empowerment (SPACE) conceptual framework for capacity building and community engagement in international social work practice. This conceptual framework builds on both the strengths perspective and empowerment theories, and promotes a rights-based approach for international social work and social development. SPACE was first used to design and implement a training-of-trainers program in two communities in Guatemala. The training’s effectiveness in building capacity was evidenced by the impactful networks strengthened or developed as a result of the training in developing COVID-related responses. Further applications of this framework can improve international social work practice and advance rights-based approaches to sustainable development.

Highlights

Escalating conflicts, climate change, rising inequality, a global pandemic: Complex emergencies are leading to a reconfiguration of the world as we know it
The Global Compacts on Safe Migration (International Organization for Migration [IOM], 2019) and on Refugees (UNHCR, 2018) propose multilevel strategies to address the adverse drivers leading to displacement and forced migration. Such frameworks provide a blueprint for engaging nation states in a collaborative effort to address these issues through active partnership with different representatives of the Civil Society (CS), including professional groups historically working at the intersection of governments, international organizations, and local communities
This paper introduces a conceptual framework, SPACE (Strengths and Participation for Achieving Capacity and Empowerment) for community-based capacity building, addressing the complex problems facing highly vulnerable communities

Summary

Country Characteristics

Guatemala is a Central Latin-American country that is part of the turbulent Northern Triangle (Cheatham, 2021). Guatemala has a predominantly young population, with over half of the total population under the age of 18 (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2019; Pan American Health Organization [PAHO], 2017) This is an element of capacity, taking into account that a young population is usually more amenable to change and more prone to innovation if adequate resources are provided. Among the private HEI, two of the universities in Guatemala City cater to lower-income youth by providing scholarships They provide psychology and social work training to students with roots and/or direct interests in the more highly vulnerable communities. School participation in local decision-making is affected by the multiple issues hurting local communities and by a chronic lack of resources It is the NGOs, with their staff and volunteers, that work to address these issues where governmental programs do not have a presence. Teachers and other school personnel rely on NGOs to provide additional training on issues they are not prepared for, such as suicide assessment and intervention, violence prevention, and community-school partnership programs (Carter, 2012)

Applying the SPACE Framework to Developing a TOT in Guatemala

Findings

Implications for International Social Development and Social Work Practice