These words and phrases are often used by One World Action and many organisations working in development. Sometimes meanings overlap or simply change over the years. This is what we mean when we use these terms in the context of our work.
Accountability
Accountability means making governments and their officials answerable to all members of society, including the poorest and most vulnerable groups.
Advocacy
Advocacy means actively supporting the work of a particular cause or interest. Advocacy groups can challenge and reduce systematic discrimination of minority groups by working with these groups to offer new perspectives to governments on their policies.
Civic Rights
The rights of citizens to liberty and equality (for example, freedom to access information or to vote).
Civil Society
Civil Society is, together with the state and the market, one of three ‘spheres’ that interface in the making of democratic societies. Civil society is the sphere in which social movements become organised. Civil society is made up of organisations such as trade unions, women’s organisations or citizens’ movements, that exist outside of the state or private sector, and which have the potential to provide alternative views, policies and actions to those promoted by the government or private firms. A strong civil society is important because it provides citizens with channels to influence government decision-making and ensure the protection of their fundamental human rights and access to basic services.
Corruption
Corruption refers to actions by officials that are inconsistent with their official duties or the rights of others. Most frequently, corruption takes the form of bribes, which can skew justice and political systems in the favour of the rich.
Cultural Rights
The rights of individuals and communities to preserve and enjoy cultural identity and development.
Democracy
Democracy doesn’t simply refer to the extent to which citizens can influence who governs them. Even in many fully functioning political democracies, the poorest people can feel disenfranchised because they feel they have no influence over the key issues in their lives – such as the provision of basic services. Another equally important element of democracy is the way in which citizens can influence the many levels of decision making that constitute government – from the national to the community level. One World Action’s work is committed to achieving true democracy by ensuring that the poorest and traditionally excluded members of society can influence decision-making at all levels.
Democratic Justice
Democratic justice is justice that is accessible to all groups in society, and challenges discriminatory law by attempting to reflect the needs all communities, including the poorest.
Democratic Services
Democratic Services refers to services that are supplied in response to the needs of all citizens, not simply the most powerful or wealthy groups.
Economic Rights
Economic rights refer to peoples’ rights to own land and property as well as enjoying just and favourable working conditions.
Gender Roles
Gender roles are the different roles that women and men, girls and boys have that often determine who does what within a society. Gender roles are set by convention and other social, economic, political and cultural forces.
Gender Equality
Gender equality means that women and men, girls and boys have the same opportunities and are treated identically/without discrimination.
Gender Equity
Gender equity is the process of being fair to men and women. To ensure fairness, measures must often be put in place to compensate for the historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men form operating on a level playing field. Gender equality means that women and men have equal conditions for realising their full human rights and for contributing to, and befitting from economic, social, cultural and political development. Equity is the means, equality is the result. UNESCO 2003.
Gender-sensitive Approach
Gender-sensitive approach is an approach to development that takes into account the wide-ranging societal, political and economic effects of differences in gender roles.
Governance
Governance refers to the processes through which governments exercise power and authority. ‘Good governance’ has tended to mean very different things to different people. Some donor institutions have stressed elements such as a professional bureaucracy and clear and accountable policy-making at the centre, whilst for many NGOs ‘good governance’ has meant governance that provides all members of society access to decision-making processes at all levels.
Human Rights
The rights people are entitled to simply because they are human beings, irrespective of their citizenship, nationality, race, ethnicity, language, sex, sexuality, or abilities.
Lobbying
Lobbying refers to efforts by any group or organisation to directly influence government legislation.
Political Rights
Rights that address individuals’ and groups’ relationship with the political system. They include, for example, individuals’ right to form and participate freely in political organisations.
Political Processes
Political processes define the way people engage with the state. These work at a variety of different levels – from the national to the community level.
Pro-poor Approach
Pro-poor approach is an approach to development that starts from the perspective of the poorest groups and individuals and is tailored towards the basic needs of all at every stage.
Social Rights
Rights that give people security as they live together and learn together, as in families, schools, and other institutions.
Sex
Sex marks the distinction between women and men as a result of their biological, physical and genetic differences. A person is either male or female.
Social Justice
Social justice refers to justice that is concerned with protecting human rights and ensuring that all members of society are subject to the same laws.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders include all individuals, interest groups or organisations who are affected by, or can affect a development project.