Dialogue on Participation

Dialogue on Participation is a thematic quarterly e-newsletter. Each issue will be based on a theme which will be reflective of the discussion and debate on participation. We hope that this sharing will further deepen our understanding on participation, strengthen north-south and south-south dialogue, and provoke us to work in earnest to make participation more meaningful and more effective in promoting social justice.

PD Forum strongly believes that participation is not simply an approach or method or limited to development field; but it is a holistic way of thinking and acting that put people’s need at the core, and that promotes partnerships and solidarity among people, governments, organizations and institutions to achieve social justice. Over the years, PD Forum has observed a shift from participation conceived as the central means of driving social justice agendas to “participation” being deployed as a simplistic tool for implementing development projects in pursuit of achieving short term expectations with very little consideration of people’s lived experience on the ground. Themes raised at the three international conferences that PD Forum has hosted in Canada (1999, 2002 and 2005) have inspired this period of reflection and the adoption of a more overtly critical stance towards participatory development.

PD Forum welcomes articles, opinions, book reviews, papers, stories, etc. that will generate a critical constructive dialogue on participation. You can choose any theme or topic of your interest. We believe that through this sharing, we can further unravel the implication of participation at social, political and economic levels.

Issue Deadline for Submissions

January 2007 issue - January 25, 2007
April 2007 issue - April 25, 2007
July 2007 issue - July 25, 2007
October 2007 issue - October 25, 2007

Please consider the following points when submitting an article:

• You can select any topic related to the theme
• What are the leading-edge experiences, methodologies and tools, current issues and emerging trends in participatory development?
• How can we (grassroots, civil society organizations, policy makers, government, private sector, etc.) can strengthen our actions towards ensuring that empowered citizenship participation becomes an integral political strategy for promoting economic and social justice?
• Key article submissions should not be more than 1250 words.
• You are also welcome to submit an Opinion Piece related to the theme (up to 750 words).
• Book Reviews are also accepted. The review should not be more than 500 words.

Articles, opinion piece, book reviews, comments, suggestions, requests, useful resources and web links should be sent to

Editorial team:

• Daniel Lavan
• Luingamla Kashungnao
• Brian Bonnell
  at pdforum@pdforum.org – Subject E-newsletter