Neighborhoodization for an Inclusive world

1. Neighborhoodization for an Inclusive world • Meet Nanthini of Erodu, Tamilnadu She is a specimen of the most socially excluded child.

2. In India, we have “untouchables”, the dalits. But even the other dalits wouldn’t want to “touch” her. She belongs to arunthathiar caste, the lowest rung. The traditional occupation of the caste: manual scavenging of human excreta. Efforts were made in their areas to start “Neighborhood Parliaments of Children”

3. Neighborhood Parliaments of Children(NCP) bring together those below 18 (and above 6) in territorially organized forums of about 30 families each.

4. Each NCP has its own neighborhood Child Chief Minister and neighborhood child ministers for various concerns that pertain at the level of the neighborhood. Like for health, hygiene, education, sports, child rights, gender sensitivity, environment, arts and culture, spirituality etc.

5. Nanthini joined the NCP in her neighborhood. That particular NCP had mostly children of her own caste. Children met together week after week. Nanthini became a minister of the neighborhood parliament.

6. Neighborhood Parliaments get federated at various levels to form Village/area parliament of children Panchayat (inter-village local governance unit) parliament of children Block parliament of children District parliament of children State parliament of Children Each level having its own child chief ministers and other child ministers

7. In neighborhoods, and at the various other levels, Nanthini, along with other children, do Participatory Learning Action(PLA) - Identified the resources - analyzed problems - prioritized the problems - articulated their goals - made short term and long term plans - implemented by themselves whatever they could - got done through the structures of grown-ups whatever they couldn’t by themselves.

8. Children like Nanthini achieve a lot through their neighborhood parliaments • They • bring in new • bus routes, • access roads, • reading rooms and libraries, • new facilities at child day- care centers, redeem children from bonded labor get drop-outs back to school got a couple of villages declared liquor-sale free. Etc.

9. In Kovalam, their efforts won “cleanliness award’ for the village from the President of India. • In Dindigul district, they brought in a bridge worth Rs.4.5 million.

10. Their state level federation, Tamilnadu- Pondicherry State Parliament of Children won the global UNICEF-San Marino Alexander Bodini Award for being the best child-led organization for child rights action • Nanthini was elected the child State Minister for Sports of this state parliament of children during the last election held on 29 September, 2009.

11. Nanthini is not alone. Says Raphael Issac who has done a doctoral dissertation on children’s parliaments: More than 60% of such child ministers are dalits, i.e. the “untouchables.” They stand with their heads erect, well-integrated, included and affirmed! All due to the dynamics of the neighborhood parliaments of children and their federations.

12. The dynamics helps them to discuss together, learn together, work together, and eventually emerge as confident and mature personalities, conscious, assertive citizens, articulate communicators, disciplined team workers effective leaders.

13. Kerela State in India has 35.000 neighborhood parliaments of children, through a state-sponsored corporation. Neighborhood Parliaments are being initiated, though in small measures, in 23 states of India and in the countries of Malawi and Tanzania. Children look forward to national parliaments of children, international regional parliaments of children and finally to a world parliament of children. National Parliament of Children of India slated for September 2010 at New Delhi.

14. Neighborhood-based “parliaments” of women in poverty risk groups in Kerela has today 1,84,000 units federated at the levels of the village/area and panchayats, again, in a state-sponsored initiative. Unlike elsewhere they are not just self-help groups but territorially organized and federated neighborhood groups, giving more and more organized voice, power, inclusion and integration to the voiceless.

15. Neighborhood Parliaments of both men and women are emerging to ensure effective local governance integrating participation of, and ensuring attention to, the last and the least. • Ayalkkootam as a Social Capital, a study by Dr. Padmanabhan on Kumarakom • Award winning panchayat of Kovalam (See Neighborhood communities and Disaster , a study by Joseph Romald) confident and mature personalities • Thottimuku of Kerala • VHAK initiatives in Kanyakumari District • Kerela’s Sen Committee Recommendations for Panchayats. • Neighborhood Parliaments of both men and women are emerging to ensure effective local governance integrating participation of, and ensuring attention to, the last and the least. • Ayalkkootam as a Social Capital, a study by Dr. Padmanabhan on Kumarakom • Award winning panchayat of Kovalam (See Neighborhood communities and Disaster , a study by Joseph Romald) confident and mature personalities • Thottimuku of Kerala • VHAK initiatives in Kanyakumari District • Kerela’s Singh Committee Recommendations for Panchayats.

16. Child parliamentarians like Nanthini keep projecting the dream of a multi-tier federation of neighborhood parliaments of the grown-ups too as the ultimate way to fight the helplessness of the excluded.

17. Exclusion is a matter of helplessness. Inclusion is thus ultimately a matter of power.

18. Nobody is more interested in inclusion than the excluded themselves. The excluded will ensure that they are included if only they have power.

19. To have power is to have an effective or decisive say.

20. To have a say the minimum requirement is to have a forum. A talking forum which when translated means a parliament. A decision- making forum.

21. The bigger a forum becomes the more the small voices go unheard.

22. The present parliaments available to the excluded, i.e. the electing constituencies, are too big. Hence the small, the not-rich, become voiceless, powerless, and helpless. Hence it is always the game of the rich and powerful in the name of the small.

23. The parliaments have to be handle-able by the poor. Hence the call for small-sized parliaments. This is to be not only at the base, but at every level.

24. The parliaments have to be accessible to the people, the excluded at the base. Hence the call for neighborhood parliaments. Neighborhood parliaments give them a grip where it matters.

25. The grip is important. The grip has to be firm and not elusive and slippery if the body of people is to move forward. The grip on the first link of chain is decisive. The very first forum of participation is to be well within the grasp of people.

26. These parliaments have to have wider level impact and consequence. Hence the call for multi-tier global federation.

27. The parliaments have to be such that nobody at any place or at any level feels disadvantaged. Hence the call for numerical uniformity . So that there is no more scope for bigger and smaller states bigger and smaller nations. boundary wars. Everyone will be at an equally advantageous distance as regards decision-making forums of power.

28. The multi-tier federation should be at the control of the people not just once in five years or so, but on an ongoing day-to-day basis. Hence the call for re-call scope. People can call back any time the representative(s) they elected from one level to the next. Ultimately the reins in the hands of the people.

29. The tendency to over-centralization and consequent feeling of alienation is to be avoided. People at the base must constantly feel that they matter and that they are not non-persons. Hence the call for subsidiarity whereby nothing that can be done at any lower level is taken up at any higher level. And higher levels deal only with those matters that no lower level can handle. Thus consultations, participation, Importance, dynamism and power at the lowest levels possible.

30. The process may not come from above. The powers that are might resist it. It has to come from below. We have to keep organizing neighborhood parliaments and keep ensuring that the collective we-feeling, collective group identity, collective ego of these units remains constantly reinforced. When the collective egos of the groups are adequately reinforced no power will be able to bypass them.

31. The best way to keep reinforcing the collective ego of any group is to give them things to do together. Hence the call for convergence. Whatever could be done through these neighborhood groups and their federation we do through them.

32. Nanthini and the likes absorb and promote the above principles of smallness of size, numerical uniformity, subsidiarity, recall scope, convergence, neighbourhoodization and multi-tier federation.

33. Their consensus: An inclusive world, A paradise of peace, equality and justice is possible if we push participatory structures this way from below. They count on us.

34. Visit: www.neighborhoodparliament.org www. childrenparliament.info www. Kudumbashree.org Contactncnworld2000@yahoo.com Call 00-91-4652-278223, 00-91-9442648224