Role of Community Worker in Community Action - Essay Example

The role of the professional youth and community worker/informal educator in relation to community action and empowerment No: Instructor’s Name: Date: The role of the professional youth and community worker/informal educator in relation to community action and empowerment Youth are the major cream of the society through, which society runs in a proper manner. Empowerment is a systematic way to create the ability in youth to take decisions, to be a part in important matters such as political activities, to work voluntarily for the benefits of others and to tackle with their problems in a proper way. It is entirely a political process that arise the question about the difficult situations and lack of opportunities in the society and wants to change that system. Through the empowerment, young people gain the ability to bring change in their own lives as well as other’s lives. Youth empowerment programs have now focused by several local, state, provincial, regional, national, and international government agencies and nonprofit community-based organizations.  A youth empowerment program consists of youth contribution in media, youth rights, youth councils, youth activism and youth participation in community decisions. Concept of empowerment was created in 1970’s. Youth empowerment is the motivational process that encourages young people to take decisions for the betterment of their society. Empowerment gives the ideas to youth that how can individual get success by giving their contributions to society. Empowerment gives the youth an individual identity; it gives the ability to youth to work with the people for enhancing their awareness, expertise and self-confidence. Power of youth in the society depends upon more representation of youth in the important matters of society. Youth have to participate in every essential matter, which can make the society democratic. Society has to prepare youth to tackle with every kind of problem. Giving power to youth does not mean to give them power to keep down someone. It is the ability to oppress the inequality, injustice and unlawfulness attitude. It is the ability to enhance other’s confidence to do better works or voluntarily works for the improvement of society. Richard Shaull (1996) recommends that education system for all should not be neutral; the system should be like to put together the youth in one platform to work jointly for the improvement of the society (Morton & Montgomery, 2011). Government should make that type of system to give the power and domination to youth in the society for political beliefs and funding steams. Government should empower youth by organizing programs in which youth have all opportunities of contribution, show them young role models for positive improvement, enhance their abilities and enhance their confidence so that they make their own agencies. These types of programs enhance youth’s abilities to be constructive and important part of the society. (Morton & Montgomery, 2011). In the UK, many empwerment programs have started, due to which youth are involved a lot. For example musical programs for national refugees week in which youth is participated in organizing that program as well participation in program, a Rock the vote project in which youth participation is tremendous, youth arranged a program in which they attract and make sure of up to 2000 people will vote. Hull youth Council is the tremendous effort of youth in which, youth performed on antiracism project. (Fitzsimons, 2011). For the empowerment, youth is the essential part but community work is also much important for the development of society. Community means socially organized people in a region according to the geographical area. Community also refers to the collective system that people of one region follows such as local education authority etc. It also refers to the connection of a people who shares the same identity and not necessary to be physical present in the same place such as black community and Jewish community etc. Now days, people on social networking sites such as Facebook and Orkut used to make community pages. Through these community pages, people who are far from each other but belong to the same community, can interact easily with each other. Community work theory consists of the freedom of community people in which, community people get education to play a vital role with the connection with each other for the development of society. Through the education, community people become aware of how they can give their contribution for the betterment of society. Through the joint effort they can fight with the discrimination, inequality and unlawfulness. Through this education people of community become conscious and empowered because of joint effort. Thorpe summarizes this concept in a few words, explaining that `the term community work can refer to a wide range of quite disparate approaches, reflecting diverse, and often opposing, political ideologies` (Thorpe, 1985).Community work is actually a political activity through which all the people of the region become empowered due to their joint contribution. The philosopher, Smith explains that fall of educational system of any society is the proof of failure of community work. It means community work has an extensive effect on the educational system of any society. Therefore, community work is essential for the educational system, to control over the discrimination, unlawfulness and inequality in society. Good educational system is the proof of community work and good governance. The three main motives for doing a community work is the good system of education, Egalitarianism (social equality) and good governance (politics). For the empowerment community work plays the vital role. According to the Filkin and Naish, the main purpose of community workers is to distribute the resources in between powerful and weak people equally. `There is no distinct community work theory, rather a clutch of theories which can broadly be divided into categories related to macro-theories of society` (Popple, 1995, p.32). They also describe it eliminates the discrimination between Feudals and commoners, black and whites, teenagers gays, poor and rich etc. (Filkin and Naish, 1982). Community work should give advantages and resources to both poor and rich, all racists, those who are in worry and oppress, renter and landowner, employed and unemployed, Thomas (1983, p.25) explains that main purpose of community workers to work voluntarily for the people , to recognize the social needs and social problems in the society, to draw ways that how can these social needs can fulfill and social problems can resolve according to their available resources .  Society can be empowered by giving community contributions in decisions of important matters, planning and implementations on these planning with the help of provided resources. Helping local people to decide, plan and take action to meet their own needs with the help of available outside resources. Community workers should analyze and make the list of the needs and what they can fulfill according to their available resources. Community workers should have to estimate the social needs with the changing situations (Gulbenkian, 1968, p.140). Youth plays the vital role for the development of any society. Youth have to involve the type of works in which they can give their contribution, so that their confidence can enhance. For example in the incidents of earth quake, air crashes, severe road accidents in which they can give their volunteer help. As well as youth should be involved in important decisions. Youth empowerment enhances confidence of youth, through which they can tackle with the problems of their own as well as they finds the confidences to solve the problems of others. The main purpose of empowerment is to educate people. However educating procedure is known as empowerment. Society can be empowered by having a equal amount of rights and services to all people, Community workers helps the society by providing their assistance in the form of teachers, social workers, the clergy, health workers, architects, planners, administrators and others. Bibliography Morton , M. and Montgomery, P. (2011) Youth Empowerment Programs for Improving SelfEfficacy and Self-Esteem of Adolescents. Campbell Systematic Reviews,. Fitzsimons, A. et al. (2011) Empowerment and Participation in Youth Work. London,UK. Thorpe, R. (1985) `Community work and ideology: an Australian perspective` in Community Work or Social Change?  An Australian Perspective Edited by Thorpe, R. and Petruchenia, J. Great Britain: RKP. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (1968) Community Work and Social Change. A report on training London: Longman. Popple, K. (1995) Analysing Community Work – Its Theory and Practice Great Britain: Open University Press. Filkin, E. and Naish, M. (1982) `Whose side are we on? The damage done by neutralism` Chapter 4. In Community Work and the State London: RKP Thomas, D. N. (1983) The Making of Community Work London: George Allen and Unwin. Read More