INFACT Social Analysis for Action | Freire Institute

Paulo Freire’s philosophy of education has had a profound impact on people throughout the world working for social change. His work has been applied not only to formal educational settings but to many diverse social movements.

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Price: GBP 250.00

INFACT Social Analysis for Action

Training for transformation

Learn the process of   social analysis   with communities in the work for social change 

Social action requires more than commitment and good intentions. Groups seeking change need ways of understanding how their own histories and values shape their responses, how their communities and wider social environments actually work, what future they are trying to create, and which forms of action are capable of moving them towards it. Inspired by Paulo Freire’s philosophy and methodology, INFACT Social Analysis for Action provides a structured participatory process through which groups can investigate these questions together. It begins with participants’ own experience rather than with an externally imposed analysis. Through dialogue, reflection, mapping, critical questioning, and...

The process

Individual and community history and values;
Analysis of communities, cultural contexts, their interrelationships and the underlying dynamics shaping them;
The vision to which the group is committed;
The building and testing of strategies capable of moving towards this vision.

How can we understand where we have come from, read more deeply the forces shaping our communities, clarify the future we are committed to, and develop strategies capable of moving us towards it?

These should not be understood as four isolated stages completed once and then left behind. New analysis may cause a group to reconsider its vision; strategic action may reveal something previously unseen about the community; reflection upon values may alter how success is understood. The process therefore operates through the Freirean movement of action–reflection–action , with participants continually returning to experience and reinterpreting it. The workshop is particularly suited to community organisations, voluntary and civil-society groups, faith-based organisations, activists, practitioners, and others seeking to connect social analysis with purposeful action. Its aim is not to...

What you learn

Analyse how individual and collective histories, experiences, identities and values shape interpretations of social realities and possibilities for action.
Analyse a community or social context in terms of relationships, institutions, cultural meanings, resources, inequalities, interests and power, identifying significant patterns, contradictions and underlying dynamics.
Develop and justify a shared vision that connects participants’ values and social analysis with a preferred future, while distinguishing vision from goals, strategies and activities.
Develop and critically evaluate a contextually grounded strategy that connects analysis and vision with purposeful action, taking account of power, participation, resources, feasibility, risks and assumptions, and incorporating collective reflection, testing and revision.

Availability

For organizations: This workshop is available in virtual, in-person, or hybrid formats to meet diverse organizational needs and preferences. We can tailor the focus to your specific institutional context.
For individuals: We will run occasional virtual workshops, and you are encouraged to join the notification list to be informed of upcoming dates.

Registration Options

Current ways to join this course

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Duration

You will continue to be registered in the course area for 3 months following the workshop.

Course Certificate

You will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course.

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