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empowering people ..

Introducing Capacity

Creative solutions to overcome social, environmental and economic deprivation are not produced in a vacuum but through collaborative and meaningful alliances that are able to share knowledge, experiences, resources and ideas.

Capacity works as a catalyst for social justice and sustainable development. Its key aim is to empower marginalised people around the globe who suffer the indignities of social, environmental and economic deprivation. Real democracy is about the role of people in governance on society, environment and economy. Democracy does not work unless everyone has a right to participate in the major decisions that affect their lives. Effective strategies for social injustice, eradication of poverty and a healthy environment must assign rights and responsibilities to marginalised people, specifically, the poor.

Capacity’s mission is to build alliances and networks to empower people throughout the globe to effectively participate in decisions that affect their quality of life. Our aim is to find effective long-term solutions for people otherwise denied a voice.

Objectives

Capacity's objectives are

• to facilitate participation of marginalised and under represented communities and individuals, in particular the poor, women, ‘ethnic’ minorities and indigenous people, in public decision making;

• to assist, build or resource grass root and non governmental networks working to improve health; create sustainable communities, ensure access to social and environmental justice;

What we do

We work on

Poverty, Environment & Sustainable Development

Solutions for poverty elimination, good health and a clean environment need to be integrated. Capacity aims to facilitate partnerships of work between grass root organisations, non-governmental organisations, business and the public sector in the all three sectors. We do this by providing:

• Information, Research & Training
• Advocacy
• Access to Public Participation

Public Participation & Advocacy:

Capacity facilitates action on local, national and global issues. In practice this means providing avenues by which people’s ideas and resources can be networked to provide information, create dialogue and provide innovative practical solutions from the bottom up.

Research & Training:

Research, information and education are key to an informed and involved society. Capacity works extensively on access to environmental information, participation and decision making for excluded communities & groups; environmental justice and equality; and the integration to social, environmental and economic policy. On these key issues Capacity also runs workshops, training and skill shares that incorporate public knowledge with research activities.

Projects

Environmental Democracy:

Capacity has run a series of cross sector workshops on environmental justice and democracy. The first workshop, ‘Mapping Common Ground’, was jointly run with the Environment Agency, to contribute to debates taking place within and between various research, government, business and non-government organisation on the links between social policy and environmental issues.

In addition Capacity also ran, in partnership with the British Council and the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, a one-week seminar and ‘e-debate’ on environmental democracy. The seminar was aimed at communities, NGO’s and government from around the world to discuss democracy and the tools for citizenship: access to information, decision-making and environmental justice.

Capacity is currently researching the role of the courts in the UK as a tool for environmental justice for the Environmental Democracy Unit of the Department of Environmental, Rural and Food Affairs.

Sustainable Development & Social Inclusion:

With the support of EPSRC (Engineering, Physical and Social Research Council), Capacity is running a series of workshops between community groups, NGO’s, scientists and researchers. The aim of the project is promote dialogue between researchers and research users and to bring issues of social exclusion and sustainable development into the physical research agenda.

We have also been commissioned by Jean Lambert MEP and the EU Green Group to provide a report on the integration of social exclusion and environmental issues within mainstream EU policy.

Capacity's Director is also working with the Centre of Sustainable Development, University of Westminster to research the links and lessons between environmental justice and area regeneration for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

PP10:

Capacity is the UK NGO contact for the PP10 project. This is an international coalition project launched by the World Resources Institute, between civil society organisations, government and business. The objectives are to provide national reviews on access to environmental information, participation, and justice. The project has partners, amongst others, in Chile, Hungary, India, Indonesia, United States, and South Africa.

UK Environmental Justice Network:

Capacity is the Founder of the Network. It supports the Network by running seminars and workshops on environmental justice with Network members. Membership of the network comprises of community groups, NGO’s, business and public bodies.

Contact Details

Contact: Maria Adebowale, Director

Tel: 0208 469 4671 - Fax: 0208 469 4671
Email:info@capacity.org.uk - Website: www.capacity.org.uk

UK Office:
Capacity, CfSD, University of Westminster,
35 Marylebone Rd, London, NW1 5LS, UK

Europe Office:
Büro 123, Harkortstr.123, 22765 Hamburg, Germany

Capacity global is an independent 4132128 Company limited by guarantee. Registered in England and Wales number