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Introduction:
Intervenors must make the effort to link the grassroots to those in power, says Helen Chauncey, of the Coexistence Intiative. Otherwise, grassroots work is likely to be lost effort.
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This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).
Linking the Grassroots and Power Levels
Helen Chauncey
The Coexistence Initiative
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A third challenge, which is also one we've talked
about, is the need to link the grassroots and those with power. If that linkage
doesn't happen, even at that the linkage is step 2 because step 1 is getting
grassroots and the people with power to understand what it is what is needed.
But the step 2, that linkage is a real challenge, because it does not
automatically take place and if it doesn't take place, as we talked about a
little bit earlier, those with power, those at the top can undo what exists at
the grassroots level very fast, if they work on it. So that too, is a challenge.
...
A second lesson, again we've touched
on this briefly, but it's worth stressing, is that you need to be at the
grassroots level and you need to be at the management of power level at the same
time. If you think of grassroots as a community, and you think of the management
of power as higher level policy, national policy maybe, international policy,
you need to be at both of those levels, but you also need to constantly build
the bridge. If you don't, the potential for one or the other and it's usually
the higher level and abusive power can easily undo years and years of work at
the grassroots level.
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