- ATD Fourth World

"The conditions for partnership with people living in poverty"

The three of us will present the approaches taken by, and the results of two experimental Franco-Belgian programmes on the crossroads of knowledge.
The Research and Training Institute of the ATD Fourth World Movement carried out a research programme combining action and training that brought together activists who have been victims of extreme poverty and social exclusion, academics and professionals operating in the different areas of fundamental rights. This enabled us to test the conditions of the partnership with people leading a precarious existence and living in deep poverty. 

One possible starting point is that everyone has an inherent fundamental and inalienable value which constitutes the basis of their human dignity. All human beings share the same dignity (see Article 1 of the French law on the fight against social exclusion). It is on these grounds that society is expected to guarantee all human beings effective access to fundamental rights in the areas of employment, housing, health protection, justice, education, training and culture, and the protection of the family and of children. 

Under this point of view, the person next to me, whoever he may be, is first and foremost my equal because he is a member of humankind, and this equivalence takes precedence over anything that may differentiate him from me. All human beings are intelligent and can therefore play a part in increasing knowledge with a view to changing the world.

The issues we have tackled are as follows:

• What do the poor need to be aware of?

• What do the action teams need to be aware of?

• What do our national societies and international communities need to be aware of we are to combat poverty and all forms of social exclusion effectively so that we can all live together?

Experience has taught us that people living in situations of extreme poverty and social exclusion have certain knowledge and experience which stems from their real-life battle against poverty, and that if we are to help them combat this destitution we must learn to see their lives through their eyes. To do this it is up to the respective academics to inform, explain and interpret the relevant situations to those who have experience in taking action, in changing situations and making room for and drawing on the knowledge that the poor have in the light of what they have experienced.
If we want to gain a fairer and more complete understanding of reality so that we can then take joint steps to combat the causes of destitution and exclusion, then these three elements of awareness must be considered as interrelated and inextricably linked.
Each of these elements is also autonomous and cannot be used by the other. They clarify each other when they are placed side by side and brought together in dialogue.
The ATD Fourth World Movement, founded by the late Father Joseph Wresinski, who also experienced the humiliation felt by, and the contempt shown for the poor, unites people living in situations of extreme poverty, those who have decided to live alongside them in the long term and those who demonstrate solidarity by committing themselves to the task of changing people's opinions of and attitudes towards those who live in inhuman and degrading conditions. Together with both various private and public services and very poor people, families and groups, Father Wresinski launched community actions to promote fundamental rights in all areas.
The basis of this new concept of the crossroads of knowledge has been developed by applying these elements in a practical way to life on the street, via street libraries and through speeches at the Fourth World People’s University. 

We tested and identified the preconditions for this approach involving 'the crossroads of knowledge' so that they can be taught and put into practice.

In an initial programme, Fourth World University, we brought together academics, researchers and various professors; a second programme, Fourth World Partnership, brought together professional players in different domains and appointed by their institutions. Both programmes also involved grass-roots activists with experience of living in poverty and could drawn on their knowledge of their environment and their association.
An educational team was in charge of supporting the different players and using appropriate methods to actively promote the crossroads of knowledge.
In the first programme a scientific committee was given the task of evaluating the thoroughness of the research by means of the crossroads of knowledge.
In the second programme a steering committee was responsible for testing the adaptation of the conditions and learning required to train themselves to engage in a reciprocal  exchange between professionals, institutions and victims of social exclusion and in a joint action aimed at eradicating poverty.

The methods and content of the research programme can be found in the book: "The crossroads of knowledge. When the Fourth World and the University think in unison", written jointly by the respective players/authors.
The methods, prerequisites and forms of learning required to improve interaction between people from poor backgrounds and professionals will be published shortly in a document entitled, "The crossroads of methods. When the Fourth World and professionals educate each other".

The results of these two experimental programmes show that we cannot know the real-life situation or appreciate the mindset of the poorest people unless they themselves tell us how they see their lives, and we cannot fight against poverty in an effective way without their active participation. 

In these two experimental projects the issues and problems were discussed by all the players on the basis of their different points of view, particularly through the eyes of the poorest people. This procedure is forcing us to re-evaluate and reconstrue recognised, received knowledge or even query it altogether.

We have repeatedly ascertained that the point of view expressed by people living in extreme poverty calls certain ideas and concepts into question and gives rise to new ones. When it comes to taking action, the experience of the poor can change the solutions thought up by institutions in their absence. The aim is not to integrate the poor into society, but rather to bring about the right conditions, enabling them as well to play their part in changing society so as to eliminate the causes of poverty.

A lot of violence and frustration would be avoided if people from poor backgrounds were given the material and cultural means needed to understand what they are going through, to express their views and aspirations, and to participate in the discussion about all aspects of life so that they can help to shape and be part of a society where everyone's equal right to dignity is respected and where everyone lives happily together.

Ms Béatrice Derroitte, who monitored the work done by the professionals belonging to the educational team in the Fourth World Partnership programme, will speak about the preconditions for arriving at the crossroads of knowledge, in a partnership that respects different opinions and allows people to live together. 

Mr Marc Couillard, who acted alongside the group of grass-roots activists who have experience of living in poverty, will give you a few examples of how sharing knowledge has changed people's views and methods for dealing with the situations they face.