Voice and Representation are key elements of People’s Democracy. This app is about people’s participation in decision-making and about people’s right to have a ‘voice’, to be heard and to choose their own representatives and leaders. Democracy is an on-going process of struggle and contestation; political processes are not just about elections, but something that is continually unfolding. To create more just and equal societies it is essential that ordinary people can be heard and can engage with power wielders to influence decision-making. A key issue is to ensure that our approaches go beyond simply challenging power; we must ensure that real democratic ‘space’ is created for ordinary people, which secures real influence for poor and marginalised women and men.

The HRBA Governance Resources Series

Is a collection of apps focusing on key governance issues of central importance to ActionAid’s Human Rights Based Approach developed by the AAI Democratic Governance Team. The app titled Democracy introduces the series and should be studied first. Thereafter, the titles: Accountability, Power, Budgets and Voice can be studied individually. Read together, the titles complement each other and contribute to an overall appreciation of key governance issues at the local level. The series supports frontline staff and partners in their efforts to achieve ActionAid’s strategic promises of improving service delivery for people living in poverty and achieving a fairer distribution of resources to finance public policies aimed at reducing poverty.