About people's dreams and visions and how to retune our perceptions: convergence of par and pra in latin-america

Abstract

Drawing upon field experiences throughout Central and South America, this paper explores the intercultural potentials of the convergence of two action oriented approaches to social change – Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Participatory Action Research (PAR). We discuss the methodological dimensions of participatory approaches that create conditions for eliciting people's visions and their role in a world of imposed and overwhelming globalization. In establishing broader platforms for social action, we deal with complex processes and outcomes such as self awareness, self esteem and gaining autonomy. In so doing, we want to contribute to the ‘reenchantment of the world.’ The convergence of PRA and PAR produces an intercultural learning process, which creates the conditions for the post-development era focussing on the utopias of the people.