CapAsia

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CapAsia has a critical and global outlook (non-consumerist) and takes Asian world-views into serious consideration (not as exotic). It adopts local vantage points of inquiry, empathic to local people, their cultures, and world-views. This provides an alternative to the dominant developmentalist view which takes a sympathetic (or evangelical) view of the people which assumes that "the Third World follows our lead; we know what is good for them; we have the experience and resources; and we can help them." In place of this belief that people themselves are incapable of envisioning their own journeys and fighting for their own rights and we need to represent them. CapAsia participants take a third path: They attempt to support people's life journeys, especially the creation of space for their daily activities and cultural practices, and enhance them.

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The students learn about communities through ethnography, participant observations, interviews, lived-in experience, and engage with its members by simply spending time to interact with them. Beginning from small observations, they try to understand the larger world-views, their aspirations, and strategies. They also engage in action research.

 

Instead of being providers of development or environments, they engage in people's processes and become facilitators of people's journeys. Empathically, they try to support community members' journeys to achieve their aspirations by catalyzing their journeys, enhancing capabilities, removing deprivations, and channeling necessary external support. They produce small changes that can cause substantive impacts on people's lives.

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Most crucially, by reflection, they learn about their own backyards, world-views, and selves. In so doing they identify themselves and locate themselves within the changing global context. Rather than trying to change the world while they remain the same, they try to be the change they want in the world, also helping the community make the changes it aspires.