“Empowerment: The degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority.”
That textbook description of empowerment helps explain why a long-standing community development program in Kansas has used that term to rebrand itself.
Jaime Menon and Jan Steen are co-coordinators of the newly named Kansas Community Empowerment program, which is being rebranded from the Kansas PRIDE program that it had been known for decades. The Kansas PRIDE program began in 1970 as a partnership with K-State Research and Extension, the Kansas Department of Economic Development, and state business leaders.
Menon and Steen also are K-State Research and Extension state specialists in community vitality. KDED has become the Kansas Department of Commerce. The Kansas Masons joined as a partner in 2016. Business leaders continue to be involved through the non-profit organization, Kansas PRIDE Inc., which raises funds for grants and awards. Continue reading “Kansas Community Empowerment”
