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Social inclusion (Sine qua non for peaceful co-existence beyond 2023) -Debo Adeniran

CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS & MEDIA EXECUTIVES.

30^TH AUGUST, 2022

TOPIC: Social inclusion:

Sine qua non for peaceful co-existence beyond 2023. – Debo Adeniran

Table of contents

• What is Social Inclusion and Exclusion?
• Who are those Socially Excluded?
• Consequences of Social Exclusion
• Benefits of Social inclusion
• How to Advocate for Social Inclusion
• The role of CSOs and the MEDIA

What is Social Inclusion And Exclusion?

• Social inclusion refers to a process by which efforts are made to ensure equal opportunities for all, regardless of their background, in order to enable full and active participation in all aspects of life, including civic, social, economic, and political activities, as well as participation in decision-making processes.
• Social inclusion can be approached as a goal, an objective, and a process. Its process affects almost all societal activities, and should therefore be approached from various dimensions

• Social exclusion is understood as the condition (barriers and process) that impede social inclusion.
• Social exclusion is a process through which individuals or groups are wholly or partially excluded from fully participating in all aspects of life of the society, in which they live, on the grounds of their social identities, such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture or language, and/or physical, economic, social disadvantages.

• Social exclusion may mean the lack of voice, lack of recognition, or lack of capacity for active participation. It may also mean exclusion from decent work, assets, land, opportunities, access to social services and/or political representation.
• It may be described as a direct opposite of social inclusion.

Who are those Socially Excluded?

• There is a substantial variation from country to country regarding which groups are subject to exclusion. In Nigeria:
• Women and girls,
• People living in rural communities,
• Persons with disabilities,
• Youth
• Older persons
• Ethnic and religious minorities;
• Migrants and internally displaced people;
• Sexual minorities,
• People without official identification are particularly vulnerable to being excluded.

Consequences of Social Exclusion

• Social exclusion robs individuals of dignity, security, and the opportunity to lead a better life.
• It leads to agitations from the concerned group
• Feelings of political distrust
• It is an albatross to sustainable inclusive growth and popular political participation.

Benefits of Social inclusion

• Every individual and member of society gains from a more inclusive society
• It encourages and promotes individual development and supports empowerment.
• Inclusive participation is quintessentially a bottom-up process where action is undertaken by ordinary people.
• It enhances the quality, credibility and most importantly, ownership of the decisions taken.
• Every one have a sense of belonging
• It engenders social cohesion and reduces social vices and crimes.
• That is why the principle of inclusive society or “society for all” is not an abstract notion but a very practical policy goal

The Role of CSOs and the MEDIA  in Engendering Social Inclusion

• Become a voice for social inclusion in your own space
• Ask political candidates for their stance on issues bothering on social inclusion since democracy is dependent on the participation and representation of all citizens in democratic institutions and processes.
• Collaborate and form coalitions to advocate for social inclusion.

THANK YOU