(A word proposed in 2005 by Graines de Paix to translate empowerment, and gradually appearing on other websites).
See also the word empowerment in this Dictionary.
(An English word regularly used by international organizations, associations and psychologists, including in French, as there is no official translation close enough to the word empowerment in French dictionaries. Some bilingual dictionaries indicate autorisation, habilitisation or autonomisation, which do not describe the important aspect of intimate awareness of one’s power to act).
Empowerment is:
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the awakening, fulfillment and reinforcement of a person’s (or group’s) potential, with the aim of formulating and achieving personal and societal goals;
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personal emancipation of oneself or one’s group, by developing confidence in one’s own abilities, to acquire greater individual, social, political or economic power to act.
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awareness and realization of one’s potential power of action, which enhances one’s identity and gives one greater control over actions and decisions that affect one’s life.
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the process by which we free our power to act from our own obstacles, realizing that this power to act is not given from the outside, but awakened from within.
We can empower the people around us (children, spouses, colleagues, etc.) by recognizing their abilities and encouraging them to take on more responsibility.
See also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empowerment
www.trentu.ca/nativestudies/courses/nast305/keyterms.htm
www.promotionsante.ch/fr/hp/notion/default.asp, at letter E
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