VIPP_Unicef

2 The Roots of VIPP
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VIPP is a creative combination of different approaches to
planning, training and other group events derived from two
main lines of thought. One comes from Latin America while the
other results from experiences in Germany. In the 1960s, Paulo Freire
articulated the need to believe in the creativity of the poor and oppressed.
In Brazil and Chile, he established an approach aimed at raising the
consciousness of the powerless to become organized in order to articulate
their needs and defend their rights. A long list of progressive professionals
working in small NGOs in many Latin American countries have followed
his example, applying a set of group exercises in urban and rural settings
for conscientization. This way of emancipated learning is based on the
principle of Action-Reflection-Action. Each process is used to build up the
concept of the right for people to defend themselves against manipulation
and oppression. During the last 25 years, different manuals and journals
for adult educators and trainers have been published on the "Freirian
approach".
Another school of thought is based on the Participatory Action Research
(PAR) of Orlando Fals Borda in Colombia. PAR did not originate in
Latin America. It began with the research methods of Kurt Lewin, a
German immigrant to the United States. His theory is based on the
principle of experiential learning through thinking, feeling and acting.
Fals Borda adds to the Frierian conscientization process, the political
organization process of local people, valuing their knowledge and
wisdom. His approach includes the recovery of the local history and a
process of collective research.
Both Latin American schools have had influence on other regions. PAR
has had resonance in Europe and Asia as it gives a new perspective to
social research, while popular education methods are used in many
organizations to improve group processes, stimulating the interaction
between people in problem solving.
The Search Conference tradition for large-scale system change begun
by Eric Trist and Fred Emery at the Tavistock Institute of Human
Relations in London, England is a related development.
Another root of VIPP is the visualization approach of Metaplan. It is
the result of the consulting activity of the "Quickborn Team" in
Germany. Eberhard Schnelle and his colleagues designed training in
which decision makers and those affected by their decisions visualize
their problems, needs and solutions together, resulting in common
action. Although the methods had earlier roots, they became popular
at a time when German society was rocked by student protest
movements and a general demand for more participation in decision
making processes.
THE ROOTS AND PHILOSOPHY OF VIPP