2020-2022 Sessions
The inaugural year of the Lab created space for fifteen sessions with participants from all around the world discussing legal empowerment. As part of the Lab's commitment to sharing our learning process for greater collaboration across time and space, distillations of each session's questions, discussions, and moments of growth can be found below. Session agendas, notes, and presentations can be found in the Lab's Resource Library.
Session 1: Introduction to Legal Empowerment
October 2020
Legal empowerment is crucial to transforming justice.
Session 2: Introduction to Participatory Action Research
November 18, 2020
Participatory action research (PAR) challenges hierarchies.
Introduction to PAR (PDF: 5.98 MB)
Session 3: Community-Led Research Design
January 14, 2021
Centering communities changes the nature of knowledge.
Community-Led Research (PDF: 3.73 MB)
Session 4: Participatory Data Collection
March 18, 2021
Create methods for data collection that work for the community.
PAR Data Collection (PDF: 5.27 MB)
Session 5: Shared Struggles
June 14, 2021
Building connections creates space to build knowledge.
Shared Struggles (PDF: 4.98 MB)
Session 6: Participatory Data Analysis
June 15, 2021
Participatory action research is about shifting power.
Data Analysis in PAR (PDF: 2.77 MB)
Session 7: Accountability and Ethics
June 16, 2021
Ethical approaches are necessary to avoid perpetuating violence.
Session 8: Delegitimization
June 17, 2021
Delegitimizing community-based knowledge delegitimizes community member experiences.
Delegitimization (PDF: 5.68 MB)
Session 9: Personal Participatory Action Research Journeys
June 18, 2021
There is no one single path to participatory action research.
Personal PAR Journeys (PDF: 4.15 MB)
Session 10: Case Study- Sengwa Coal
July 28, 2021
A case study on coal pollution in Sengwa, Zimbabwe.
Case Study- Sengwa Coal Distillation (PDF: 9.27 MB)
Session 11: Methodological Examples
August 26, 2021
The framework of PAR creates space for multiple methodologies.
Methodological Examples Distillation (PDF: 9.63 MB)
Session 12: Collaborative Writing
September 30, 2021
Collaborative writing processes challenge whose writing is legitimized.
Collaborative Writing Distillation (PDF: 8.34)
Session 13: Protocols
October 28, 2021
Developing protocols to embed ethics in the methodology reduces harm.
Protocols Distillation (PDF: 9.21 MB)
Session 14: Roadmap
March 3, 2022
Take time to reflect on the road already traveled, and the road yet to come.
Session 15: Case Study- Maternal Health
April 7, 2022
A case study on the impacts of COVID on maternal health in India.