Advanced Diploma in Participatory Perspectives and Methodologies for Democratic Deepening

CLASS 1: THE MANAGEMENT OF ANTAGONISM: BETWEEN DELIBERATION AND AGONISTIC PROTEST

Teacher: Mario Zubiaga

Conceptual summary of the class
The insurmountable tension between conflict and community, the foundation of politics, is managed according to different models: warlike, agonistic, deliberative, and representative. The process of democratization advances in the intermediate space where citizens, individually and collectively, can "be a part" and "take part," even if that "part is not given to them." Or perhaps precisely because of that. And all of this occurs within a permanent state of exception that combines warlike and representative management with the aim of guaranteeing the stability of the systemic foundations.

CLASS 2: DIGITAL PARTICIPATION: CHALLENGES AND TRENDS

Teacher: Rocío Annunziata

Conceptual summary of the class
In this session, we will discuss digital participation, focusing on platforms and forums specifically created for participatory purposes. We will analyze the inclusive and exclusive features of digital participation, as well as its potential and limitations for deliberation. We will explore what the digital medium adds (and what it detracts) as a space for citizen participation and how it shifts the concept from community to connective. Secondly, we will reflect on the role of AI tools in improving deliberation, in terms of reducing polarization and increasing cognitive diversity.

CLASS 3: EMANCIPATORY KNOWLEDGE AND EPISTEMIC JUSTICE FOR PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

Teacher: Alfonso Torres Carrillo

Conceptual summary of the class
In Latin America, various knowledge production practices have been developed in conjunction with emancipatory social and cultural struggles, some of which employ participatory methodologies. This session aims to recognize the contributions of some of these research practices to the decolonization of thought and the generation of epistemic and political alternatives to the capitalist, colonial, and patriarchal system of domination. The session's objective is to highlight and evaluate the contributions that have been made.
Epistemological, ethical and methodological criteria of participatory processes and PAR.

CLASS 4: PHASES OF A PARTICIPATORY PROCESS WITH SOCIOPRAXIS. STRATEGIC MAPPING WITH ACTOR NETWORKS

Teachers: Gisela Signorelli and Mariano Suárez

Conceptual summary of the class
The stages that characterize a participatory process methodologically oriented from a sociopractical perspective will be presented. This will allow for an understanding of the concept of a participatory process as a whole, rather than isolated techniques. There is an initial negotiation with the parties involved regarding the content of the stages and the possible timelines, but the framework is flexible, with different phases ranging from self-diagnosis (with creative feedback) to the execution and monitoring of the planned actions. In the second part of the class, the sociogram technique, or strategic mapping of actors and networks, is presented, addressing its usefulness for the Steering Group, especially at the beginning of the participatory process. Through a practical example, its characteristics and operational conditions for application are explained, emphasizing its strategic nature for the process and the possibilities generated by working with action groups.

CLASS 5: PARTICIPATORY TECHNIQUES FOR LISTENING AND GIVING BACK INFORMATION

Teacher: Imanol Telleria

Conceptual summary of the class
After understanding and situating the methodologies and phases of a participatory process, this session proposes exploring and learning about the different techniques that can be implemented in each phase of the participatory process, primarily in the listening and feedback phase. To this end, we will identify the different dimensions from which the research tools used in developing participatory and community processes are applied. We will delve into the analysis of various techniques to understand their scope and limitations in each case. Thus, for participatory diagnosis, it will be crucial to define techniques for opening up the process to listen to opinions or positions, delimit and interrelate problems, and identify the actors involved in a given situation until a saturation of relevant discourses is achieved. Once all the information gathered through various techniques in the listening phase has been systematized, it is advisable to organize and share the information in a way that fosters collective reflection leading to self-diagnosis. This is a key moment in the process for the collective construction of knowledge, in which participatory workshops play a more prominent role. Therefore, the characteristics, objectives and techniques of creative feedback and participatory workshops will be addressed, and the flowchart technique will be explained in more detail.

CLASS 6: SOCIAL CREATIVITY WORKSHOPS FOR PARTICIPATORY PLANNING AND EVALUATION

Teachers: Luis Arnanz, Néstor García and Antonio Álvarez Benavides

Conceptual summary of the class
From the various possibilities for feedback sessions and self-diagnosis building, this class will address other techniques for fostering social creativity, recognizing improved paths to begin constructing alternative solutions, also in a participatory and consensual manner with the majority of stakeholders involved. Emphasis is placed on starting an action plan with the urgent proposals that the community expects and sees as feasible in the short term, followed by proposals for each issue and the overall guiding idea. Therefore, this class proposes practicing with the group some techniques, such as positioning games (multi-slogans) and collaborative voting using the EASW system to prioritize with weighting points. Finally, the class will address the articulation and implementation of collective proposals in operational programs, with self-organization frameworks, and integrating aspects related to monitoring and tracking participation, to rectify and adapt the proposals to each circumstance, according to the (preferably creative) feedback loops, making adjustments as needed.

CLASS 7: INSTITUTIONALIZED PARTICIPATION. INTRODUCTION TO SOME MECHANISMS

Teachers: Rosa Alacio, Gisela Signorelli and Mariano Suárez

Conceptual summary of the class
In 1988, the first participatory budget was implemented in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. Since then, thousands of institutionalized participatory processes have spread worldwide, not only allowing citizens to influence budgets but also other public policy developments. Numerous instruments of institutionalized participation exist: community plans, participatory planning, citizen councils, citizen juries, innovation labs, and more. These democratic innovation initiatives improve the quality of democracy by assigning a more active role to citizens in both defining social problems and seeking solutions. We speak of institutionalized participation when it involves spaces regulated by public authorities and their administrations, who solicit citizens' opinions to make decisions or undertake actions regarding a specific initiative. Among the current and most recognized examples are those we will explore in this class: Participatory Budgeting (PB) and innovation labs.

CLASS 8: PARTICIPATION, DEMOCRATIC ROOTS AND EMERGENCE

Teacher: Igor Ahedo

Conceptual summary of the class
This session aims to present the various typologies of participation, ordered according to their underlying critiques of democracy. After defining mini-publics, referendums, and participatory budgets as respective expressions of deliberative, direct, and participatory critique, we will focus on identifying the characteristics of collaborative governance regimes. Particular attention will be paid to those that emerge from the grassroots to further the reflection on the relationship between, on the one hand, contestation and disruption, and on the other, democratic deepening. The class concludes by differentiating between the processes of institutionalization and the capacity of these mechanisms to become embedded and take root in democratic cultures.

CLASS 9: MECHANISMS OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY

Teacher: Alicia Lissidini

Conceptual summary of the class
Citizen initiatives and government-sponsored referendums are not new in Latin America or the world. They are practiced by democratic, hybrid, and even authoritarian regimes. However, in recent decades, qualitative and quantitative changes have occurred that explain their greater prevalence, both in law and in practice. Uruguay was a pioneer in Latin America, holding its first referendum in 1917 and its first referendum against a law in 1989. By 2024, a dozen countries included them in their legislation, and many others regulated mandatory referendums, while most granted the power to call them to the authorities. After reviewing global trends, the class will analyze the different contexts and experiences of recent constitutional reform and the introduction of democratic referendums in Latin America, focusing on the Uruguayan case, given its enormous relevance.

CLASS 10: COMMUNITY, PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNITY WORK

Teacher: Leonel Del Prado

Conceptual summary of the class
Community: definitions, uses and applications from the social sciences; Community work: histories, objectives and current perspectives; Context of community work today: neoliberalism, social exclusion and community work.
Community work: dimensions (awareness / mobilization and organization). 
Differences between community work and other practices. Possible tasks. Classic texts on working with communities. Methodologies: what not to do. Tips for working.

CLASS 11: COMMUNITIES IN MOTION: TOOLS FOR UNDERSTANDING PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES

Teacher: Víctor Fernández González

Conceptual summary of the class
An analytical review is made of some specific experiences of community participation, examining how community participation relates to the expansion of democracy and social transformation.

In this sense, and taking into account the time constraints of the course, the aim is to account for a diversity of experiences that encompass participation with institutions and associations (Fung, 2003a; Ganuza & Francés, 2008), the impact of citizen participation on public policies or the political process (Eberhardt, 2015; Espinoza, 2004; Garrido-Vergara et al., 2016), focusing on processes of citizen participation or mechanisms of direct democracy (Lissidini, 2011; Schneider & Welp, 2015), or on the different ways in which groups, movements, collectives, and grassroots groups organize, plan, and make decisions (Red CIMAS, 2015; Svampa, 2010), incorporating, albeit more tangentially, approaches that articulate research, systematization of experiences, and promotion of participatory processes, such as Participatory Action Research or Sociopraxis (Falck & Paño, 2011; Fals Borda, 1999; Fung & Wright, 2003; Jara, 2018; Salazar, 2015; Varga s et al., 1984; Zibechi, 2007).

The way to address this broad range of issues will be by relating the experiences to two axes: on the one hand, to the theoretical discussion on participatory democracy (Balderacchi, 2016; Lissidini, 2015; Schneider & Welp, 2015; Fung & Wright, 2003; Villasante, 2017), and on the other hand, to a scale of participation (CIMAS Network, 2015) that links the types of participation with planning approaches. This approach aims to break down the usual distinction between processes where participation can be promoted "from above"—that is, by state powers, implementing mechanisms of citizen participation or direct democracy—or "from below"—that is, promoted by the citizens themselves, with social movements, grassroots organizations, and activist networks playing a leading role. What is important, however, is to emphasize how the participation of actors relates to the context of local political institutions.

It is expected, then, that students will learn about experiences and have the tools to understand and improve them.

CLASS 12: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION: PROCESSES OF POLITICAL SUBJECTIVATION AND TERRITORIAL TRANSFORMATION

Teacher: Mercedes Oraison

Conceptual summary of the class
When we talk about community participation, we are referring to those processes of organization, mobilization, and management promoted by grassroots organizations and social leaders located, generally, in working-class neighborhoods.

According to Maritza Montero (2003, p. 72) within the framework of such processes, the members of a community "jointly develop capacities and resources to control their life situation, acting in a committed, conscious and critical manner, to achieve the transformation of their environment according to their needs and aspirations, transforming themselves at the same time."

What distinguishes community participation from other forms of participation is the involvement of local actors who maintain cooperative relationships in pursuit of a common goal. Discussions surrounding community participation, among other issues, are linked to the capacity of the protagonists to generate real transformations through their influence on local political agendas. Within this framework, we can ask: To what extent are self-managed processes functional to the displacement of the State or can they contribute to building citizenship? Can community participation be understood as a way to consolidate, expand, or deepen a “proximity democracy”? (Annunziata, 2008; Schnapper, 2004). The indefinite use of the concept, which turns it into a kind of umbrella under which multiple forms of social convergence are sheltered, has led to the distinction of different degrees of participation (Arnstein, 1969; Hart, 1992; Novella and Trillas, 2001). The class is therefore oriented towards the discussion of the limits and potentialities of community participation based on the analysis of a participatory management experience in a community center in a popular neighborhood of Argentina.

CLASS 13: DOES GENDER MATTER TO PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY?

Teacher: Uxue Zugaza

Conceptual summary of the class
In this subject we analyze how gender, and other structures of domination (race, social class, age, among others) restrictively influence the democratizing project of citizen participation.

The session begins by analyzing the divergence that exists, on a normative level, between participatory democracy and a feminist perspective on reality. Until relatively recently, there were two theoretical frameworks that engaged little in dialogue with each other: participatory democracy theory and feminist political theory. However, feminist praxis and democratizing experiences demonstrated from the outset the need to establish a dialogue about the (more or less naturalized) exclusion of oppressed groups from the public sphere. Based on our own practical research, critical analysis of participatory democracy experiences, and analysis of feminist political theory, we examine the ways in which gender, in its objectified and internalized forms, inhibits the democratization sought by participatory practice.

Following this initial analysis, it is concluded that the question of whether participatory democracy is concerned with gender is insufficient if there is a desire for critical analysis of democratization, and the contributions on intersectionality in matters of citizen participation are analyzed.

CLASS 14: DE(LIBERATION): CLIMATE-DEMOCRATIC CRISIS IN CENTRAL AMERICA

Teacher Azucena Morán

Conceptual summary of the class
This seminar proposes an analysis of citizen participation and the deliberative-participatory shift in Central America in the face of the current democratic-climate crisis. We will focus on the contradictions and ambivalences that emerge, for example, from the institutionalization of the right to prior, free, and informed consultation (ILO Convention 169) and the ecological transition. On the one hand, we will examine the criminalization of environmental defenders and Indigenous leaders, attempts to erode autonomous participatory processes, and the technocratic shift/professionalization of collective governance. On the other hand, we will consider the implications of extracting critical minerals for the energy transition and the generation of renewable energy in Central American sacrifice zones.

While the emphasis will be on the current responses of nation-states to the region's climate-democratic crisis, we will also engage in dialogue with the successes of social movements and collective resistance, such as the ban on metallic mining in Panama. The seminar aims to critically analyze the opportunities, limitations, and challenges involved in implementing and replicating participatory and deliberative processes in the face of the current climate-democratic crisis, drawing on regional experiences and histories. We will delve into the climate-democratic crises in the governments of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama. Based on this, students will develop the skills to situate diverse experiences of deliberative governance across the region within their social, historical, and political contexts.

CLASS 15: FACILITATORS IN TERRITORIAL PROCESSES FOR CAPACITY BUILDING. SUPPORT FROM IADT FOR THE DIALOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF TERRITORIES

Teachers: Romina Rébola and Pablo Costamagna

Conceptual summary of the class
From a territorial development perspective, support processes based on action research for territorial development are experiences of dialogue, facilitation, and participation that enable the building of intangible individual and collective capacities for territorial transformation. Through training processes and institutional political dialogue at the territorial level, stakeholders develop capacities for the sustainability of meeting spaces that allow them to address territorial problems and co-create collective solutions, deepening the democratization of territories through dialogue and participation. In this context, the roles of facilitators stimulate and connect the territorial process, generating dynamics of action that empower territorial stakeholders to make decisions.

From the perspective of Territorial Development, it is vital to facilitate processes that can be carried out by various individuals or teams for the transformation and sustainability of social, political, cultural, and environmental processes in the territory.

This seminar aims to highlight the role of facilitators in local communities, within the methodological framework of our experience in action research-based support for territorial development. It proposes to share local experiences and reflections on these practices, as well as the importance of certain individual and collective capacities for the democratization of local processes.

You must be registered in the CLACSO Single Registration System (SUIC) and enter your username and password. If you are not registered, click here . To access the registration form, click the "Register" button on the webpage of the Diploma program you are interested in.

Upon completion of the registration process, you will receive a confirmation in your email.

Classes will begin in April and will conclude in July 2026.

All registered participants will receive on the first day of activities the necessary instructions to access the classes, bibliography and discussion forums through the CLACSO Virtual Training Space.

Accessing and navigating the Virtual Learning Environment is very simple and user-friendly. In any case, a technical and academic support team will always be available. For inquiries, you can write to [email protected]

You must send an email with the request to [email protected] and we will send you the requested certificate as soon as possible.

Exceptional Criteria: In exceptional cases, and within the first 20 days of the start of the Advanced Diploma program, students may write to [email protected] requesting to withdraw and stating the reasons. After evaluation of the case, a response will be sent to the request. If approved, the student may resume the Advanced Diploma program if a new cohort is offered the following year. After this period has elapsed since the start of the course, no requests will be accepted.

Money paid will only be refunded in cases where the organizing institutions decide to cancel the activity. 

Yes, the advanced diploma is certified by CLACSO. The diploma will be sent digitally and is completely free of charge.

Payment can be made in one installment, by credit card or bank transfer. We also offer the option of paying in 3 installments.

Yes. There will be discounts for students belonging to CLACSO Member Centers and CLACSO Associated Centers, for CLACSO Associate Researchers, and for all those who pay within the discount period.

You can check if you belong to a member center here: 

https://www.clacso.org/institucional/centros-asociados/

The Advanced Diploma program integrates a dynamic of asynchronous and synchronous classes. Classes are primarily asynchronous. The schedule for synchronous sessions will be communicated by the Diploma coordinator at the beginning of the program, and participation in these sessions is not a prerequisite for passing the program.