Addressing the hidden dimensions of poverty

“Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” - the overaching goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - reflects the growing consensus on the need to consider other dimensions, beyond monetary ones, when thinking about poverty.

Last May, ATD-Fourth World and the OECD organized an international debate on “Addressing the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty” that advocated for multidimensional and participative approaches. The "Merging Knowledge" methodology, bringging together people living in poverty from different regions with academics and practicioners evidenced that despite differences in income, the daily lives and feelings of poor people across countries, are surprisingly similar.

Roberto Bissio, coordinator of Social Watch, participated at the session "What are the implications of this project for civil society organisations?" at the International Conference on “Addressing the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty”. Bissio questioned "If we measure human rights would some of the countries that are currently put as examples of poverty reductions still be an example?", see the video here.

“Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” – the overarching goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – reflects the growing consensus on the need to consider other dimensions, beyond monetary ones, when thinking about poverty.

To improve the global understanding of multidimensional poverty, the International Movement ATD Fourth World, together with researchers from Oxford University, launched in 2016 an international research project in six countries (Bangladesh, Bolivia, France, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and the United States) to identify the key dimensions of poverty and their relationships.

The project is based on a “Merging Knowledge” methodology, in which practitioners, academics, and people facing poverty are co-researchers. In this methodology, the different types of knowledge resulting from action, academic research, and life experiences are built first in an independent way through meetings with peer groups, then merged to enrich one another, resulting in new insights about the reality of poverty. This process has led to the identification of 9 key poverty dimensions that, despite differences in the daily lives of poor people across countries, are surprisingly similar.

The International Conference was organised by the OECD Centre for Opportunity and Equality and the International Movement ATD Fourth World and it was the opportunity to present national and international outcomes of this research, where the insights and questions raised by the project were shared and discussed with participants. The conference aimed to establish a dialogue among the six National Research Teams and participants on how to move forward in the areas of measurement, policy and action. The conference took place on 10 May at the OECD.

Further information: Read the programme, the concept note and the videos.

Source: International Conference on “Addressing the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty”, ATD Fourth World and OECD.