Capacity building

Capacity is, at its base, the ability to act (GSE827 2010). Capacity can refer to that of a country or multilateral organisation, as well as to individual or community capacity.

Capacity building is achieved through participatory processes which develop skills, confidence or knowledge. In GSE827 (2010), it was noted that the term capacity building could comprise: participation, partnerships, collaboration, stakeholder involvement, active learning, decision making, envisioning, knowledge transfer and human resource development, but not critical thinking.

However, I believe that in a broader sense critical thinking is a capacity that can be built through critical thinking exercises and training (whether that be through the process of formal education or through in and non-formal EfSD programmes). I think that critical thinking skills are the most important element of sustainability and thus of EfSD. While the technical term capacity building does not comprise critical thinking, I think that is is largely about developing skills and building competencies such as this which help us recognise and bring about the "fundamental changes required to the way people view and evaluate their lives" (ARIES 2005) and that critical thinking can be one of those skills.