"Empowerment of the poor has been strongly advocated by writers such as Freire (1972) and Max-Neef (1992) and has [been] seen as a major strategy in development. […]
Within the strategies for poverty reductions favoured by the World Bank, empowerment is understood as ‘the expansion of a assets and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold accountable institutions that affect their lives' (World Bank 2002)".
(Spicker, P., et al. Poverty: An international glossary. 2nd edition, London, Zed Books, 2007, p. 63)