Terminology as a Tool for Social Transformation: The Case of the Acción Solidaria Foundation in Ecuador

Abstract

This article analyzes the experience of the Acción Solidaria Foundation (FAS) regarding the terminological change adopted in its institutional praxis, within the framework of its twenty-fifth anniversary. This qualitative and reflective study focuses on the systematization of the experience and its comparison with theoretical frameworks from the social sciences and the Social Doctrine of the Church. The main objective is to examine how the distinction and eventual transition from projects to community action plans, from leadership to guidance, and from beneficiaries to co-participants constitutes a paradigmatic shift aimed at overcoming assistentialism and promoting community co-responsibility.

The study uses participatory community diagnosis and the See–Judge–Act analytical structure as methodological strategies, allowing the articulation of institutional reflection with ethical, pedagogical, and pastoral principles. The results show that language operates as a performative tool that shapes social practices, redistributes power, and dignifies community actors. The discussion draws on the contributions of Paulo Freire, Pierre Bourdieu, and key documents of the Social Doctrine of the Church, demonstrating that FAS’s terminological shift is not merely formal but rather identity-forming and transformative.

The study concludes that language is a tool of social justice and that its appropriate re-signification can foster processes of integral, sustainable, and participatory human development.