This track explores empowerment as the primary focus of design for social change, rather than merely a side effect or outcome of design activity. While existing studies highlight empowerment through design, there is a pressing need for a nuanced discussion on how empowerment is planned, achieved, and articulated within design projects. Our aim is to reclaim the Design for Empowerment research agenda and advocate for a critical perspective. This includes discussions on biases, privileges, and positionality of designers, complex power dynamics in social design settings, and unintended consequences of social design interventions. Contributions explore how empowerment theories inform design practice, provide critical tools for power analysis, present methodologies for discussing levels of empowerment, and capture individual and collective narratives of change. We also examine some of the tensions and dilemmas arising in politically engaged design.