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Topics The term “civic engagement” marks a changing understanding of state and society in Germany. On the one hand we have the individual rediscovering voluntary activities in clubs, projects and initiatives, as well as in state-run organisations. And on the other we have the commercial enterprise, for whom voluntary social engagement is becoming increasingly important in light of international debate on corporate social responsibility (CSR). The aim of individual and corporate engagement in society is to provide lasting solutions to the challenges of social, economic, political and ecological change.
The Research Center For Civic Engagement analyses the structures, functions and impacts of civic engagement for individuals, organisations and societies and offers organisational and policy advice.
Non-profit Organisations and Associations After public institutions and commercial enterprises, non-profit organisations (such as associations and clubs) are a further important form of organisation in modern society. For a long time, however, they were underrated as "hybrid" organisations in a state of transition. It was not until recently that they started being rediscovered as a guarantee for democracy and welfare in a civil society and as an important institution of civic self-organisation.
The shifting division of responsibility between state and society has also revived the debate on the voluntary social engagement of business in the field of sport, leisure, education, art, culture or health. Such debate not only focuses on patronage and philanthropy on the one hand and sponsorship on the other. It is significantly influenced and shaped by Anglo-American concepts such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate citizenship.
Social Capital and Participation Complaints as to the loss of social cohesion grow ever louder in modern liberal and individualistic societies. The social capital of a society is considered an essential resource for social integration. This social capital originates primarily in the social networks of a vibrant civil society, i.e. the clubs, projects and initiatives found in the associative environment.
Civic engagement is seen as a social context in which individuals can experience learning as a life-wide and lifelong process. This process of education relates particularly to the acquisition of core competences which can also be employed in other settings such as school or work.
The integration into society of people with a migration background is a complicated process involving a large number of institutions and organisations. Civic engagement is seen as an institutional context which can enable, activate and promote the process of integrating people with a migration background culturally, socially, politically, and where identification is concerned.
The changing age structure of the population also has a lasting effect on civic engagement, as can be seen in the quantitative and qualitative transformation taking place in our engagement culture. This applies to general participation in society quite as much as it does to specific forms, social contexts and the meaningfulness of such activities. The Research Center for Civic Engagement addresses these transformation processes with a special focus on ageing and old age, which is attaining completely new significance as the productive time of life for individuals, organisations and society. |
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