Encouraging civic action to change society

Are our fellow citizens becoming more individualistic and selfish, as some social commentators like to say? Even though Sylvain Waserman recognises that certain tendencies at work in our society are more conducive to discouraging people’s civic actions than encouraging them, he nevertheless states that people want to become more citizen-like and do more for their fellow citizens, and that this feeling is growing. Unis-Cité, a pioneering association encouraging young people to participate in civic service in France, has become so popular that there are more applications than the number of places available. The involvement of young people in ‘citizen missions’ by taking part in civic service clearly contributes to the common good and re-opens discussion about major challenges and problems facing society with which public authorities are not able to cope. Local politicians and companies are taking an equally dynamic part in this initiative and are learning to develop new partnerships. A new form of social awareness and mobilisation is emerging. The way in which this has to be done has yet to be decided.