In the challenges that see women and men committed to facing the uncertainty of the present, with the aim of improving their own living conditions and those of the community in which they live, participation and democracy are closely connected.
This is the foundation on which politics is based, which calls both to intervene personally and to express oneself through electoral consultations.
These issues are dealt with by Francesco Raniolo, Full Professor of Political Science, former Director of the Department of Political and Social Sciences and Coordinator of the Doctorate in Politics, Culture and Development at the University of Calabria, who recently published the second edition of the volume ” Political participation. Do, think, be”, published by Il Mulino.
The work was presented during an initiative organized by the Rotary Club Cosenza Sette Colli and which took place in recent days at the Hotel San Francesco in Rende. After greetings from the President of the Bruzio club, Francesco Bozzo, the meeting got underway.
Stimulated by the questions of the moderator Marcella Giulia Lorenzi, Past President of the club, prof. Raniolo traced the guidelines that led him to rewrite, after twenty years, the volume which focuses on three aspects of human activity with respect to politics: what we do, what we think and who we are.
Taking part, feeling part and being part thus become three interlinked phases of the social activity of those who are called to exercise a right, but also a duty, with the aim not only of carrying forward the ideas and needs of the community they represent, but also to give space to action aimed at achieving the common good.
According to Raniolo, to talk about participation, individuals need to feel part of the community that they want to help govern.
A crucial theme, which the author intended to highlight by giving space to a vision of participation that is not only conventional, but post-representative, plural, widespread, community-based.
The exhibition stimulated the reflections that the attentive and large audience submitted to the teacher, giving rise to a moment of discussion of high social and cultural depth.
The evening then had a rather important continuation for the life of RC Cosenza Sette Colli, with the tapping ceremony which marked the entry into the Bruzio club of a new member, Luigi Leonardo Gagliardi, a pharmacist who operates in the area and whose presence will undoubtedly contribute to increasing the club’s service potential.
