Presentation  Presentation  

Summary

Link: Networks e Synergies

Social Development Networks

Chapter 1

Housing quality

Chapter 2

The centre and the suburbs: different systems of mobility

Chapter 3

The family and solidarity

Chapter 4

Quality of education network

Chapter 5

Living the employment network

Economic Networks

Chapter 6

Links within the economic system

Chapter 7

The trade network

Chapter 8

Veneto agriculture network

Chapter 9

Mountain synergies

Chapter 10

Production networks

Chapter 11

The distribution network

Chapter 12

Tourism: synergy between sectors and networks between individuals

Institutional services and
networks

Chapter 13

The network for workplace health prevention

Chapter 14

The Veneto model for the integration of social and healthcare services

Chapter 15

Public Administration: services for citizens and businesses

Chapter 16

Telematic networks in Veneto

Chapter 17

The environmental and territorial checking networks

Chapter 18

Cross-border institutional networks

Chapter 19

Inter-institutional local models




3.3 - Staying in the network

The European Parliament has designated 2010 European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion; it falls at a critical time in terms of the economic situation, which has forced Italy to deal with some major economic and social changes.
It is an important opportunity for all tiers of government, administrators, experts, volunteer and social promotion associations, as well as the entire tertiary sector, to become aware that a collective, integrated, long-term effort is required if any real progress is to be made. A network needs to be set up among public players, and then between them and private players, in order to resuscitate the vision of a community that can take care of people in need through actively inclusive processes. The key is to centre processes around the person, both as an individual and as part of a family, which is viewed as a cornerstone of emotional ties, community and territory, all of which create solid relationships.
Social exclusion is a wider concept than poverty, although both are closely related; it is a process in which some people, often the weakest, are alienated not only from opportunities for income, education and employment, but also from social integration and joining active citizenship. As social exclusion is a complex concept, one that cannot be observed directly, it is difficult to measure. At European and national level, however, there are figures on the malaise perceived when a person feels excluded from society, finds it difficult to find his or her way, feels that what he or she does is not valued, or feels discriminated against because he or she is different from everyone else.
In the EU27 countries, the average perceived level of social exclusion, 2.2 on a scale from 1 to 5, suggests that a fairly good level of integration has been achieved almost everywhere, although there are major differences between countries, especially in EU15, which has higher perceived inclusion (2.1), and in Eastern Europe (2.4). Obviously, this is a self-assessment, a subjective opinion that reflects that a person's social and economic situation, as well as individual and cultural factors.
The sense of belonging and social integration appears to be higher wherever the main macroeconomic indicators are more favourable, i.e. a high GDP per capita, low unemployment or a low risk of poverty; there are, however, some exceptions that debunk the idea that there is a direct relationship between a country's economic wellbeing and its citizens' perceived level of integration and inclusion, which is retained to be good in less well-off countries such as Malta, Estonia and Slovenia. In Italy, the perceived social exclusion index, equal to 2.3, is only slightly above the European average and in line with the figure for France and the UK, where wealth in terms of GDP per capita is slightly higher (Figure 3.3.1).
In addition to the macroeconomic situation, individual characteristics led to a different perception of social integration: A lack of job stability, poor health, disability within a family, problems dealing with everyday life, and crumbling family relations all contribute to a sense of insecurity and solitude. A lack of financial resources, which leads people to forego goods and services that the majority of people have, leads to a rise in malaise amongst Italian citizens, from 2.1 for people who have no problems to 2.7 for people with the highest levels of material deprivation. People who live with a partner, with or without children, feel more part of the community (an index of 2.2) compared to people who have separated, live alone, or live alone with their children (2.4). Likewise, making solid relations outside a person's own four walls, i.e. seeing or speaking to relatives, friends and neighbours, creates a sense of belonging. Consequently, people who have direct contact with others declare that their levels of perceived social exclusion are up to 20% lower.

Top  Realms of sociality

A peaceful family life, good relations with friends and family, as well as good, effective coverage of social networks, influence a person's real and perceived quality of life.
There are three realms of sociality: the first realm is the family and its network of relatives; the second is friends, acquaintances and neighbours; and the third is the range of social participation, which extends to community life.
A comparison between Europe and Italy in the Eurobarometer 2004 reveals that 82% of Italian families state they were somewhat or very satisfied with their social life, a figure in line with the European average of 84%. The foundation of a person's social capital, i.e. ties outside their family, is undoubtedly feeling confident around others, a sense of openness that paves the way to the budding and blooming of a relationship. The most recent Eurofound figures (2007) reveal that on a scale from 1 (minimum trust) to 10 (maximum trust), Italian citizens have a level of trust towards other people equal to 5, just below the European average of 5.2. A feeling of trust not only contributes to improving quality of life, but can also be an important lever for the cooperation and interconnection of society, to the extent that it even fosters economic prosperity (Table 3.3.1).
From this point of view, overall the people of Veneto seem to be involved in a system of ties, more or less formal, more or less tight, that enables them to deal with malaise and to feel part of society: 84.6% have friends, relatives or acquaintances that can lend a helping hand when necessary, a figure in line with the national figure.

Top  The importance of friends

Friendship is the social network nearest to the family and it too is based on informal relationships and emotional ties; it plays a fundamental role in the life of every one.
A network of friends takes on particular importance when a person is seeking moral or emotional support, needs to confide personal problems or difficulties, or when seeking advice. The network of friends and colleagues also proves to be decisive in more practical matters, such as finding a job. Having a point of reference outside the family not only contributes to individual wellbeing and satisfaction with relationships, but is also an important sign of integration and social participation.
More than one Veneto resident out of four (27.4%) declared that in 2009 he or she was very satisfied with relationships with friends; when added to those who are somewhat satisfied, the figure reaches 82.6%, in line with the national average.
The network of friends takes on a particular and distinct role from the family network: as opposed to the family network, where there is often a wide generation gap, the network of friends includes people of roughly the same age and interests, but it is also more changeable and dynamic over time than the family network.
Overall, 64.5% of people in Veneto declare that they always see their friends, or see them at least once a week, a figure similar to the one for people who speak to their friends by phone. Younger people mainly tend to rely on their network of friends, rather than on the family network, as there is less of an age difference. Elderly people, however, are at the greatest disadvantage when it comes to their network of friends: just over half of elderly people see their friends and acquaintances frequently, but only 45.7% speak to their friends by phone; this figure is almost 100% for young people up to 19 years of age. One-quarter of elderly people declared they spoke with friends and acquaintances very rarely: this situation may be down to the fact that on the one hand the elderly are less used to using the telephone and have fewer opportunities to leave the house, and on the other, as the years pass, people tend to concentrate less on their friends and spend more time and energy on their family (Figure 3.3.2).
The relationship with friends becomes of primary importance especially during adolescence, which is a very delicate and turbulent time of life. Teenagers' needs to assert themselves lead to conflict with their parents and to them seeking confirmation and recognition outside the family, i.e. among people the same age who go on to become the most important figures in their lives. Although relationships with parents are fundamental in early childhood, as children grow so does their need to measure themselves against their peers. In 93.4% of cases, 11 to 17-year-olds declare that they see their peers in their free-time; this frequency is regular, with 95.2% of them seeing on average 7 friends at least once a week. Their friends include their classmates, whom they not only see at school but also outside of school hours. This frequency also regards school-mates who are not of Italian origin, although to a lesser extent. In Veneto, almost 80% of children enrolled in primary, lower-middle or high schools are in a mixed class, a percentage well-above the Italian average; 38% of them declare they also meet their foreign school-mates in their free-time, which confirms that Italian and foreign children spent time together outside school, although this does not exclude that there may be some segregation (Figure 3.3.3).
Today a circle of friends can also be extended beyond national borders by the new wave of travel opportunities, opening-up towards other countries, often promoted among young people with cultural exchanges by schools and associations, as well as the breaking-down of spatial barriers with technology such as mobile phones and internet. According to the most recent Eurofound figures (2007), 26% of Italians have friends from abroad; at European level, this phenomenon involves mainly North European countries, as well as Mediterranean countries Spain and Portugal. Research has shown that this type of friendship is more common amongst men and young people.
New technology, especially internet, has enabled new friendships, though virtual, to spring up between young people. Among the people in Veneto who used internet at least once in 2009, 45.9% declared that they used it every day; if we also include those who use it once a week, the figure stands at 85%, just below the national average of 87.6%. It is mainly young people between 20 and 30 years old who mainly use internet to communicate in the various ways offered online. The very young (up to 19 years of age) in particular use the internet a great deal to post messages in chatrooms and forums and to use instant messaging services, while adults prefer to use the phone or video-chats via webcam (Figure 3.3.4).

Top  Social participation

In widened social capital, potential resources are to be found in weak relations, i.e. the ones that are not as strong as family ones and carry less emotional involvement. Community social capital is therefore a network of external social relations that are a resource families may be able to exploit. They are secondary networks not only because they are not as close to the families that need them, but also because they are normally developed afterwards.
Some studies have shown that the spread of volunteer and not-for-profit associations is a major factor in social cohesion and together they are increasingly indispensible within the local welfare system. Volunteer associations, spontaneous or otherwise, have a major impact in that they foster interpersonal trust between members of society and can drive cooperation. The word "civicness" is heard increasingly in the sense of an attitude of trust and a feeling of belonging to a community.
Volunteer associations, and more generally people's participation in community life, is an important defence against malaise and reduces the risk of people falling out of the network: a person who is involved in free extra-family activities not only shows that he or she belongs to a network of community relations, but can also potentially count on more ready support in difficult times. This form of deep-rooted community life is known in literature by the term "embeddedness".
In 2009, 14.1% of Veneto residents declared that they had a lot of free time that could be used for activities outside work or in the family: almost half (49.3%) said that they had enough free-time, but one-third said they had little or no free-time.
Free-time is used in a number of ways outside the family: many took part in activities involving the Church or religious associations (17.9%, according to 2006 figures), in cultural or recreational associations (12.4%) and were members of volunteer groups (10%). In 3% of cases, people spent their free-time in political-party or trade-union activities; in Italy this figure was 4%.
Associations in the form of volunteer activities are particularly widespread in Veneto, so much so that it is second only to Trentino Alto Adige for the number of people involved daily in helping others and in promoting and safeguarding the rights of the weaker members of society (Figure 3.3.5).
A total of 2,279 volunteer associations were enrolled in the regional register in February 2010. In terms of distribution, the most associations can be found in the provinces of Verona (443), Padova (394) and Treviso (381).
Intervention mainly takes place in social and social healthcare environments: 44.2% of volunteer associations are involved in social activities geared towards promoting people and the family, help in times of need or physical and mental malaise, as well as in other educational and prevention activities geared towards social reintegration; 39.1% of people are active in safeguarding citizen health through support of preventive healthcare, as well as physical and mental treatment and rehabilitation, without which healthcare could not be given or have effect.
Users come from a wide cross-section of backgrounds, although the majority of associations provide services that support a range of age-groups (36.2%) and adults (23.6%). The people are mainly those who are going through a period of malaise and find these associations provide vital support that enables them to react and see their crisis through.
This system of working together is representative of how Veneto residents relate to institutions and see their role as citizens, both as individuals and towards their community(Table 3.3.2).

Figure 3.3.1
Perceived social exclusion and GDP per capita in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) in European countries - Year 2007
Table 3.3.1
Realms of sociality: indicators of inclusion in the social network. Veneto and Italy - Various years
Figure 3.3.2
Frequency that people see and speak to their friends (per 100 people of the same age). Veneto - Year 2006
Figure 3.3.3
Percentage of Italian pupils aged 6-17 years old who have foreign classmates by nationality of classmates seen outside of school hours. Veneto and Italy - Year 2008
Figure 3.3.4
People who in the last three months have used internet by communication activity and by several age classes (per 100 people of the same age class). Veneto - Year 2008
Figure 3.3.5
Percentage of people who in the last 12 months have taken part in volunteer or charity work by region - Year 2006
Table 3.3.2
Volunteer organisations enrolled on the Veneto regional register on 28/02/2010 by type of activity and by province


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English translation by the University of Padova Language Centre.