Citizen participation, in its various forms, is a generating element of democracy. Giorgio Gaber described it well when he sang that 'freedom is participation'. And, even further back in time, several scholars emphasised its importance. Alexis de Tocqueville, in his Democracy in America (it was 1835), observing the swarming of associationism in that reality, believed that an organised participation of citizens was the only antidote to limit the individual's tendency to close in on himself, on the one hand; and, on the other, to contain state intervention in the various spheres of society. Through sharing, people socialise, share values and goals, mitigate individualistic drives, limit state intervention: ultimately, in all the many forms in which it can develop, it constitutes a necessary warp for social cohesion and the maintenance of democracy. It is an instrument of freedom. That Italy is rich in these participatory expressions is told not only by daily experience, but also by the numbers.
The latest Istat census (2011) estimates there are 301,000 non-profit institutions in the country, more than 44,000 voluntary associations (CSVNET, 2015), more than 6,000 foundations. Overall, just under 7 million Italians do their best for others for free, about 4 million do it within organisations, 3 million individually (Istat, 2013). In short, a swarm of ants on the ground weaving relationships and solidarity. In a word, they silently contribute to increasing social capital. Community Media Research bears witness to the intensity of this presence, but also detects signs of an erosion process that must be carefully assessed.
The forms of participation to which people adhere the most are the activities promoted by associations of a cultural nature (52.4% took part at least once a year), followed by initiatives linked to the problems of the environment and the area in which one lives (44.8%), neighbourhoods or the city (39.3%), and sports and recreational associations (43.3%). Thus, an 'expressive' type of participation prevails, linked to culture and knowledge, to the quality of life, as well as to the dimension of the loisir. It is sufficient to refer to the number of visitors to the many 'festivals' (and on different topics) that have developed in recent years and spread throughout the provinces, among others with a large number of volunteers - mostly young people - who make an active contribution to their realisation. Rather than the queues of visitors to galleries, archaeological sites, open museum initiatives. On the other hand, other forms of membership such as party demonstrations (34.2%), protest demonstrations (23.0%) or peace demonstrations (22.7%) are relatively less attractive. Membership of trade or professional associations is at the bottom of the ranking (22.6%), marking once again the problem of representation of interests.
What should be noted, however, is in comparison to the previous survey (2013): for all forms, albeit with varying intensity, the level of participation tends to erode. Significant numbers of people continue to join, but decline. Emblematic, in this regard, is the outcome of those who are actively involved in the organisation of festivals and village fairs, which are widespread throughout Italy: from 44.3% (2013) to 23.5% today. Undoubtedly, the decline is due to a combination of reasons: the swarming of such activities causes people to disperse; then, the organisational burden is very high; some risk losing originality and, therefore, attractiveness. Nevertheless, the balance is largely negative. But all forms of association see the number of people actively mobilised in favour of one or the other eroded.
If we add up the amount of initiatives followed by one person, we observe an interesting phenomenon: the polarisation of participation. That is, over the years there is an increasing division between those who do not share any activity and those who attend several initiatives at the same time. Thus, those who do not take part are 23.6% of the population, but it was 9.1% in 2013. Conversely, there is a slight increase in those who take part in more than 5 initiatives: 49.1% (it was 47.1% in 2013). Between these two poles, we register a significant decrease. Thus, on the one hand, there is an increase in the proportion of those who leave the associative network and, on the other, there is a slight increase in associative 'commuting', those who take part in more than one initiative at the same time.
Evidence of these phenomena comes from an analysis of the participation profile. Absentees', those who do not take part in any activity during the year, grow from 9.2% (2013) to 23.6%. The 'occasional', who are present no more than once a year, are the largest group (56.5%), but are decreasing (68.4%). So are the 'interested', who attend at least 2 or 3 times a year (18.5%, it was 21.6% in 2013). Substantially stable are the 'militants', who support the associations in their initiatives every month (1.4%, it was 0.8% in 2013).
It is perhaps too early to argue this, but if the trend is confirmed in the future, we could be facing a phenomenon of erosion and disintermediation that associationism should question itself about. New technologies allow one to help others even from one's armchair at home, without mobilising oneself too much: just send 1 euro by text message. One can consider participating in politics in front of one's PC, via the web or social networks. A participation light and individual, with little involvement. Absent participation. Of course, all forms of sharing are welcome, but the dimension of socialisation and relationship remain constitutive elements for building social capital. To quote Gaber again, 'freedom is not a free space'.
Daniele Marini
Methodological note
Community Media Research, in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo for La Stampa, carried out the LaST (Laboratory on Society and Territory) Survey, which was conducted nationwide from 6 to 12 April 2017 on a representative sample of the population resident in Italy, aged 18 and over. The methodological aspects and the survey were taken care of by the Questlab company. The total number of respondents was 1,655 (out of 14,103 contacts). The data analysis was reproportioned on the basis of gender, territory, age group, occupational status and educational qualification. The margin of error is +/-2.4%. The survey was carried out with a visual survey through the main social networks and with a random sample that could be reached with the CAWI and CATI systems. Full document on www.agcom.it e www.communitymediaresearch.it
