The Philia Dialogue on Caring Citizenship

“was founded on the simple belief that the health, well-being and strength of our society requires the presence and participation of all citizens…( )…there are many in our society whose presence is routinely overlooked, who are consistently deprived of the opportunity to make their contribution, who are excluded from full participation in civic life. In short: people who are not valued as full citizens.”

…Among those who have experienced barriers to engagement are people with disabilities. Since our roots are in the disability community, we have a particular interest in seeing those barriers removed. Not just for people with disabilities, but for anyone who has been marginalized, isolated or excluded. We envision a society in which every person can be a full and contributing citizen, and we bring the unique perspective of the disability community to the dialogue…

…”we define philia as “the reserve of human warmth, enthusiasm and generosity that nourishes and stimulates the fellowship at the heart of civic life…We operate from two basic assumptions: that everyone has a contribution to make, and that those contributions benefit all of us.”

The heart of Philia’s approach is based on Resilience, Neighbourliness and Abundance.

“social resilience perspective”: the belief that individuals and communities have an innate capacity to return to a state of healthy balance.”

we view caring citizenship…(in terms of).. neighbourliness…what some call “social capital”

abundance…(a)…focus on assets and strengths rather than deficits and needs – to rediscover the resources already present in our communities and build on what we have.”

Philia works on the basis that…”effecting sustainable social change requires a blend of reflection and implementation…(which)… encompasses three strands, which are interrelated and interconnected:

Formulating: deepening our understanding of the concepts, principles and values that form the base of caring citizenship;
Sharing: engaging individuals around these ideas and infusing them into organizations;
Applying: inspiring new practice based on the application of these new ideas.”