"Citizenship and Participation

Every country is identified by its Citizens, and by virtue of a voting system the Citizens ?elect a leader of their choice to lead in an honest and ethical manner and to represent them at home and abroad in regards to their best interests. It is understood leaders should follow the Rule of Law.? Leaders lead, leaders don’t rule. Citizens are responsible to be informed, monitor and be prepared to protect their interests.?

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Citizenship and Participation?

What is citizenship??

Traditions and approaches to citizenship vary throughout history and across the world according to different countries, histories, societies, cultures and ideologies, resulting in many different understandings of the concept of citizenship.?

It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.? Aristotle?

The origin of citizenship can be traced back to Ancient Greece, when "citizens" were those who had a legal right to participate in the affairs of the state. However, by no means was everyone a citizen: slaves, peasants, women or resident foreigners were mere subjects. For those who did have the privileged status of being citizens, the idea of "civic virtue" or being a "good" citizen was an important part of the concept, since participation was not considered only a right but also, and first of all, a duty. A citizen who did not meet his responsibilities was considered socially disruptive. This concept of citizenship is reflected in today's most common understanding of citizenship as well, which relates to a legal relationship between the individual and the state. Most people in the world are legal citizens of one or another nation state, and this entitles them to certain privileges or rights. Being a citizen also imposes certain duties in terms of what the state expects from individuals under its jurisdiction. Thus, citizens fulfil certain obligations to their state and in return they may expect protection of their vital interests.?

However, the concept of citizenship has far more layers of meaning than legal citizenship. Nowadays "citizenship" is much more than a legal construction and relates – amongst other things – to one's personal sense of belonging, for instance the sense of belonging to a community which you can shape and influence directly.?

Such a community can be defined through a variety of elements, for example a shared moral code, an identical set of rights and obligations, loyalty to a commonly owned civilization, or a sense of identity. In the geographical sense, "community" is usually defined at two main levels, differentiating between the local community, in which the person lives, and the state, to which the person belongs.?

In the relationship between the individual and society we can distinguish four dimensions which correlate with the four subsystems which one may recognize in a society, and which are essential for its existence: the political / legal dimension, the social dimension, the cultural dimension and the economic dimension.1?

The political dimension of citizenship refers to political rights and responsibilities vis à vis the political system. The development of this dimension should come through knowledge of the political system and the promotion of democratic attitudes and participatory skills.?

The social dimension of citizenship has to do with the behaviour between individuals in a society and requires some measure of loyalty and solidarity. Social skills and the knowledge of social relations in society are necessary for the development of this dimension.?

The cultural dimension of citizenship refers to the consciousness of a common cultural heritage. This cultural dimension should be developed through the knowledge of cultural heritage, and of history and basic skills (language competence, reading and writing).?

The economic dimension of citizenship concerns the relationship between an individual and the labour and consumer market. It implies the right to work and to a minimum subsistence level. Economic skills (for job-related and other economic activities) and vocational training?play a key role in the fulfilment of this economic dimension.?

These four dimensions of citizenship are attained through socialization processes which take place at school, in families, civic organizations, political parties, as well as through associations, mass media, the neighbourhood and peer groups.? As with the four legs of a chair, each person should be able to exercise the four dimensions in a balanced and equal manner, otherwise full citizenship will be unbalanced.?"