Teema II: Syrjäytymisen uhkaan vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja niiden ehkäiseminen

1. Teema II: Syrjäytymisen uhkaan vaikuttavia tekijöitä ja niiden ehkäiseminen Alustus Jyrki Reunamo Tiina Kalliokoski 26.11.2007 Helsingin yliopisto/Sokla

2. Agency Objectives Competence (skills and knowledge) of the individual. You can always do better. Control of self. Participation Decision- and policymaking. Participation is both advantage and necessity. The society must be open enough. Shared frame of reference Own frame of reference Harmony To belong in a society, globality. Inclusion in society. Democratic and level rights and responsibilities. Differentiation To belong in a community. To find one’s own place. Diverse rights and responsibilities. Chaos Adaptation Includ-ed

3. In harmonic inclusion (see the south-east corner of Figure 1) there is no segregation. Everybody has decent housing, there is no unemployment or lousy jobs, everybody is healthy, everybody has a good education, everybody has genuine friends and the social relations work fine. All these fine things are acquired by adapting to the society. In the same time the good society takes care of its members. The harmonic society needs a lot of consensus in the opinions and orientation of its participants. Democracy and equal rights are important. Democracy means both rights and responsibilities. The good thing in harmonic inclusion is its equality. The society is open for all and everyone tries to adapt to it. On the other hand, the need for shared criterion for every member makes the initiatives for change a threat for equilibrium. Harmony can develop into a quest for stability and bureaucracy. Includ-ed

4. In differentiate inclusion (the south-west part of Figure 1) there is no shared criterion for a good or meaningful life. Each group can define their attitudes and policies from their own point of view. Even single citizens can have their own personal stance in their life. There are different kinds of families, different kinds of neighbourhoods, and different kinds of communities. The criterion for inclusion is belonging into own community. To be included means to find one’s own place. In a differentiated inclusion the personal relevance and the personal relationships are important. In a differentiated world there are many kinds of rights and responsibilities. A shared understanding is not always required. The limits of the society are more time and space dependent. If the differentiation advances too far, the society as a fall collapses. Includ-ed

5. Nevertheless, being a member is not just about adapting into a society. It is also about having agency and personal impact on the society. To be included one needs to be competent and to struggle to achieve objectives (the north-west part of Figure 1). This concerns both citizens and societies; a citizen needs to be competent to advance in the ladder of the society, a country competes against other countries and companies compete for market shares. To be included in certain group one needs to be good enough, or better still, the best. It is important not to fall by the wayside. One needs to be fast, beautiful and take care of own interests. The tacit knowledge is important, because there is the know-how for personal impact. People keep knowledge for themselves to get advantage of others. If the objectives for competence dominate, inclusion is weighed by achievements or status. Includ-ed

6. People do not have impact only for their personal life, inclusion means also participation in the development of the community (the north-east part of Figure 1). People take part in the political and societal decision making. The initiatives of citizens are seen as a necessary enrichment of the community. For the citizen to be able to take part, the community needs to be open and ready for changes. There must also be means and tools for participation. New initiatives are welcomed and a creative and process-oriented society flourishes. Participation is both and advance and a necessity in inclusion. Citizens need to participate in many kinds of developmental projects. The pressure for constant changes can become overpowering, the change can become an absolute value and structures of the community can not keep up with the changes and the community ends up in chaos. The need for open society includes also the dangers of unpredictable future. Includ-ed