Welfare organisations as "sleeping giants"

On Tuesday evening, 30 April, Prof. Dr Rolf G. Heinze (Senior Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at RUB) gave a lecture on the role of welfare organisations in the changing labour market. More than 30 people took part in the event (both online and in person). The evening was moderated by Dr Fabian Hoose (research associate in the Department of Working Time and Work Organisation at the Institute for Work and Qualification at the University of Duisburg-Essen).

Prof Heinze emphasised the importance of civic engagement, particularly in order to combat the increasing disenchantment with politics and strengthen democratic potential against the backdrop of the "permanent crisis mode".

Both civic engagement and gainful employment can create contexts of democratic experience.Civil society organisations are regarded as "laboratories for democracy" and are becoming increasingly important due to their socially integrative functions in an insecure society. Civil society organisations are currently facing the challenge of intercepting social polarisation and fears and, despite internal organisational difficulties, providing help at the same time. He concludes with an appeal: "In order to utilise the creative potential of a democratic civil society, the political parties are also called upon not only to praise civic engagement rhetorically, but also to strengthen institutional support infrastructures and social relationships".

We look forward to welcoming you to our next event evening on 21 May, when Prof. Dr Hans-Jürgen Urban (Executive Board Member of IG Metall and Honorary Professor at the University of Jena) will be joining us digitally via live link from Frankfurt am Main at the O-Werk. In the context of the socio-ecological transformation, he will shed light on the role of trade unions in their function as organisations of political democracy and decision-making. Registration at: https://www.akademie.rub.de/ninja-forms/156pfbj/