HOW CAN SOLIDARITY IN A COMMUNITY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE?

Abstract

Our thesis states that the social capital can increase through establishing a union of solidarity. By achieving this, we will not only create new places of employment, support, acceptance, friends and social relationships, but also gain additional knowledge and build networks. We show that the quality of life will be influenced by solidarity by discussing different projects. At first, we discuss concepts like acceptance, network, knowledge in the context of solidarity, as well as quality of life. After establishing the definitions, we allocate to these terms different criteria, which will be the foundation of examining the success of the projects. Hereby the items of investigation for each project are the objectives, the proposed solutions and alternative routes for achieving the goals, as well as the achieved level of solidarity. Substantial influencing values, obstructive or conducive, are carved out and named, leading to applicable commendations. At last, we show the possibilities to augment the solidarity of rural areas by using information systems, as well as consider the limitations. In conclusion, we discuss the effects of staying together on the quality of life. In the analysis of the exemplary projects, the diversity of approaches is surprising: it spans from the establishment of a special office in the administration, to the communal plantation of fruits and vegetables for their own needs, to the sharing of knowledge or the locating of new partners for cooperation through networking. Eventually, essential determining factors for the success of solidarity in communities are the establishment of a common culture, shared interests and a well-functioning communication.

Keywords: networking, permanent learning, political and IT-technical information influences, solidarity union

Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2017.229