This text is structured as follows. Section 1 concerns the background to this public lecture: the fact that social participation is becoming increasingly important in our society. This is evident, for example, from the way we are evolving from a protective welfare state into an activational, participative …

Romania, as a newcomer to the EU club, has to deal with child labour that constitutes a serious breach of human rights. The nature of child labour in Romania has specific features, which are common to features of child labour in other post communist countries. While in developing countries and in the …

Verkennende analyse van de sociale kwaliteit van de lokale samenleving van de gemeente Zwartewaterland. Dergelijke analyses zijn belangrijk in het licht van de nieuwe taken die de Wet Maatschappelijke Ondersteuning aan gemeenten toekent. Om te kunnen bepalen op welke wijze men de lokale civil society …

Whilst until the late 1980s most migration issues developed in a parallel manner but with national specifics, important differences showed up during the 1990s and at the beginning of this decade. Since the middle of the 1990s, there has been an obvious change in policy towards migrants and foreigners …

Diversity implies variety. Diversity refers to the differences between people. Visible aspects – such as age, skin colour, gender, disability – and less or non-visible aspects such as cultural and social background, skills and competencies, and style of working. If you can handle diversity, you will …

Although minorities make up only 5-10% of the population in Europe, they receive a lot of negative attention in the media. Minorities are blamed for issues that range from a country's economic problems to cultural disharmony. As a result, the ethnic minorities feel as though they are on the outer edge …

The multicultural society cannot be denied, because we experience this society on the street, in our neighborhoods, at schools, on public transport and at work in the Netherlands. However, for a couple of years this society is no longer truly accepted. Even a simple question as 'Do we live in a multicultural …

In November 2006, SOMO published a report that criticised labour conditions in Nokia's factories in Asia. This report revealed conditions where workers work up to 72 hours a week with compulsory overtime, have insecure employment contracts and work in unsafe factories, where no or inadequate protection …

People can not live without other people. A person is always influenced, whether this is by the environment, the situation or the people(Arson, Wilson, Akert, 2005). Each way of behaviour is a reaction on the behaviour of someone else(Wijsman, 2001). Also behaviour is influenced by many factors such …

We live in a digital society which has significantly changed the information landscape affecting every aspect of our lives. The current wave of technological innovation is part of the context in which social work students, practitioners and service users and carers operate. Technology can improve the …