IVCO Think Piece "The right to solidarity as a practice that strengthens citizenship"

This think piece is part of the materials produced in advance of the 2024 International Volunteer Cooperation Organisations Conference (IVCO 2024), hosted by Northumbria University in partnership with Comhlámh. It is available in English, Spanish and French.

The think piece “The right to solidarity as a practice that strengthens citizenship” is written by Hernando A. Estévez, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, Arts and Literature and Professor of Philosophy at La Salle University in Bogotá, Colombia. In this piece, he explores the right to solidarity as a paradigm shift from ‘duty’ to ‘right’, proposing a conceptual framework that focuses on ‘the right to be in solidarity with others’ while recognising that our perceptions of reality are shaped by the intersections of race, class, gender, economic inequalities, among others. The piece suggests how community-based organisations, guided by the concept of solidarity as a right, can provide an entry point for individual citizenship through volunteering and the framework for transforming structures and systems of belief and action at the community level.