European Identity - Individual, Group and Society - HumanitarianNet

242 EUROPEAN IDENTITY. INDIVIDUAL, GROUP AND SOCIETYAn important collaboration will develop with voluntary associationsin the local community. They can help arouse young people’s interest ininvesting in the local society through voluntary work and really havingexperience of contributing to the construction of that local community.Parents’ participation is one of the most important elements atlocal community level. Any school that wants to become a learningcommunity will make an effort to actively involve parents by recognizingtheir contribution for what it is. The importance of making parents feelwelcome at school, especially migrant parents, has already beenmentioned before. EPA, the European Parents’ Association 38 has donemajor work on this.Schools as learning communities will take responsibility forcontributing to or for promoting initiatives for the most disadvantagedgroups. They will particularly contribute to the promotion of basictraining and education skills that some groups of disadvantaged peoplelack so those people can fully participate in local civil society.Reference has already been made to the need to make audits ofthe needs for in-service training within the framework of the learningcommunity. Audits should also be made to find out the talentsavailable in the local community which can be tapped into and whichare not (yet) used. The home for retires people has opportunities forvoluntary work for the youngsters but is also a possibility to tap intothe talents of the retires. Prisons offer opportunities for voluntary workfor youngsters but also offer possibilities for prisoners to be activeagents in rehabilitation programs in the local community.The co-operation between the school and the different bodies,authorities, organizations and associations of the local learningcommunity, will no doubt strengthen with the young people the senseof belonging to that local community and will invite many of them toinvest time and effort to the benefit of the local community. Cooperationbetween the school and all the local agents thus becomes akey element in affective citizen education, making young people feelincluded in the local society; it thus is an important element in thepromotion of active citizenship.38EPA: European Parents’ Association: How to involve economically and sociallydisadvantaged parents into school life; CONNECT project; Brussels, 2001,http://www.epa.beSee also CONNECT web site:http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/connect/selection.html