Exploring Citizenship in Contemporary Community Work Practice

The notion of citizenship as a triangular relationship between civil, political and social rights has received a great deal of attention by social scientists. However, the exploration of the relevance of the notion for community practice is relatively new. Interviews with a non. random sample of community workers in southern Ontario, Canada, explored the meaning of citizenship to the practitioners. The findings suggest that satisfaction of basic human rights is a prerequisite for exercising citizenship and therefore, social rights are seen as the basis for the ability to exercise civil and political rights. The participants of the study stated that all the elements of citizenshiprights and responsibilities, inclusion and belonging-are linked and evolve into a reciprocal relationship between the state and individuals.