The social. To dissolve the ambiguity in which we slip zigzagging between the different meanings of this macro category, it would be enough to apply it to construction. The difference between the main wall and the pillar is well codified: both concur to support the house, but only the first prevents it from collapsing. It is no coincidence that in the code that governs the Third sector, the figure of the worker is distinct from that of the volunteer. It is up to the Social Services to plan, manage and respond to the distress of those in need.
It is to this need to differentiate the roles that the 73 citizens who a few weeks ago had ignited the controversy about the “Asti system” and the management of culture appeal to, and who today met in the spontaneous AstiOltre committee. “We need to ask ourselves first of all why in a society where the gap between the few rich and the very many poor is growing, the role of volunteering is increasingly indispensable – explains Carlo Lisa, former manager of social services of the Municipality of Asti and member of the newborn committee – and not, as it should be, a valuable supplement to the services that an affluent company should be able to offer to all. In a balanced society, volunteers should be an enrichment of the welfare offer, not the spare tire for a broken down car ». In summary, the distinction between important and fundamental would avoid running into an unbalanced distribution of weights and responsibilities. «It is necessary to get out of the logic of the emergency and the constant recourse, by the public administration, to the shortcut of the delegation of its institutional functions to the voluntary sector – underlines the lawyer Antonio Santoro – We need projects that allow us to look forward. Volunteering cannot only be coaxed and used to patch more or less evident errors and delays in politics ». On Asti’s candidacy at stake today, the committee dispels all doubts: they cheer for the victory. “The hope is that it will be chosen as the capital of volunteering – explains Attilio Cerrato, company manager and member of the committee – As happened for example for the title of” Monferrato European Community of sport “, awarded by Aces Europe in 2017, thanks to the commitment of the Municipality of Asti, Casale Monferrato and many sports realities ». As long as it is not a medal to be pinned to the chest, but a starting point for enhancing cultural realities that have become an integral part of social life. «It should be an opportunity to deepen themes of a structural nature – concludes Cerrato – We are only thinking of voluntary organizations that are important in their own way, of which very little has been said lately: the Palio Committees and the Pro Loco. They are realities with a strong value in the areas of social animation and integration, but rarely considered from this point of view “.