Growing participation of women in the labour market has profoundly changed the institutions of civil society. The intensity and quality of this transformation of civil society varies among different European countries, but there are also clear similarities. Important in this process has been a transfer of obligations from civil society to welfare state institutions, and a growing contradiction between rights and obligations which especially for women means a huge burden given their multiple responsibilities in relation to both paid work, unpaid work and caring.

Here it is important to mention that the associative life of a civil society is not able to balance or modify the market-based social inequalities of wealth and power. Therefore, in this context the welfare state has to take an active role in empowering the weakest groups through citizens’ rights and social protection or at least to ensure that civic organisations might be able to support these groups in their struggle for public social protection.

It is important for CINEFOGO to support a European dialogue on the issue of civic participation in relation to social protection. In the various parts of Europe citizenship rights are very differently defined and this implies different positions of citizens and especially of women in the welfare system. We will address the issue of hanging boundaries between welfare state and civil society in provision of social protection and the possibilities of active citizenship and civic participation for specific groups in the global notion of a European Social Model will be evaluated.