#BlogoftheMonth: Active citizenship in times of a pandemic

The pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus has also affected volunteer activities and active citizenship worldwide. However, it is this pandemic that has led many citizens in different parts of the world to voluntarily engage in various forms and ways to prevent the spread of this virus.

According to a release from the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine – CEBM, in April, within 24 hours, 500,000 citizens applied for volunteer work and activities such as sending medicine, transporting patients, or simply contacting isolated persons for moral support.
 
The British Council, on the other hand, has recently launched an online campaign encouraging citizens around the world to tell their stories of how they are tackling social problems as a result of this pandemic.
 
“From today, the Active Citizens global team is launching the #ConnectedbyAction call-to-action. We want you to tell us how you as Active Citizens are responding to Coronavirus. Over the coming months, we are going to dedicate our social media channels to highlight your inspirational stories and initiatives focussed on how Active Citizens are tackling issues linked to this disease in their communities – amplifying and sharing them to inspire and provide ideas to others throughout our global community and beyond.” said from the British Council.

On the other hand, active citizenship and volunteering in this pandemic time also came in a new form – virtual. According to an article by The Conversation, virtual volunteers, depending on the activity of organizations or businesses, are helping to manage social media pages, consulting, and coordinating various activities.
 
It is this new form of active citizenship that is needed now more than ever when the whole world is in a pandemic crisis. If in normal conditions active citizenship was the involvement in physical activities and projects for the benefit of the community, now the essence has remained the same but only in different settings. Active citizenship in times of pandemics presents the importance of practicing physical distance and respecting personal and collective hygiene.

TOKA as an NGO, the foundation of which are active citizens who promote active citizenship invites all its readers to join virtually in achieving its goal, which is the development of a better society.
 
// This campaign is part of the Environmental activities, which is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) through its Human Rightivism Program.