The second in a series of webinars considering Civic Virtue and the Common Good, Civic Virtue, Service and The Voluntary Spirit welcomed Labour Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara Ali, Danny Kruger, the Conservative Member of Parliament for Devizes, and Helen Goulden, Chief Executive Officer of The Young Foundation.

Chaired by Senior Centre Research Fellow, Lord James O’Shaughnessy, this discussions considered a number of important questions:

• What is the role of the state in facilitating and enabling a voluntary spirit?
• How can we capitalise on the upsurge in social action and community-mindedness witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic?
• How can specific contextual features of local communities be recognised and supported in any endeavours to build the voluntary spirit?
• What are the obstacles or barriers to civic engagement, including that of young people? How might these challenges be overcome?

A position paper outlining this in more detail can be read here.

A recording of this webinar can be found below and via our YouTube channel, here.