11.12 Successful learning at home and in the community will be crucial for the development of active and responsible citizenship, conferring a range of rights, opportunities and responsibilities for people to participate in their communities and, thereby, exert some influence over the conditions of their lives. The aim should be for people in our society to take advantage of changes in technology, of new political opportunities and cultural developments and to share in prosperity. For this to be achieved, their active involvement in community-based projects should be supported, by policy initiatives and by the effective deployment of resources. This means ensuring that learning in the community is itself encouraged and supported by those agencies and authorities responsible for the deployment of services, funding and other resources.
11.13 Full citizenship is not commensurate with existence of pockets of systematic exclusion, disadvantage and ever widening inequalities. Developing a culture of lifelong learning for all will both recognise the forms and varieties of active citizenship and support them in ways which enable people to recognise and tackle inequalities and exclusion, wherever it occurs. Active citizenship will take many forms, and manifest itself in a great variety of ways. Such features of pluralism need themselves to be supported in order to strengthen democratic participation throughout society.
11.14 Creative learning for active citizenship will often prefigure the answers to tomorrow's problems, rather than fitting neatly with those of today. This kind of work is currently formally covered by the duty of local education authorities to secure 'adequate facilities' for further education - but public support for uncertificated learning has been cut back in many parts of the country. In any case, in this area as in so much of good community-based learning, care should be taken not to swamp or stifle such provision by appearing to 'colonise' or 'appropriate' it to the needs of providers, funders or awards bodies rather than respecting its origins and primary purpose.
11.15 In our view, due recognition and support should be given by public authorities to those initiatives which promote citizenship through learning for individuals and groups, whether or not it leads to formal qualification. Providers should consider adding to their existing curriculum offer programmes of study to support citizenship.
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