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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.45.09.27
How to Cite:
Hlebova, N., Afanasieva, L., Bukrieieva, I., Semikin, M., & Orlov, A. (2021). Social solidarity and cohesion in the fight against the
COVID-19 pandemic in intercultural cities. Amazonia Investiga, 10(45), 272-280. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.45.09.27
Social solidarity and cohesion in the fight against the COVID-19
pandemic in intercultural cities
Соціальна солідарність та згуртованість у боротьбі з пандемією COVID-19 у
міжкультурних містах
Received: June 9, 2021 Accepted: August 29, 2021
Written by:
Natаlia Hlebova
108
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3417-1337
Lyudmila Afanasieva
109
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9386-6529
Iryna Bukrieieva
110
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7444-8321
Mykhailo Semikin
111
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9119-8945
Andrii Orlov
112
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0243-7313
Abstract
The study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on intercultural interactions. It
considers the sociocultural mechanisms for
ensuring cohesion and social solidarity in
multicultural communities. The paper highlights
the social contexts of the current problems of
multicultural communities in overcoming
intercultural barriers and the development of
trust, social solidarity and cohesion. It reveals the
direction of the main negative effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic on the cohesion and
development of social solidarity of multicultural
communities. The successful international and
domestic cases of counteraction of communities
of intercultural cities against the COVID-19
pandemic are analyzed. The factors of
development of social solidarity and cohesion of
international and Ukrainian community in the
conditions of pandemic are investigated. It has
been found that social solidarity and cohesion of
communities is an effective means of public
counteraction to modern destructive factors and
108
Dr. Sc. in Sociology, Professor of Sociology Department, Bohdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University, Melitopol,
Ukraine.
109
Ph.D in Рhilosophical Sciences, Associate Professor of Sociology Department, Bohdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical
University, Melitopol, Ukraine.
110
Ph.D in Рhilosophical Sciences, Associate Professor of Sociology Department Bohdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical
University, Melitopol, Ukraine.
111
Ph.D in Рhilosophical Sciences, Associate Professor of Sociology Department Bohdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical
University, Melitopol, Ukraine.
112
Ph.D in Рhilosophical Sciences, Associate Professor of Sociology Department Bohdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical
University, Melitopol, Ukraine.
Hlebova, N., Afanasieva, L., Bukrieieva, I., Semikin, M., Orlov, A. / Volume 10 - Issue 45: 272-280 / September, 2021
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challenges. It is established that the communities
of cities-participants of intercultural networks
have developed effective mechanisms to
maintain positive relations between people of
different nationalities, religions, cultures and can
serve as a positive example for other cities
through the implementation of the model of
ethnocultural diversity management.
Key words: social solidarity and cohesion,
ethnocultural communities, COVID-19
pandemic.
Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused
unprecedented individual, economic, and social
damage to the humanity and has posed two
opportunities to the world community: the
danger of unprecedented collapse and the chance
for social solidarity. It has become an exceptional
problem in terms of nature and consequences,
which causes a need for joint efforts at the global,
interstate, state, and at the level of intercultural
interaction and mutual assistance of all members
of any community.
The multicultural cities are the most vulnerable
to Covid-19. There some representatives often
have limited access to the transparent and
understandable information. Such situations
often become a result of feeling a fear by
members of these groups, when the inability to
control the situation leads to the feelings of
isolation, alienation, and inferiority. In these
circumstances, it is important to use the
experience of interethnic integration of
successful communities, whose strategies and
practices contribute to the achievement of mutual
understanding and social cohesion of their
members under pandemic conditions.
Communities from different countries have to
work together, learn from each other and
coordinate their efforts to overcome intercultural
barriers in order to avoid the risks as much as
possible.
The social situation is extremely tense in the
country and in the world, because every day we
turn on the TV or turn the pages on social
networks and we see terrible statistics and
horrible details of the epidemic everywhere.
Solidarity and cohesion are the best indicators of
the fight against pandemic, because it cannot be
overcome alone.
According to experts (Hebreisus, 2021; Patsek,
2020), the COVID-19 pandemic has caused us
unprecedented individual, economic, and social
damage. A pandemic is a test of humanity’s
ability to counter the threats of civilization in
general, to organize to solve the urgent problems
and draw the right conclusions, and to make the
world interpenetrating.
The nature and scale of the problem actualize
public and scientific interest both in
identification of “stress markers” and in the
search for systemic factors to increase social
solidarity and cohesion in the countering the
COVID-19 pandemic. In order to defeat the
virus, communities, countries and our entire
multicultural region must work together, learn
from each other, and coordinate their efforts to
achieve a high level of solidarity and cohesion.
Understanding the pandemic as a global problem
is especially important for finding the
foundations of social cohesion, as means of
reducing the tensions and social solidarity of
multicultural communities. The main goal is to
learn better from each other and coordinate the
efforts in the complex conditions of the COVID-
19 pandemic. There is small research on the
pandemic in terms of its holistic understanding in
domestic social and philosophical thought.
That’s why this paper is one of the first
contributions to this urgent problem.
In our study, we will consider social cohesion as
the involvement and participation of members of
society in sociocultural life; as a sense of
solidarity and belonging to society, based on the
effective use of civil rights and aimed at
achieving the well-being of the vast majority of
citizens, harmonious and stable relations,
overcoming the social isolation of activity.
The social solidarity seems a difficult concept to
study. Nevertheless, researchers note its extreme
importance in detailing the category of solidarity
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as a wide range of components: mutual aid, trust,
perception of difference, perception of justice,
social inclusion, etc. (Bondarenko, Babenko, &
Borovskyi, 2017:59).
The idea of social cohesion is one of the main
directions of development of modern society and
is based on the active participation of the
population in solving current problems of life,
overcoming social isolation and social
disintegration. This concept is quite new. Its
basic principles were set out only in 1990. That’s
why there is little research related to it.
The interest in the problem of social solidarity is
usually associated with the ideas of Auguste
Comte about social harmony (Comte, 1970),
Emile Durkheim (Durkheim, 1982) about
solidarity and shared loyalties, which unite the
society, Talcott Parsons about social stability
(Parsons, 1964).
Modern Ukrainian researchers – N. Amelchenko
(Amelchenko, 2006), M. Bondarenko
(Bondarenko, Babenko, & Borovskyi, 2017),
V. Kremen (Kremen, 2014), O. Shevchenko
(Shevchenko, 2016), V. Zablotskyi (Zablotskyi,
2002) – connect solidarity processes with such
modern phenomena as cooperation, cohesion,
unity, public trust, the presence of common
ideas, views, goals, belonging to a certain whole
system in different aspects and at different levels
of manifestations of this phenomenon: from
solidarity of small groups to social solidarity of
society as a whole, where solidarity is seen as one
of the preconditions for stability and social order.
Today, the Department of Social Cohesion has
been established in Council of Europe; the results
of the research of different aspects of social
cohesion are reflected in the periodical “Trends
in social cohesion”; published “Concerted
development of social cohesion indicators:
methodological guide” collective authorship of
which belongs to the experts and practitioners
(Council of Europe 2005).
Today social cohesion is interpreted as a quality
of community or society. Cohesive communities
include conflict-free, harmonious, stable
communities, where are minimal differences and
polarization between members. Such an
approach to social cohesion puts the question of
quality, the features of community or society,
which allow them to be reduced, on the agenda.
The aim of our study is to analyze the essence of
the factors that determine the processes of social
solidarity and effective consolidation of efforts to
overcome the pandemic.
Methodology
This study covered video, audio, images, media
reports, posts on pages and social media groups
highlighting the events connected with
COVID-19 pandemic, reactions and public
sentiment to these events, and successful
international and domestic cases of counteracting
the COVID-19 pandemic in intercultural cities
(147 cities).
The content analysis procedures were used at the
methodological level. They were followed by
case study, during which samples (3 primary and
11 sub-samples) of messages and information
materials were formed, categories and units of
analysis were selected according to audience
prevalence and coverage, frequency of mention
and context. Within this context, the dynamics of
attention to the message, modes of perception of
messages (positive, negative, neutral) through
the analysis of feedback and comments are
studied. The Case study method traced and built
logical connections between information
sources, audiences, direct and indirect consumers
of information and stakeholders, beneficiaries of
the dissemination, impact and consequences of
certain messages.
The analysis allowed us to analyze the policy
models of intercultural integration of
intercultural cities, which disseminated examples
of best practices for effective diversity
management, prevention and resolution of
possible conflicts and the use of the benefits of
diversity. This has identified the best ways to
overcome intercultural misunderstandings and
intercultural barriers and build trust, social
solidarity and cohesion in society.
Theoretical framework
Solidarity processes as a means of public
counteraction to the main challenges of today
The COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed that
security remains a major value even in the 21st
century. Humanity is ready to sacrifice the usual
benefits of civilization without hesitation for it.
The new virus has not only claimed more and
more lives, it has also shattered the illusion of
stability in a global world that seemed so strong.
The free movement of people, goods, and capital
around the world stopped in a few days.
Presidents talk about the military situation. The
residents sweep away monthly food supplies.
The virus has not only disrupted the well-being
of many people, it has also stopped the processes
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of globalization due to the threat of spreading the
disease. All the plans of the society were
insignificant in comparison with the main
problem of the time – the protection of the
country, city, and family.
There are certain objective social factors of one
or another approach to the problem. First of all,
it is the level of well-being. It is obvious that
human losses among the population will be
greater in the poorest countries without outside
help. The events of last spring show that such
developed democracies as Italy, Spain, Great
Britain and other European countries failed to
take the necessary measures that resulted heavy
human losses. All these countries differ from
Ukraine by greater transparency of management
procedures and the role of public control. It is
hard to say about the reasons of this tragedy:
public openness and the complexity of restricting
business freedoms or individual freedoms of
citizen or any other factors. The inability or
unwillingness of responsible officials of various
departments or services to be extremely
responsible for people’s lives contributed to
those consequences.
The social significance of both traditional media
and new ones increased significantly during the
pandemic, which raised many questions about
the ethics of responsibility. Juggling figures,
which push the limit for the introduction of
quarantine, is not the first time to raise doubts
about the existence of real figures for the spread
of the virus in Ukraine, or about a legitimate
suspicion of the side effects of such
manipulations of public consciousness.
The constant confusion with information about
the stock of beds for patients is incomprehensible
to an objective observer. There is opacity or
whitewash with the use of funds of the COVID-
19 Fund throughout Ukraine in regional media
(depending on the affiliation of the media to the
pro-government or opposition). The authorities’
actions to block the borders where the carriers of
the infection can enter during the quarantine
period are extremely insufficient, and they worse
the difficult situation. The situations
hypothetically controlled by another approach
turn into a situation of uncertainty in the absence
of clarity and responsibility of officials at various
levels. In particular, this violates the legitimate
constitutional right of each individual to at least
truthful information, or leads to the hopelessness
of individual citizens in the worst case.
Inaccurate information to prevent coronavirus
control, fabricated news hinders the global
campaign against COVID-19. The UN is doing
everything possible to prevent the spread of
rumors, knowingly false reports, as well as
statements that incite hatred and sow discord in
society. United Nations Development Program,
UNESCO, International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), UN Global Pulse Initiative and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies as part of the 75th session of
the UN General Assembly called on the countries
to develop and implement action plans to
facilitate the timely dissemination of information
based on scientific data and to prevent the
dissemination of false information while
respecting freedom of expression with the aim to
draw attention to the crime involved with the
dissemination of false information and deliberate
misinformation.
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Marija Pejčinović Burić and the Chair of
the Committee of Ministers, Heiko Maas
(Council of Europe, 2021) rightly point out that
“the European Convention on Human Rights is a
living tool for everyone to protect their rights,
which helps us to deal with pandemic. Today, the
Convention protects the rights of about 830
million people in Europe, including Ukrainians”.
The Convention helps to ensure that any
restrictions on our fundamental rights imposed
by governments to help combat COVID-19 are
necessary and proportionate to the threats we
face. Our freedoms cannot be taken away at will.
The Convention provides clear guarantees for
our right to information about the pandemic and
our freedom of speech – the freedom to speak
openly about what we think about the problems
we face, to disagree with those whose opinions
differ, and to come together with others to have
our voices heard more clearly (Council of
Europe, 2020).
The pace and scale of the spread of COVID-19 is
convincing evidence of how integrated and
socially cohesive humanity is. Modern
globalization has undeniable positive features.
These are incentives for economic growth,
virtually unlimited intercultural communication,
and freedom of movement. It also has its dark
sides, which are not talked about so willingly.
Globalization increases the vulnerability of
humanity, when regional disasters are rapidly
becoming a universal disaster and threat.
Ukrainian cities are experiencing an influx of
internally displaced persons in the current,
extremely difficult circumstances of life in the
conditions of external aggression and occupation
of the territories, in the conditions of the
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Ukrainian and European present. The problem of
overcoming intercultural barriers in
multinational cities is exacerbated along with the
many complications associated with COVID-19.
The social environment of multicultural cities is
not only a center for meeting different ethnic
groups, and the most dynamic space for the
development of creative thought and innovation.
It also accumulates the most complete palette of
sociocultural, economic problems and
contradictions.
Social problems of multicultural communities
in conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic
The urgent self-isolation of countries, quarantine,
deportation of foreigners and suspicious persons
suddenly became a reality under the pressure of
mass panic. The pandemic destroyed the usual
way of life of millions of people. The important
things of previous decades have devalued before
our eyes in a couple of months: the consumer
society has been transformed into a security
society.
According to media and think tanks, quarantine
measures introduced to limit the spread of the
coronavirus have had the most negative impact
on such vulnerable groups as members of certain
ethnic groups, displaced persons / migrants,
foreign students, and so on. It is not possible
always to take into account all the factors of the
situation due to certain complications. Those
social classes that have a situational impact on
the authorities and the power to impose
restrictions are the least affected. This
exacerbates inequalities and weakens social
cohesion further (Council of Europe, 2021).
If we look at the situation at the household level,
we will see many changes. People want to run
away, hide and fence off. These shocks not only
isolate them, but also make them afraid of even
their own neighbors. There are outbreaks of
xenophobia. People who have migrated to more
developed countries in search of a better life are
severely limited because they do not always have
access to transparent and understandable
information. Indigenous people often prejudice
them with poor language skills, non-compliance
with quarantine rules, and the spread of infection.
Migrants will soon be perceived as a dangerous
subject, almost a criminal, whose freedoms can
and should be restricted or abolished.
The problem of people which have long been cut
off from their homeland, native culture, language
and daily life for various reasons is added to the
above common problems related to the pandemic
for Ukrainian and foreign multicultural
communities. These are the specific problems of
the most vulnerable groups and individuals from
an intercultural perspective – settlers and
migrants from the Middle East, Central Asia,
Africa and Eastern Europe, who make up a
significant proportion of the population of
traditionally multicultural communities around
the world today.
What is the role of intercultural dialogue,
leadership, strategies, and participatory
processes in effectively contributing to social
inequality? What role do local authorities and
their territories play? What processes are
implemented in them in front of challenge? After
all, Andriy Baumeister aptly notes, “we face two
possibilities: the danger of collapse and the
chance for social solidarity” (Polishchuk, 2020).
New challenges for our human rights, social,
economic and institutional structures are already
emerging today in addition to the immediate
threat to health posed by the pandemic, with
obvious consequences in all areas of our common
daily reality.
Today, it is clear that the international
community has been actively involved in
preventing the negative sociocultural
consequences of the pandemic despite all the
obstacles. Urban space also carries all the
problems, contradictions and opportunities that
humanity and nations face and discover in the
21st century. The processes taking place in the
urban environment today raise a number of
questions: how to strengthen the shared vision,
cooperation, sense of belonging and participation
of citizens both during and after the blockade and
physical distancing? How to inform that
processes are key and they take time and
resources to achieve the results? How do we
reorganize our societies to take advantage of
intercultural potential in the post-pandemic era,
what do we need to do differently? What new
institutions, systems and infrastructures should
be involved?
Results and discussion
This requires a common consideration of how the
coronavirus can affect global processes, whether
the tests of the crisis are unequivocally negative,
whether there is a chance for a new
understanding of solidarity and the strengthening
of humanistic values, and what lessons we must
learn in the future. And in such difficult
conditions of today, the cities-participants,
embodying models of management of
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ethnocultural diversity, serve as a positive
example for other cities to build positive relations
between people of different nationalities,
religions and cultures. Although exceptional
situations require exceptional action, it is equally
important to ensure that democracy and human
rights, solidarity and cohesion regain a leading
role in our multicultural urban communities.
In addition, it is obvious that intercultural
strategies, which are implemented in many cities,
allow their residents to find their way to the
transition from “mine” to “our” city and open it
to other cultures. The introduction of innovative
intercultural practices (cases) ultimately benefits
not only the network of intercultural cities, but
also all multicultural communities. That is why it
is so important now to take into account the urban
model of intercultural integration, which is
honestly tested, edited and recognized as
effective by many cities participating in the
Program of economic, social and ethnocultural
integration of its inhabitants to overcome
common threats and create the appropriate living
conditions for the residents and representatives
of ethnic and religious communities in the socio-
cultural space.
At the same time, we have considered the
successful cases on overcoming intercultural
barriers. These cases promote social solidarity
and cohesion, give every reason to hope that
limitation the quarantine measures would turn
out the pandemic and everything directly related
to it were only as a reflection and accelerator of
real profound changes in the consciousness of
multicultural communities. We will see the
desire for intercultural dialogue and openness
with the desire of all peoples to preserve and
protect their identity and independence.
Positive practices of multicultural communities
in response to the Covid-19 pandemic
It is important to think critically, to think together
about how pandemic can affect European
integration, whether the crisis is clearly negative,
whether there is a chance to renew European
solidarity and strengthen European values in
these difficult times for the whole world.
Today, the Intercultural Cities Programme of the
Council of Europe is a practical embodiment of
these issues (Council of Europe, 2007, nd). An
intercultural city is a community where cultural
diversity is considered a value and the principles
of mutual understanding, mutual respect and
equality prevail (Afanasieva, & Rubikondo-
Khovanova, 2015:15). Currently, 176 cities
around the world apply the urban model of
intercultural integration, including cities not only
in Europe but also in Australia, Japan, Africa,
Mexico, Canada and the United States. More
than 50 cities are part of the international
network of ICC. National networks exist in Italy,
Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine
(Melitopol, Vinnytsia, Lutsk, Odessa, Pavlograd,
Sumy).
The Intercultural Cities Programme not only
seeks to expand and deepen the discussion of the
problems of multicultural communities, but also
to find the ways to solve them in the daily social
solidarity of representatives of different
ethnocultural groups and indigenous peoples.
This makes it possible to blur significantly the
ethnocultural boundaries between “majority” and
"minorities", which greatly contributes to the
mutual enrichment of “dominant” and
subcultures, localities, classes, religions,
disciplines and trends, and serves as a source of
cultural, social, public and economic innovation
in these communities. The practice of these
communities confirms that the modern city is a
dynamic environment that can change depending
on the existing factor conditions, both external
and internal. The active practices of intercultural
cities became an example of the response of this
situation in communities where ethnocultural
diversity is the norm (Afanasieva, & Rubikondo-
Khovanova, 2015:15).
The efforts of volunteers from the Reggio Emilia
city community (Italy) are the prominent
examples of this work, where all information
about Covid has been translated into the main
languages of migrants and daily contacts with the
most vulnerable sections of the community
through WAPP are maintained. The Erlangen
community (Germany) has created a special
pandemic information page. The page is
available in many languages, has an automatic
tool for listening to content by people who cannot
accept written content. A video channel has also
been set up, where information is provided on a
regular basis.
The City of Lublin (Poland) has created a special
Covid-19 page on the website with current
materials in English and Ukrainian, which is the
most common minority language in the country.
Oslo (Norway) has created an online information
page in various languages. The municipality also
supports NGOs working with vulnerable
minority groups by providing them with special
information posters and social media campaigns.
The community of the city of Montreal (Canada)
has begun to develop information and media
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campaign to disseminate the necessary
information about the current situation among
ethnocultural communities and immigrants
through various means adapted to this target
group. Four communication topics were
identified: access to housing; food aid; rights and
state aid; public health care instructions. (Council
of Europe, 2007)
Melitopol (Ukraine) involved children of
different nationalities in the creation of the video
“Stay at home”. Children raise awareness about
the affairs of their communities, share games for
children and adults in leisure time during
quarantine thanks to the city’s common website.
The video is the result of cooperation between
the city community, local schools, the Greek
Society of Melitopol, the Jewish community, the
Crimean Tatar Committee, the Ukrainian-Polish
Society of Melitopol “Poloniia”, the Center of
Mexican Culture “Estrea” and representatives of
other ethnic groups and communities.
Online meetings of city government and civil
society organizations were organized to address
the most important issues facing people of
different cultural backgrounds and migrant
communities in Sumy (Ukraine) and Limassol
(Cyprus).
The city council of the multicultural city of Leeds
(UK), which speaks more than 130 languages,
has released 3 short films with basic tips on
preventing and taking action on Covid-19
symptoms to ensure accurate distribution of key
Public Health England messages to communities.
These videos have been translated into 11 of the
city’s most common languages (Polish,
Romanian, Urdu, Arabic, Czech, Punjabi,
Tigrinya, Farsi, Slovak, Kurdish, Sorani and
Bengali).
In Dublin (Ireland), Covid-19 INFO is a link
created by the city council for people who may
find it difficult to access information because
English is not their first language. Active links
lead users to information in their native language.
The city of Cartagena (Spain) promptly
disseminates accurate information about the state
of alarm announced by the Spanish government
to families, organizations and mosques in Arabic,
English and French. Coordination with the health
sector is also ongoing to facilitate mediation for
migrants so that there are no difficulties in
understanding special emergency rules.
The above examples show that the response to
the situation is quite adequate for civilized
communities. Although the world was not ready
for such a challenge, the ordinary lives of many
people not only became more complicated, but
began to change for the worse as never before.
This was often influenced by the national and
world media, not always well-thought-out urgent
government decisions, or the position of the
World Health Organization and other
international organizations that were formed in
the wake of the situation. The cities-participants
of intercultural networks embody models and
mechanisms for managing ethnocultural
diversity, gain experience that can and should be
a positive example for building a higher level of
relations between representatives of different
nationalities, religions and cultures of other
multicultural cities in such difficult conditions
today.
This also indicates another extremely important
thing. Urban communities have significant
potential to create the intercultural public space
of modern cities in a digital globalized society,
even weakened by the sanitary and economic
crisis. Intercultural strategies, which are
implemented in many cities, allow many of their
residents to find their way to the transition from
“my” to “our” city and open it to other cultures.
That is why it is so important to take into account
the urban model of intercultural integration to
overcome common threats, as well as to provide
city residents, refugees, migrants and ethnic
communities with appropriate living conditions
in the socio-cultural space (Afanasieva, &
Rubikondo-Khovanova, 2015).
The successful cases we have considered in
overcoming intercultural barriers promote social
solidarity and cohesion. They give every reason
to hope that it turns out to be the pandemic and
everything directly related to it in the social
context only a reflection and accelerator of real
profound changes in the minds of multicultural
communities after quarantine measures are
curtailed or limited. We will see the desire for
intercultural dialogue and openness along with
the desire of all peoples to preserve and protect
their separateness, identity and independence.
Conclusions
Thus, the concept of cohesion and social
solidarity can be stated in the context of the
challenges associated with the problem of
COVID-19 from a philosophical point of view.
This covers a wide range of social problems.
Their solution determines cohesion and stability
of society.
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The analysis of successful cases gives grounds to
believe that the intercultural factor can become
the basis for building the urban social
communications, active forms of interaction and
dialogue, solidarity relations of members of the
urban community. That is why it is so important
to take into account the urban model of
intercultural integration implemented by the
cities-participants of the Intercultural Cities
Programme of the Council of Europe to
overcome common threats of selfishness,
indifference and even panic, as well as to find
appropriate resources of international
cooperation, ensuring the conditions of living in
sociocultural space, which will promote social
solidarity and cohesion.
Civic activity is the activity which social
solidarity is most manifested in. Active public
participation is a meaningful indicator of
cohesion and contributes to the spread of social
justice, efficiency of state and public services,
development of democratic society. This requires
purposeful activity and active involvement of
individuals and groups in the process of civic and
political participation. Unlike public
participation, social participation represents the
collective activity of people, the horizontal
activity carried out by them within the
framework of everyday life and aimed at
satisfying the public interest.
Solidarity and cohesion are the best indicators of
the fight against a pandemic, because it cannot be
overcome alone. It is equally important to ensure
leading role of democracy and human rights,
solidarity and cohesion in our societies because
exceptional situations require exceptional action.
“And even the best vaccine will not help here…
We need a vaccine of human love and charity”
(Korotkyi, 2020).
Solidarity and cohesion in overcoming the
pandemic cannot be imposed, nor can the spirit
of patriotism and respect for the state be imposed
or nurtured through various appeals and
declarations. Ukraine can win the trust of its
citizens and actively involve them in building a
democratic civil society only by sensible policy,
firmness and persistence in affirming the rights
and freedoms of citizens and fundamental values
of modern civilization, professionalism in
solving problems.
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