The State of Vorarlberg on the Internet

"Social capital" can be defined as the social cohesion within a community. Friendship, recognition, appreciation and the feeling of security – all of these are capital, which are more valuable than money and certainly can not be bought with money alone.

Modern lifestyles, with bustling activity and time pressure, competition and the extensive range of entertainment on offer, have lead to a decline in the willingness to carry out activities which are either unpaid or do not offer some direct personal benefit. Personal relationships are becoming looser and less binding. Instead of engaging oneself in the community or in an association or even enjoying freetime together, more and more people are retreating behind their own four walls. The cement of society is breaking up.

We are taking concrete steps to counteract this destructive development and to promote social solidarity. Every person and each community – from the bowling club to the political party, and from the apartment complex to the nation – require sufficient cooperation and solidarity to maintain its own quality of life and in order to develop itself; in effect its own social capital.

We wish to strengthen relationships of trust and to bring people together, since quality of life is dependent on the social relationships, which each individual possesses, according to the motto: "Better together – together better".