THE FRENCH DESIRE FOR COMMITMENT TO ASSOCIATIONS:
A GENERATIONAL GAP FOR CAUSES
SOLIDARITY AND ENVIRONMENT
The Altruwe association has invited Ifop, a leader in opinion research and expert in marketing studies in France and abroad, to measure the degree of commitment of the French people towards 16 major causes that have been the subject of debate during the campaigns 2022 elections The study was conducted by Ifop Media & Digital teams on a representative sample of 1,001 individuals aged 18 or over [1].
IN BRIEF: 3 POINTS
- Behind the generic term ” Solidarity “ hides very disparate realities: some major causes (violence against women, animal welfare, old age) mobilize 3 times more French than others (migrant reception, LGBT + rights, GPA / PMA)
- Beyond the causes themselves, we observe a marked generation gap, particularly between 18-34 year olds on the one hand and retirees on the other. For example on topics such as Ecology.
- The health crisis and the international conflictdespite having generated some spectacular solidarity initiatives, encourage only 1 in 10 French to become more involved in associations (and only 1 in 12 young people)
IN DETAIL :
The results of the survey highlight three causes that stand out quite clearly from the involvement preferences of the French: violence against women (with a very likely involvement rate of 27%), animal welfare (26%) and conditions life span of the elderly (22%). On the contrary, surrogacy and MAP (5%), LGBT + rights (7%) and Reception of migrants (8%) struggle to mobilize. It should be noted that aid to warring Ukrainians, a topical issue, ranks 9th with a rate of 16% of very probable lawsuits.
Base: all ages 18 and over (1,001 ind.) Question n. 1: Behind some of the themes of the current presidential campaign, there are many associations that act on a daily basis. If you had the time and the means, what causes would you be more inclined to get involved? For each of them, indicate whether it is very likely, somewhat likely, unlikely, not at all likely, or you don’t know. Many possible answers
Ifop
The survey also reveals a gap between the generations [2]in particular between 18-34 years and the elderly (50-64 years or retired), for several important causes:
- Animal welfare receives 33% of the “very likely commitment to this cause” responses from young people between the ages of 18 and 34 against 18% of retirees alone, compared to 26% of all French people.
- The fight against student precariousness also mobilizes 18-34 year olds (19%) more than pensioners (9%) or 50-64 year olds (7%).
- Same observation for LGBT + rights. With 13% of responses of “very probable commitment” among 18-34 year-olds against 7% for the French population and only 3% among retirees.
Violence against women is another major cause of awareness also among young people: 26% of French people say they are “very willing to commit”, a rate that rises to 33% between 18-34 years. Conversely, seniors (retired or between the ages of 50 and 64) are less likely than the average French to say they are “very likely to get involved” for the following reasons:
- Protection of biodiversity (13% of retirees vs 18% on average),
- The ecological transition (12% of retirees vs 17% on average),
- The integration of young people (9% of 50-64 year-olds vs 14% on average),
- Reception of migrants (5% of 50-64 year-olds vs 9% on average)
- o the cause of GPA and MAP (3% of 50-64 year olds and 2% of retirees vs 6% on average).
Other differences appear according to the population categories:
Violence against women is a cause that collects much more “a very likely commitment” from women (33%) than from men (19%). They are also more likely to claim to be “most likely” involved in the cause of animal welfare than humans (33% vs 18%).
Diverging priorities which complicate the taking of political positions but which will have to be overcome in order to build the solidarity of tomorrow.
” Through these results we observe a very strong sensitivity of young people to these questions, in particular on the causes of solidarity and the environment. This shows the enthusiasm of this population for these CSR issues. It remains to be found how to get them to commit beyond their beliefs. commented Isabelle Trévilly, director of Ifop’s Media & Digital division.
Another lesson from the study: if the current context, with the health crisis and the war in Ukraine, shows the importance of associations, the French do not want to enter the association fabric (20%). Most of them say they focus on family and friends again (34%).
The current period …
+ / – 95% significant differences compared to the total Question # 2: Two years after the first confinement linked to the covid-19 crisis, and now with the war in Ukraine, which of the following sentences do you feel closest to?
Jérémie Mani and Yves Delnatte, co-founder of altruwe, comment on this result: ” The COVID-19 pandemic, then the war in Ukraine, reminded us of the importance of social and international solidarity. Many citizens, especially within associations, have mobilized and have brought out the positive aspects of human solidarity. However, this survey shows a general tendency to withdraw into oneself (34% of the interviewees) and difficulties in mobilizing, especially among the youngest!
It seems more essential than ever to promote new forms of solidarity and bring out future generations of volunteers. This is the raison d’etre of the altruistic social network “altruwe” and we are determined to redouble our efforts to create these vocations ”.
“Our raison d’etre is to promote altruism as a pragmatic solution to the challenges of the 21st century.”
Interview with Jérémie Mani and Yves Delnatte, co-founders of Altruwe Ifop.com
The social network Altruwe invited the Media & Digital division to carry out a study on the current period and its impact on citizen involvement. A look at this study and key lessons with Jérémie Mani and Yves Delnatte, co-founders of Altruwe.
Can you tell us in a few words about the altruwe social network, as well as the reasons and context for carrying out this study?
Altruwe presents itself, as you indicate, in the form of a social network – free and non-profit – which highlights the inspiring content and actions of those involved, for example in associations.
Our raison d’etre is to promote altruism as a pragmatic solution to the challenges of the 21st century. It may sound utopian, it sure is, but we have created a growing community of people who aspire to change the era. And who recognize themselves in the values of altruism, as the common denominator of many inspiring actions, whether they are in favor of biodiversity, the climate, against social inequalities …
Regardless of the cause supported, this community encourages action, creates vocations, overcomes possible obstacles, and helps everyone identify how they can help others.
Collaborating with Ifop, we tried to understand how the current period, marked by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine in particular, has had an impact on the involvement of citizens. Both in terms of time spent and the causes they wish to support. In this, it was very informative! In particular, showing a marked gap between generations on the causes to be defended.
All associations seek to rejuvenate their volunteer base and better understand the opportunities offered by digital solutions. And we ourselves, being organized in a 100% digital altruistic movement, wanted to better understand the causes that 18-34 year olds, the ones most inclined to join us, wish to defend.
If the current context, with the health crisis and the war in Ukraine, shows the importance of associations, the French tend to refocus on their circle of close relationships rather than getting involved in associations (34%), what lesson does it draw?
There was a trompe l’oeil effect with the Covid-19 crisis and then the war in Ukraine. Many television reports showed the mobilization of citizens to help caregivers on the one hand and Ukrainian victims on the other. We must applaud these mobilizations and even more the fact that they are advertised because, in other cases, we strongly believe in social mimicry: the more we witness altruistic acts, the more likely we are to become so ourselves.
However, the survey clearly shows that a third of French people are “encouraged to refocus on their family circle, which is more important than being involved in associations”. We can also understand them: with the pandemic and travel restrictions, it was difficult to take the field at the invitation of associations or even dangerous for your health and that of relatives that you could contaminate.
But we prefer to see the glass half full. In this case 10% full as this is the proportion of those who say they are “more encouraged than ever to take their time to get involved”. To these is added 15% (and also 22% between 18-34 year olds) for those who “would like to get involved but don’t have the time to do it”. They are the ones we want first of all to convince, making life easier for them.
What development prospects for Altruwe could you share with us and how does this study support you in some of your action plans?
We all know that the pandemic has definitely changed the way people work, particularly through remote working. But in part it also applies to the voluntary sector and the voluntary sector! There are now far more opportunities to help from home, both on an ad hoc basis (to gain a foothold in this world) and on a recurring basis.
Furthermore, we benefit from it ourselves; altruwe being a non-profit association, we have a whole team of volunteers who act remotely and do a wonderful job.
Therefore, one of the new partnerships we are most proud of is the integration into the altruwe of all vacancies from the government portal JeVeuxAider.gouv.fr. There are thousands of help options accessible with one click, at any time, even remotely. What convinces some of the 22% of 18-34 year-olds convinced that it is necessary to help others but do not have time? Of course !
All of this reinforces the idea that a 100% digital actor, who puts himself at the service of commitment and altruism, can probably bring his stone into the building. This is what motivates us every day!
– See the interview with the founders of altruwe on the Ifop blog
About more
Launched at the end of 2021 by two successful entrepreneurs, Yves Delnatte and Jérémie Mani, altruwe is a digital movement that promotes altruism through a free and non-profit social network, already supported by about twenty inspiring personalities (including Matthieu Ricard, Thierry Marx, Laurent Gounelle…).
– Social network, general public: https://altruwe.com
– https://altruwe.org (our concept and our inspirations).