- Improving quality of life, promoting social inclusion and reducing inequalities are some of the objectives pursued by social action.
- Volunteering is one example.
Social action, what is it?
Social action refers to activities, programmes or policies aimed at improving the living conditions of members of society, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable groups.
With the aim of narrowing the inequality gap, promoting inclusion, guaranteeing access to services or encouraging employment, social action can be promoted not only by public administrations of various kinds, but also by NGOs, companies or even individual citizens.
It should be noted that the term social action also has another meaning, in this case in the field of sociology, where it refers to any type of human behaviour that has social significance and is guided by the behaviour of other people.
What are the objectives of social action?
The overall objective under which we could include all other issues that social action aspires to address is the improvement of quality of life, from different perspectives of well-being, such as physical, mental or social, through access to basic issues such as education, health or work.
While seeking to improve quality of life, social action also aims to promote social inclusion, which is particularly important for vulnerable groups, and to involve them in community life.
Similarly, another of the aims of social action is to reduce inequalities, seeking to end existing social disparities and promoting equal opportunities.
These types of issues have to do with addressing social needs and problems that affect society as a whole, with poverty, the digital divide, lack of decent employment and social exclusion being some of the most prominent examples.
Likewise, and as a consequence of trying to tackle these situations that we have been discussing throughout this article, social action also serves to empower the population by providing people with the awareness and tools to try to take control of their own development.
Also in line with human development, social action also serves to promote values such as solidarity, commitment, mutual respect and social responsibility.
Another objective is to promote both citizen participation and volunteering, which is precisely one of the types of social action that exists, as we will see in the next section.
What examples of social action are there?
Donations of different types of materials or goods (such as clothing, medicines or toys), participation in awareness campaigns, or investing in or financing social projects that may require financial support can be considered examples of social action.
One of the most obvious examples is volunteering, to the extent that there is even a specific day dedicated to it: International Volunteer Day, which has been celebrated annually on 5 December since 1986.
Volunteering is understood to be an activity carried out altruistically, freely and without remuneration by a person with the aim of helping other individuals or communities without receiving any financial compensation in return.
In addition to this commitment without financial compensation, the investment of time and solidarity are other characteristics that define volunteering.
Telefónica International Volunteer Day
One of the most iconic days for Telefónica and the ultimate expression of the company’s spirit of solidarity is DIVT: Telefónica International Volunteer Day.
In its 2025 edition, which took place on 6 June, and held under the slogan “Between you and a thousand hands, we make a more inclusive world”, nearly 20,000 employees of the operator participated simultaneously alongside more than a hundred social entities, highlighting the drive for social and digital inclusion with technology as a tool to achieve it.
