Welfare culturale e accessibilità. Un paradigma ecosistemico per la democrazia culturale

In recent years, cultural welfare has emerged as a paradigm capable of connecting culture, health, well-being, and social cohesion. This article expands this perspective by interpreting cultural welfare as a territorial ecosystem aimed at fostering cultural citizenship and social justice. An ecosystemic approach makes it possible to understand interventions not simply as the outcome of collaboration among a network of organizations, but as the expression of a territorial configuration of relationships, resources, practices, and institutions that, through their interaction, generate collective capabilities. Particular attention is devoted to the concept of accessibility, tracing its evolution from an approach focused on removing barriers to a relational, political, and cultural principle. Accessibility and cultural welfare are understood as mutually constitutive: the former defines the conditions for participation, while the latter creates the relational and community-based arrangements through which participation becomes meaningful and effective. From this perspective, cultural institutions and spaces emerge as infrastructures of proximity and cultural democracy, capable of fostering empowerment, social cohesion, and active citizenship, thereby contributing to the development of more inclusive, equitable, and participatory communities.