Leisure: Pathways to Sustainability

In the current context of large social transformations, where humans experience a new relation of time and space, leisure and participation become key issues in the debate relating to sustainable development and life quality. It is important to consider that leisure and participation, while individual options arise in the dynamics of society and express themselves in their own everyday reality of various segments of the population, and may be understood as a social and cultural issue. Social because it concerns the man in society, namely, the relationship between the man and his peers, and also, with the environment, which dynamic is reflected in the cultural complex of certain region. It is cultural once approaching humans and their subjectivities, their habits, traditions, singularities and social habits.

The definition of leisure is dynamic and changes according to the social-cultural habits of mankind, as well as the perspective of different theoreticians. We have outlined the thought of Joffre Dumazedier because we consider him a thinker whose ideas and questions are important for the current discussions. In our view, Dumazedier was a visionary when dealing with the question of leisure from the perspective of a better life quality. Some leisure roles may be the rest, fun and human development – social and personal. It is stressed that the human development is associated with the development of the physical, biological and psychological capabilities, but, above all, the development of the sociability, freedom, autonomy, creativity, and the exercise of citizenship.

Considering this perspective and in order to contribute to the discussion regarding leisure and life quality, this study approaches the leisure as an important instrument in the conduct of the individual to their full development, which is a condition for a more active participation in society and, consequently, for a better life quality.