The Future of Social Cohesion
March 25 @ 6:00pm - 8:30pm
£10
Join us for a conversation about the future of social cohesion in the UK.
Across the 20th century and into the 21st, cultural diversity in the UK has been regarded as both threat and opportunity, a burden and an asset. Successive governments have tried to manage these tensions through introducing policies from assimilation in the 1960s to integration and multiculturalism in the 1970s. More recently, the term community cohesion has been used.
Our current era is one of political populism, disillusionment with democracy, distrust in civic institution, social media trolling and pile-ons, rampant mis/dis-information, and conspiracy theories. As a result, cracks in community cohesion are increasingly evident, generating social conflict as seen in 2024’s communal riots and increasing levels of Islamophobia and antisemitism in Britain.
Last year, the independent advisor to the UK Government, Dame Sara Khan, outlined the need for a new approach, including calling for a national strategy to institutionalise social cohesion and improve authorities’ capacity to identify, prevent, and respond to threats to cohesion.
Is this the right approach and how would we go about doing it? The 2025 Cumberland Lodge London Dialogue will explore these questions, the impact of social cohesion policy on people and communities, and if it’s possible to find a way of re-imagining our collective futures together. A panel of research, student, and activist voices will debate what ‘social cohesion’ might look like going forward.
Hosted in partnership with Goodenough College, the annual Cumberland Lodge London Dialogue series brings together panellists to discuss and debate a theme related to our Youth & Democracy project.
Tickets
Tickets are £10, or £5 for concessions, and include light refreshments during the event.
You can reserve your place at the dialogue by clicking here.
All proceeds from this event help cover its running costs and support our wider charitable work.
For any questions or enquiries, please email programmeteam@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk.