Cultural initiatives as levers for social cohesion

On 24 October 2023 from 15:00 to 16:30 CET, the Policy Learning Platform is hosting a webinar on the topic of cultural initiatives as levers for social cohesion. 

Trust and social capital are major factors for people's well-being, how well democracies work, and building strong economies. However, redistributive policies and public investments in sustainable economic development have not fully preserved trust and social capital.

Surveys have shown that trust in the government is decreasing and people are getting more divided. There are no easy solutions to reverse these trends. However, measures can be taken to mitigate them. One important way is to build and strengthen connections within communities and regions.

Culture and heritage are a big part of what holds European communities and regions together. Local and regional initiatives in the fields of culture and heritage can have a positive impact on social cohesion and help empower their inhabitants to address the challenges face.

The objective of the webinar is to stimulate reflections on the multifaceted social relevance of cultural initiatives. They can bring people together, strengthen local identities, integrate excluded groups, create employment opportunities, and improve well-being. These reflections can help in designing strategies to promote cultural policies as instruments to promote social cohesion. 

What you can expect

• Keynote speech by Lars Ebert, Director of Culture Action Europe, on European policy frameworks for the promotion of local and regional cultural initiatives as factors of social cohesion. 
• Presentation by Diogo Henriques of the Association for Development of the Superior Technical Institute (ADIST) in Lisbon on the LX factory transformation of an old industrial site into a “Creative Island”.
• Presentation by Caroline Couret, Director of the Creative Tourism Network on creative ecosystems in Ibiza and other parts of Europe for creative tourism development.