Keynote Address: How Will We Live Together?

As the planet grows ever more crowded, and smaller because of cheaper travel, the intermingling of diverse cultures will increasingly be the norm. One of the greatest demands which will be placed upon us will be to find ways for people to live together. The link between culture and social cohesion may be among the most challenging issues we will face. Culture may hold the key to finding accommodation within this diversity. This paper discusses how culture builds social trust and social capital, how it can promote democratic inclusiveness, and how it serves as a laboratory to experiment with social innovation and to test new symbolic resources.