Making connections : cultural and social cohesion in the new millenium : CIRCLE/CCRN round table, May 26-27, 2000, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The concept of social cohesion has emerged on political agendas both in Canada and in Europe as a multifaceted horizontal construct within which policymakers can address problems arising from postindustrialism, postmaterialism, and postmodernism, the three 'posts' often cited as sources of fragmentation within contemporary society. The papers in this double issue originated as presentations at the CIRCLE-CCRN Round Table in Edmonton, Canada. They explore the various dimensions, roles and contributions of culture and cultural policy in building social connections within increasingly diverse societies and communities, and provide perspectives and insights on a variety of related issues, including: cultural consumption and participation; the evolving dynamics among local and global cultural products and flows; the importance of cities as sites of cultural production and experience; the importance of civil society (the 'third' sector) in cultural and social development; evolving trends in policy-oriented cultural reseach. The paper by Brinkman and Smithuijsen deals with social cohesion and cultural policy in The Netherlands.