Social Cohesion

In almost all industrial nations, we are observing changes in the way people bond and interact with one another. Typical manifestations of social bonds are undergoing transformation:

From the 1980s until 2003, the time that family members spend together has decreased by some 30 percent. People also spend less time with people who belong to a different social class. Moreover, modern societies are becoming culturally more complex due to migration and immigration. This often results in social segregation, which in turn increases the level of anonymity in society.

In many places, religion plays an increasing role and nationalism is on the rise. In addition to these rather traditional forms of belonging, new technologies generate new forms of community where people do not even have to meet physically. As a result, the nature of public space is changing.

What kinds of opportunities do new forms of community offer? How can we identify the changes in social cohesion? How can we inspire people to work for the common good and social cohesion?

Personal and Work Life

People spend more and more time with work contacts and with people and activities that might be useful to them. Hence, they have less time for purely personal friendships. The boundaries between personal and work lives are increasingly blurred. Competition seems to have become the universally valid organizational principle of our economic and social order. Does this focus on individual performance also find expression in our personal lives? In this constellation, what is the meaning of human solidarity and social cohesion?

Due to complex networks and process structures, the accountability and responsibilities of leaders and executives to their employees has decreased. We can observe a separation between power and accountability, which often means the dissociation of personal responsibility.

Today, an internationally diverse workforce is considered to be an advantage in many multinational companies. Could the international business world thus become a "best practice" model and pioneer for generating and applying intercultural skills? Do common tasks and goals in multicultural teams automatically generate intercultural skills which then also find expression in other areas of society?

Social Diversity - Boundaries and Points of Contact Between Social Groups

The intercultural skills of sophisticated "cosmopolitan knowledge workers" often only go so far when it comes to the social integration of migrant workers. Due to modernization and urbanization, more and more people live in a complex social environment. Increasing migration not only entails changes in the age and social structure, but also in the ethnic and religious composition of society.

How does social cohesion manifest itself in urban spaces? How do members of different economic classes, ethnic and racial groups and milieus interact with one another? Where do they come into contact with one another?

In cooperation with the BMW Foundation, a research project is currently underway that investigates the nature and kinds of boundaries between communities. In order to help prevent the segregation of ethnic, social or religious groups (and the exclusion that goes hand in hand with inclusion), scholars are currently researching the possibility of designing spatial boundaries as permeable membranes.

Because of the diversity and complexity of modern societies, we are tasked with finding ways towards a new, all-encompassing "we." This also includes quite practical issues: How can we enhance the social integration of children and youth with a migration background in order to have a more inclusive society in the future?

Responsibility in Society

Who actually belongs to society? Is society only the sum of individual groups or is it a greater whole? The marked tendency toward individualization and the rational optimization of one's own preferences can also be seen in the fact that conflicts of interests among both individuals and groups are being fought more harshly. Modern societies are characterized not by consensus, but by divergence. In our increasingly flexible and fast-moving world, modernization is often at odds with social cohesion. What can we do to counteract that? In order to function, a liberal society needs social cooperation and civic commitment.

The BMW Foundation seeks to provide ideas and inspiration to strengthen social cohesion. In order to live responsibly with freedom and democracy, it is necessary to assume social responsibility, even where it is not demanded and remunerated professionally. Our forums, workshops and other activities thus aim to inspire leaders to work toward the common good and a new public spirit.