In view of the great disciplinary breadth of the topics of “population diversity” and “social cohesion”, which include questions of demography, epidemiology, political science, sociology or economics, Regional Population Diversity and Social Cohesion in the Local Context had a clear goal from the beginning: addressing decision makers and experts in science, politics, society and business who deal with questions of population diversity, social cohesion, integration and participation.
Under which socio-demographic conditions and with which instruments can we mitigate the consequences of demographic changes and challenges? How can we overcome the vicious cycle of population decline, deficient infrastructure and economic regression? How can we strengthen social ties and the sense of local belonging within a region? What kinds of spaces can there be for people to meet, counteracting social isolation?
Thanks to the valuable contributions of the experts sharing their perspectives during the project, we provide an overview of the challenges, potentials and successful examples for local decision makers and administrations, who can rely on the up-to-date scientific data and practical knowledge of Population Europe’s Europe-wide network.
The project “Regional population diversity and social cohesion in local contexts” is funded by Stiftung Mercator.