This story has simmered in the back of my mind as I moved through the last week. While I wish to maintain a consistent posting schedule, I’ve also commitment to sharing reflections on my professional practice. This means sharing my real-life experiences honestly, even when projects may not go according to plan.

Last week I may have been writing from an ignited, molten place in my mind, this week I need to finish this chapter. Close the book and come back later. This learning reflection is unfolding in real time. So, this is the second part of a story that began with my incessantly (insistently) questioning mind.

I still don’t think understand what I’ve been through. But seasons change.

What follows is the remainder of a personal story about a time I had to Get the fuck out after straying from the beaten trail. This is how I found my way back home.

As always, I am grateful for gifts of appreciation and support. Thank you to those who have already contributed to my self-funded, reader-supported research and writing.

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What will you learn by reading this?

You, possibly nothing. Me: I am writing this learning reflection as a form of documentation. Through this writing I am processing my experience and the emotions surrounding it. I am not trying to make any accusations, but I am looking for the pattern here.

Let’s get back to it.

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I also write to maintain continuity in my posting and commitment to sharing reflections on my professional practice. This means sharing my real-life experiences honestly, even when projects may not go according to plan. Think of what I am about to share as one of those, “I took this chance, so you don’t have to!” type of stories.

The complexity of this learning reflection is unfolding in real time. So, I will be sharing my story in multiple parts. I am writing to process and understand what I’ve been through.

Remember that story about Icarus, who flew too close to the sun?

I actually have a tattoo dedicated to this story and one of my favourite songs influenced by it. For readers who may not remember: Icarus (son of Daedalus) fell to his death while flying over what I can only assume is the Mediterranean Sea wearing the wax wings his father made him. Icarus didn’t listen to his father and was seduced by the light and warmth of our planetary Sun.

The moral of the story is at once to let yourself play dangerously, but do not get too close to the Sun.

This is going to be a personal story about a time I felt too hot. Yet, I heeded the calls of my carers and prior wisdom, listening to my inner voice saying Watch your back. I hope to figure out how I found that middle path after straying from the beaten trail and getting too close to a cliff’s edge.

What will you learn by reading this?

You, possibly nothing. Me: I am writing this learning reflection as a form of documentation—maybe I will look back on it. Maybe I won’t. But this writing is me processing my experiences and emotions about those experiences. I am not trying to make any accusations, but there is a pattern here.

As always, I am grateful for gifts of appreciation and support. Thank you to those who have already contributed to my self-funded, reader-supported research and writing.

If you are not already, please subscribe!

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We will do this over three sessions. The first session will review their learning outcomes and competency framework for the next year. The second session is a 2-hour futures literacy workshop. The third session I am leading will define each participants’ unique value proposition for future artists-in-residence.

I have worked with some of these artists before, in particular, Maya James. James is the author of and emerging business leader. Now, she is using her books as the foundation for a community of practice by the same name. What started in monthly reunion meetings is growing into real-life community activities and actions.

We initially bonded over our shared educational practices and values for art activism and social innovation. We are both inspired to support cultural change-makers in navigating the challenges of anti-Black racism in their work. Each of us showcase our ideas in public spaces to at once negotiate identity and reflect on the meaning of cultural production and creative expression.

As always, I am grateful for gifts of appreciation and support. Thank you to those who have already contributed to my self-funded, reader-supported research and writing. If you are not already, please subscribe!

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A Black Artist’s Path offers space for refuge and reclamation of African American and Black identity. James envisions spaces and ways of living toward liberation of Black artists and their identities in public. One of these spaces, we hope, will be on Mackinac Island next summer in the form of A Black Artist’s Residency. An Afrocentric educational experience for artists working in dance, visual arts, interdisciplinary arts, and creative writing who want to develop their own club, association, or community inspired by .

I am relying on New Perspectives on African-Centred Education in Canada (2013) by George J. Sefa Dei and Arlo Kempf to explain the aims of Afrocentric education. These authors, inspired by Molefi Kete Asante, Paulo Freire, and Ivan Illich, all believe in the creative power of ordinary people to recreate opportunities for learning and societal improvement. Their belief in teachers as essential change-makers is as strong as Albert Camus’s belief in artistic responsibility.

These practices come from a social constructivist approach to education that thinks of learning as a process for meaning making rather than simply memorizing facts. A constructivist approach recognizes teaching as a political act that is part of preparing individuals and groups to become a part of a society.

African-centred education becomes a form of culturally relevant teaching in this context, where culturally relevant, or culturally responsive, teaching is aware of the social worlds in which learners live, make meaning, and exist (Dei & Kempf, 2013, p. 168-169). For learners of African-descent and within the African diaspora, culturally relevant education exposes the realities of society (i.e. racism, sexism, socio-economic inequality) in a supportive environment that empowers and affirms their identities. Principally, this means drawing from African visual cultures, landscapes, languages, and ways of knowing to achieve the expected learning outcomes.

I share all of this to preface the aims of my upcoming facilitated sessions. I see my role as one of custodian of the future. It is my job to expose the teaching-artists to the realities of making art from within, and for, Black bodies in the United States in a supportive and empowering environment. Just as teaching is a politically persuasive act, so too is making art. Artistic responsibility, as understood by Camus, is about making art as a part of civil society. For Camus, every creation makes the creator more visible and more vulnerable to societal criticism and exclusion.

With this vulnerability will come stories about their fears and desires for the future. This is why I will use narrative foresight methods to explore the worldviews and myths that underlie these expectations. Narrative foresight also comes from a social constructivist paradigm and can be used as a form of action research and learning (Milojević & Inayatullah, 2015). “It is through a process of constructing and reconstruction [of] stories, that their power to shape our (individual and social) reality becomes manifest…. [reframing stories] is social change,” (George Lakoff, 2004 in Milojević & Inayatullah, 2015).

While part of my goal involves ensuring participants’ development of their educational programming for artists-in-residence, I also hope to inspire greater possibility for their creative pursuits. I hope to inspire them to use their art to make social change for themselves and their communities.

What is at stake is not just an artistic endeavour, but also an opportunity for art activism. By dispelling their fears and taking hold of their desires for the future programming, I wish for my workshop participants to feel more positively about African American and Black identities and more certain about these positive feelings. After the workshop, participants should have a wider vision for what they can expect to experience in the year leading up to the residency as well as the barriers or challenges that stand to hold them back. At the same time, they will uncover any weights of the past with more compassion for themselves.

With this group I am at once co-designing possible, plausible, and preferred outcomes for their future work while reframing and recentering Black experience throughout. This project takes my professional service delivery in Afrofuturism outside of academic realms. So, I give thanks to the OCAD University School of Graduate Studies for sponsoring my experiential learning and travel

Stay tuned for post-business trip learning reflection!

Until next time…

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References

Camus, A. (2019). Create dangerously: The power and responsibility of the artist (S. Smith, Trans.). Vintage. (Original work published 1957)

Dei, G. J. S., & Kempf, A. (2013). New perspectives on African-centred education in Canada. Canadian Scholars’ Press.

Milojević, I., & Inayatullah, S. (2015). Narrative foresight. Futures, 73, 151–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2015.08.007

I’ve developed a public “Atelier” on Substack as a place to share long-form writing, research reflections, and practice-based insights on futures studies, systems changes, and design in public service and social innovation. My Substack currently acts as a reader-support space where researchers, policy professionals, and designers can explore what it means to move from theory-to-practice. I have been writing for anyone interested in futures work and innovation in the public sector.

Today’s reflection is about the launch of Danielle Nadine Pierre Atelier one year ago! This is a milestone contribution to my living archive of professional and personal development.

As always, I appreciate gifts of appreciation and support. Thank you to those who have already contributed to my self-funded, reader-supported research and writing. If you are not already, please subscribe!

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Around the time that July’s sizzling heat eases into August’s golden haze like it does now

Last summer, I registered the Trade Name, committing to growing an independent business. This marked the moment that my writing became more than a personal writing and learning practice. I’ve hoped to showcase my skills as an interdisciplinary research analyst, policy advisor, and service designer, reaffirming my position as a published academic author, qualitative research practitioner and designer working towards system-level change.

Over the last year I have been commissioned for system mapping, consulting services, and crochet design. These experiences led me to develop tangible and practical tools for my dear readers. These are:

• Future Forward Scales helps you learn how to design survey questions that actually work and is available as a free podcast and downloadable digital guide

• 75 Soft: Anticipation Curriculum & Challenge to help individuals learn how to notice and anticipate change

• Handmade by DNPA is how I introduced my crochet skills for commission and showcase my serious hobby

• Rapid Business Assessment for micro-sized and small enterprises that gives founders, and their teams, a strategic perspective on their operations

• Practical application of the Viable Systems Model as an organization communication tool

• Futurism & Teaching Intensive for A Black Artist’s Residency by

For those that do not know my practice intimately, these works have simultaneously resulted in and come from my reflexive writing practice. To date, I am using my Substack to test, refine, and showcase the methods and frameworks I use in my day-to-day work. It is truly organized chaos.

But an emerging independent consultant is constantly nimble.

Now I am focused on clarifying my product and service offerings through a keystone digital product that supports my facilitation of group programming and workshops about futures studies and futurism. I really wish for longer-term, multi-month research projects to carry the Atelier into its future. Yet, I am always wondering how I can better leverage my writing and facilitation skills.

My graduate research project is proving to be more enriching and enjoyable than I even imagined. Not to mention extremely well-planned and executed, such that my dreams are actually coming true. I have liked this work defining and exploring Canadians’ social cohesion and wonder how it might grow from seedling to sapling?

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Ask me how to integrate qualitative, relational, and futures methods into your projects

As I daydream, I am looking for opportunities that push me to define a single, clear promise to you, dear reader. On that promise, I will expand my sub-brands and community engagements. On that promise, and using art and design, I can better support organizations that fund and lead work in social cohesion, cultural policy, identity and inclusion, and community development.

Those interested in collaborating should ask me how to integrate qualitative, relational, and futures methods into your projects. I am at my best when I am synthesizing information and reacting to a problem-at-hand. I wish to help you apply rigorous and creative methods to your projects and experiment with new operational models.

What kinds of structured engagements might I design for you to help your teams think about the future differently?

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Do you need to ask better questions about attitudes toward change?

This podcast introduces the downloadable digital guide that helps researchers create better survey questions. The Likert scale is one of the most common survey response options and yet is often misunderstood. This 25-minute presentation will teach you about different types of survey scales and how to use them. After the podcast you will be able to design survey questions to use in your own surveys, assessments, and program evaluations.

This job aide and instructional guide will teach you to:

1. Differentiate Likert scales from other similar survey rating scales,

2. Develop sound survey scales to use in quantitative data collections, and

3. Critique and improve survey rating scales in their own practice.

Get the Guide

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The last little while I’ve spent my weekends as a vendor at pop-up and artisan markets. I’ve used this time as a type of market intelligence and participant observation for my independent consulting practice. I started with a desire to gain exposure to new entrepreneurs and emerging markers and artists. I wanted to know what “market life” was all about. Slowly, I realized I was exploring systems and communities. Ultimately, I found my way back to what I do best.

What I Did

When I have a problem to solve, I set to understanding it thoroughly and generating potential solutions. I have been wondering how lucrative my crochet skills might be and set to out to develop a serious hobby. I collected information from my family and friends before exploring online advice and jumping into my first attempt at my university’s spring formal celebration. Enjoying the experience, I signed-up to vend two more markets: Neighbourly Market and the Toronto Sunday Market.

I repeated my design and delivery approach: I brought out a set of crochet bookmarks, toys, and accessories (like hair scrunchies and hats) and set-up my table. I tried out different stories about my work. Many people were excited by my Sproutable toys and adored my talent for the craft. My overall design was legible! I had people comment on the holistic approach with a touch of whimsy as well as my cohesive use of colour. It all looked cool and cozy, it was great.

I came out of all of this with another commission (totaling 2 commissions) that inspired a subsequent sale. This also inspired a custom crochet pattern that I can further develop. However, I had to find out first hand that these types of markets do not guarantee sales.

Still, I gained new followers here on Substack as well as on a brand-new Instagram account. The Instagram account has 104 followers after 36 posts over about 50 days. But after spending about $310 on table rental fees (not to mention additional equipment and materials) and selling $150 in products, the math is not mathing! I only break even thanks to the commissioned works.

What I Learned

You can do everything right and still experience completely random product sales. A familiar lesson rights true here. Slow and steady wins the race—in other words, consistency over time is the key. I could also see that there were more business-to-business, B2B, opportunities with guaranteed sales built into those commercial exchanges when compared to business-to-consumer, B2C, models.

About myself, I learned I clearly have some natural aptitudes that I could be using more often. I was great at the merchandising and sales aspects as a vendor, but I really shined as a supportive friend and coach for others. My friendly and talkative nature combined well with my eagerness to share details about my projects. I told different stories about the work and asked others to share their stories with me. Huge cheerleader vibes.

I learned that I am compelled to problem solve. I daydream about how to use scant resources more effectively. I could help but come up with other commercialization strategies while I stood idly at market or over-heard others complaining of not selling any goods.

What I Noticed

I met the owners of event venues, event managers, market hosts, and other vendors. I tried to talk with them all—even if just to say, “Hello, hi.” Everyone I met wanted to meet like-minded people while making a good livelihood. We all were stepping out of our comfort zones and providing sweat equity, community services, and labours of love to meet our social and financial needs.

I could not resist using my super-power for synthesis and emergent design to generate new ideas with others. What if this was easier to do? How could we mutually assure our success?

Next Steps

My next steps are to answer these questions and develop curriculum and programming that makes positive change. I want vendors to invest their money well and make impromptu sales. And I want market hosts to have access to a pool of prepared, talented artisan vendors. More on this to come.

Stay tuned…

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Are you confident in your ability to change the future?

This podcast introduces a program made to help you think about the future differently. You will be introduced to a personal curriculum and 75-challenge inspired by the wave of #PersonalCurriculum creators and 75-day challenge fitness influencers. This program is different because it helps you anticipate and imagine multiple, possible futures.

I believe that an anticipatory mindset is a life skill worth cultivating. You do not need to let the future happen to you: you have the power to make a future you think is worth living.

This 75-day personal curriculum is designed to help you use movement, hydration, learning, and anticipation to build better futures. This podcast introduces the self-paced downloadable digital guide that include challenge requirements, prompts, and weekly anticipation activities. Using creative methods and repetition, this curriculum and challenge builds personal agency and futures literacy to help learners better anticipate desirable futures.

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Dear Reader,

If you are subscribed to this publication, then you know that I have been investigating Canadian social cohesion since its inception. Even longer than I have been sharing my learning reflections publicly, I have been learning about futures studies and innovation. I am exploring futures of social cohesion in Canada for my Major Research Project required to fulfill the degree requirements of the Master of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation at OCAD University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

I am generally interested in the ways that people work together, the ways that people include each other—and all of the ways that people do not. I believe that the things that I spend most of my time working on should be of benefit to others. I have commented before on how I work as a public servant and advocate. I believe that everything is political: how we govern ourselves is how the world (and our futures within it) comes to be. So, even as an artist, I believe my work should say something.

Naturally, I am interested in the goings-on of governments and civil society. What would you say if I told you that the government is just people like you and me? I became interested in how these groups were using social cohesion both as a measure of societal health and as something to which to aspire. I’ve come to know social cohesion as a rather unintuitive phrase that refers to societal unity and coherence (as I detail in my most recent writing on how I define the concept). My Major Research Project is asking: how is social cohesion negotiated and constructed in Canada?

In this learning reflection, I attempt to consolidate all my thinking on my research project to date. This thinking is in preparation for my co-creation workshops later this summer. I aim here to layout my systemic analysis of social cohesion, how it affects Canadian public life, and how I intend to continue my exploration. This reflection answers the five W’s of my work: who, what, when, where, and why (and sometimes how).

Another way to support me is to consider showing your appreciation with a monetary gift. You can do that through a secure payment link on Stripe.

Gift of Appreciation

Having answered the who and what of my investigation, when, where, why, and how remain.

When has social cohesion been discussed?

For my part, this project began in 2024 with my grounding in a relational axiology. That is, my finding value in relational knowledge that constructed through reciprocity, mediation, context, and accountability. This learning is documented in the Development in Practice Special Issue on Responsible Research (Development in Practice volume 36, issue 1, 2026). After that, I completed an independent study unit to further solidify my research paradigm and find suitable methods for data collection and creation, as well as data analysis.

I completed two horizon scans to see where, why, and how social cohesion was coming up in Canadian media and public discourse. The first was between September and December 2024 and the second around the same time in 2025. Now, in 2026, I intend to conduct my primary research and host co-design workshops to co-create a Canadian social fabric.

I think it will be important to socialize the explicit knowledge I have gained over this time with my co-creators and, hopefully, subject matter experts. For one thing, I have learned of Canadians’ foundational contributions to political conversations around social cohesion. Working on behalf of government, Jane Jenson defined social cohesion as the process of defining who is in the community and the shared values among the community in 1998. The Government of Canada revised this definition, around 2003, to specify that social cohesion is, “the ongoing process of developing a community of shared values, shared challenges and equal opportunity within Canada, based on a sense of trust, hope and reciprocity among all Canadians,” (Fonseca, Lukosch, & Brazier, 2019, p. 245). Later on, in a specially themed issued, the Canadian publication called Metropolis World Bulletin describes social cohesion as a concept, or set of concepts, in relation to which the members of a society cohere (2007).

Where is social cohesion discussed?

What is remarkable about this concept is the broad international interest surrounding it. The Canadian 1998 and 2003 definitions of social cohesion provide the basis of definitions used to this day in the Government of Canada and globally by the Council of Europe, European Commission, OECD, the United nations, and the governments of Australia and United Kingdom, with these being the most prominent actors on the issue (Schiefer and van der Noll, 2026; Fonseca, Lukosch, & Brazier, 2019; Anrunchalam, Mizukami, and Healy, 2016). Conversations and academic literature on the concept are dominated by voices from the West / Global North (Arunachalam, Mizukami and Healy, 2016).

Why is social cohesion relevant to explore?

I don’t know about you, dearest reader, but I am living against a backdrop of continued and extended crises—as Adam Tooze says, news and media have become “a collage of human suffering.” This is the age of polycrisis. It is in this context that I agree with Dan Swain and Peter Urban when they say that social cohesion is often taken for granted as a desirable and neutral quality of societies (2024). For me, social cohesion is a value-laden concept.

Social cohesion, as an ideology rather than a social science phenomenon, is associated with social engineering and globalization. In fact, some of our highest governing bodies have found evidence of foreign interference in Canadian affairs. Outside forces aim to generate division and weaken social trust between people residing in Canada.

At the same time, for nationals, social cohesion rests on the myth of monoculturalism. This myth favours cohesiveness, national specificity, non-negotiable values, singular political affiliation, and unidirectional sense of belonging. Again, from the Metropolis World Bulletin, in Canada “social cohesion is a collective [illusion] nourished by a combination of national ideas about sameness and institutional structures promoting egalitarianism,” (2007, p. 5). In all actuality, social cohesion is controversial, complex, and difficult to reach (Canada, 2007).

My investigation is supported by other political scientists. Dierckx, Vandenbroeck, and Devlieghere have written “Taking a critical stance concerning the interpretations of social cohesion is necessary by asking ourselves what the rationales behind the construction of social cohesion are, where the strengthening of social cohesion should lead and how we operationalise this,” (2023, p. 267). Secondary questions implied by my primary research question include whether Canadian social cohesion is at risk. Are we coming together or coming apart? What is happening at our seams?

How can social cohesion be studied?

In alignment with my research paradigm, and my contributions to science, I will be Causal Layered Analysis (using the Causal Layered Poutine I’ve created) to compare worldviews and Actor-network Theory to give agency to non-human actors within the system of social cohesion. If social cohesion is a unifying principle of governments, organizations, and communities, then it might be created through mass media, forms of directed participation, policy ambitions, and identity.

I wonder about the present Canadian self-conception. Do Canadians view themselves as the liberal and internationally co-operative citizens, as Jonathan Short has written? I know that the concept of a social fabric resonates. Might this be something we share or know intuitively? I’ve seen Statistics Canada use the metaphor in a multi-part report on youth’s sense of belonging and civic participation, labour market discrimination of persons with disabilities, police-reported drug crime, influence of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian labour market, and migration of Indigenous people to and from First Nations reserves. What else is stitched into Canadians’ social fabric?

Next Steps

While I’ve always been a joiner something has changed in me as I have embarked on this endeavour to understand social cohesion. What has been changing for me and how I work is that I have been breaking out of isolation. I have brought more people into my independent work. I have received original artworks inspired by my writing (thank you to of Hundred Acre Creation for today’s cover image), I have searched for original artworks in public places to showcase and reference, I have engaged in co-writing academically and creatively. As a result, I have made new relationships and developed new projects.

I hope that this type of innovation and exponential knowledge creation continues with my Major Research Project. I hope to use the trends of what is changing in relation to social cohesion to better understand how it works within different contexts, especially the Canadian context. My literature review and horizon scans have helped to show how Canadians define, relate, connect, create, consume, and destroy social cohesion. My co-creation work stands to become a physical manifest of these trends.

The social fabric will be the design-artifact that holds knowledge of present understanding of how social cohesion is negotiated and constructed as well as future expectations for society unity, coherence, and connectedness. More on this to come.

Stay tuned.

References

Arunachalam, D., Mizukami, T., & Healy, E. (2016). Creating social cohesion in an interdependent world: Experiences of Australia and Japan. Palgrave Macmillan.

Canada. Metropolis Project Team. (2007). Social cohesion. Metropolis Project, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Dierckx, M., Vandenbroeck, M., & Devlieghere, J. (2023). Policymakers on social cohesion: contradictory expectations for child and family social work. European Journal of Social Work, 26(2), 258–271.

Department of Justice Canada, & Canadian Heritage. (2002). INCLUSION FOR ALL: A Canadian roadmap to social cohesion. Government of Canada.

Doyle, C., Pierre, D.N., Prowse, C., Koblyk, L., Elliot, C., Congson, K., Inayatullah, S., and Oliver, D. “The Trojan Moose: Exploring Canadian Futures Through the Lens of Causal Layered Analysis (CLA).” Journal of Future Studies, 2025.

Fonseca, X., Lukosch, S., & Brazier, F. (2019). Social cohesion revisited: a new definition and how to characterize it. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 32(2), 231–253.

Jenson, J. (1998) Mapping Social Cohesion: The State of Canadian Research. CPRN Study No. F|03. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks Inc.

Pierre, D. N. (2026). A student’s viewpoint: responsible research is relational. Development in Practice, 36(1), 56–60.

Schiefer, D. & van der Noll, J. (2017). The Essentials of Social Cohesion. Social Indicators Research, 132(2), 579-603.

Swain, D., & Urban, P. (2024). Social cohesion contested. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, an imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

The Federal Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) just completed its 120-day consultation on Canada’s sustainable development goals. This consultation, a legislative requirement, was based on a draft strategy scheduled to go to Parliament in November. As per c. 33, s. 5(a) of the Federal Sustainable Development Act (2008), conversations on sustainable development typically focus on “the efficient use of natural, social and economic resources and the need for the Government of Canada to integrate environmental, economic and social factors in all its decisions.” Oftentimes, these conversations focus most heavily on natural and economic resources, but for the first time Canada is proposing to include cultural resources.

This inclusion in the draft 2026 to 2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) demonstrates the success of international governance bodies and civil society efforts to build consensus towards policy issues. However, to understand the significance of this proposed cultural goal for sustainable development, one must be aware of the international policy context surrounding it. This article will review that context.

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Consulting on sustainable development

The first section of Canada’s draft 2026-2029 FSDS commits to building an inclusive and resilient society through seven goals, including “Goal 1.2: Reinforce Canadian culture and identity.” This goal recognizes, as stated in the draft, “global consensus that culture is critical to sustainable development because of the many ways it shapes our identity, influences how we interact with others, and supports mental and physical health and well-being.” The inclusion of “Goal 1.2: Reinforce Canadian culture and identity” is a welcomed addition to the FSDS. Yet, as written, stands to reproduce siloing of arts, culture and heritage away from other economic and political activities due to its inadequate interpretation of the international policy context.

Organizations that typically engage on these issues on behalf of Canada are the Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CDEC), International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). While these organizations are well-respected, more can be done to engage additional arts, culture and heritage interest holders in government policy making. This is why this article will consolidate the international policy context. In doing so, this writing helps those looking to better understand arts, culture and heritage in the context of sustainable development.

Why include culture?

As stated in the draft strategy, “In a globalized world, Canadian content is becoming harder to find, so targeted efforts are needed to maintain its appeal, competitiveness, and pivotal role in bringing Canada’s culture, identity, and values to Canadians and the world.” Canada’s cultural and creative industries are comprised of a high variety of arts, culture, heritage, non-profit and charity organizations that, together, provide the means for participating in and enacting Canadian life. These organizations are essential to building trust, belonging and unity between the diverse peoples residing in Canada. They reflect the legitimacy of institutions that seek to re-define Canadian national identity and preserve narratives about our shared history and hopes for the future.

The 2025 Progress Report on the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy shows positive progress toward 44% of targets (17 rated as on track and 5 targets achieved). However, 14% (7) of targets required acceleration to meet commitments and 32% showed negative progress, rated as either deteriorating (9) or limited progress (9). Furthermore, two targets could not be assessed (tracking single-use plastic and self-reported rates of intimate partner violence) and one target was not achieved (federal public service workforce equity). There was a total of 50 targets included in the progress report.

The progress report shows the strongest performance across economic targets with the most challenges and fragility among environmental and social goals. Structural equity and wellbeing outcomes continue to lag. There were no explicit cultural goals in Canada’s last FSDS.

Global consensus on culture and development

As stated in the public document, “The draft 2026–2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) outlines the Government of Canada’s sustainable development priorities, establishes corresponding goals and targets, and identifies federal plans to achieve them.” This is a whole-of-government framework for fostering transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. The FSDS aligns all departments with shared priorities for dealing with climate change, building a strong, resilient economy, advancing reconciliation and inclusion, and improving the quality of life for everyone. It also aligns federal government actions with the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Documented in declarations made at MONDIACULT 2022, and again in 2025, UNESCO Member States agree that culture is foundational to sustainable development. A statement from Civic Agora explains, “Culture is not an ornament or a luxury: it is a driving force of active citizenship, diversity, democratic participation, and social transformation.” Such declarations call for the integration of culture and heritage with all policy and development areas. This global consensus is enabled by multilateral policy frameworks stewarded by UNESCO in the following image. UNESCO is the UN’s agency responsible for developing and implementing global standards on academic freedom, scientific ethics, cultural diversity, and heritage protection in alignment with the following frameworks:

• World Heritage Convention (1972)

• Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001)

• Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003)

• Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005)

• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015)

• UN Pact for the Future (2024)

• Global Digital Compact (GDC) for digital cooperation and AI governance (2024)

In the inaugural Global Report on Cultural Policies – Culture: The missing SDG UNESCO finds that recognition of culture’s role in fostering inclusive and sustainable societies is not well reflected in international cooperation efforts as only 46% of countries in the Global North and 58% of countries in the Global South have incorporated culture into their development strategies. The Government of Canada could take a leading role in the Global North by including culture in its sustainable development goals.

Canada’s Sustainable Development Goals

The draft goal to reinforce Canadian culture and identity aims to support arts, cultural and creative innovation, Indigenous languages and official language minority communities; protect Canada’s natural and cultural heritage; and strengthen national identity to build resilient communities. The Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture would become responsible for reaching a target for 56% of Canadians to have a strong sense of belonging to their local communities on the Quality of Life Index by 2030—last indicated as down to 48.1% from 53.5% by Statistics Canada.

The Minister will also become responsible for reaching the target to increase the real gross domestic product of Canada’s cultural sector by 4% by 2030. Monitored by Statistics Canada, GDP provides a comparable and comprehensive indication of economic activity across industrial sectors. According to the most recent reports in The Daily, real GDP for the culture sector decreased 0.6% in Q3 2025 as goods-producing subdomains continue to face challenges and jobs decline.

I wonder if the intent to grow GDP share is welcomed? I think that this indicator demonstrates overall sectoral health, not strategic government actions. Further, in taking steps to transform global governance, the Pact for the Future includes steps to improve how we measure human progress. One of which is going beyond GDP to capture human and planetary wellbeing and sustainability.

Historical Advocacy

Arts, culture and heritage do more than simply increase individuals’ sense of belonging or national GDP and this could be better reflected in the final strategy. Existing government policy and historical Canadian advocacy, for example the cultural exception within the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), demonstrate a desire to construct, promote and preserve cultural diversity and a unique, collective Canadian national identity. At the same time, existing policies seek to maintain control of what are perceived to be instruments of power in the (re)production of political and civil communities (Smith, 2025).

On the one hand, longstanding concerns about American cultural imperialism have resulted in policy action through CUSMA (Smith, 2025). These ideas are illustrated by Carole Conde + Karl Beveridge’s artistic work, Free Expression, 1989, depicting fear of foreign corporate influences after free trade agreements were first introduced. “Projects of national identity attach meaning to ideology, values, people, geography, artifacts and monuments in a manner that suggests a larger meaning, one that binds a group of people together emotionally, philosophically, and politically,” (Smith, 2025). Sarah E.K. Smith would invite more inclusive and deliberative construction of pluralistic Canadian national identity.

On the other hand, arts and culture have been used to build new connections with trading partners like Mexico and the United States. For example, the 49th Parallel: Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art/49e Parallèle: Centre d’art Canadien ran from 1982 to 1992 as a model for cultural exchange with the U.S.. Miriam Kramer, Executive Director, Government Relations & Public Policy, OCAD University, reflected on the potential of cultural trade saying, “As a middle power with a global agenda, Canada could be leveraging culture to push forward its diplomatic objectives. However, as they stand now, Canada’s policy and program mechanisms are not in place for it to do that.”

Next Steps

While the deadline for consultation submissions has passed, an updated version of the draft 2026-2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy will be considered by Cabinet and tabled in Canadian Parliament later this year. In the meantime, interested people in Canada and Canadians can engage with their elected officials and each other on the goals within the strategy. The inclusion of a cultural goal within the draft FSDS is significant, but more can be done to engage additional arts, culture and heritage interest holders in government policy making.

How might arts, culture and heritage inform policy consultation or program development processes?

References:

Smith, Sarah E. K. Trading on Art : Cultural Diplomacy and Free Trade in North America. 1st ed. University of British Columbia Press, 2025.p, 15-16.

Pierre, Danielle Nadine. “A Primer on the Draft 2026-2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.” A Primer on the Draft 2026-2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy | Cultural Policy Hub, May 2026. https://culturalpolicyhub.ocadu.ca/news/primer-draft-2026-2029-federal-sustainable-development-strategy.

This article is cross-posted from Apolitical, the world’s largest online platform for government used across 170 countries to learn, share practices, and solve common challenges.

Starting as two separate learning reflections before being interwoven, each author’s individual voice will be represented by their favourite emoji. These emojis represent states of being to which we aspire. Jenna the floating otter (🦦) and Danielle the chill dude (😎🤙🏾).

Fung 🦦

Jenna Fung is a digital rights advocate by day, flamenco dancer by night, and a novelist in the making. Born in Hong Kong, inspired by the soul of Andalucía, and now rooted in Toronto, she writes about rights and justice, migration, memory, grief, sensuality, and belonging with intimate attention. Her writing can be found at OpenMedia and her Substack newsletters, Jen Z issues and The Quiet Compás.

😎🤙🏾

Danielle Nadine Pierre (they & she) is a published author with 12 years’ experience as a public sector qualitative researcher, policy advisor, and learning designer. Danielle lives, works, and studies in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Tkaronto – Treaty 13 – Toronto Purchase) and uses grounded theory, systems thinking, critical analysis, and anticipation. They share their learning reflections as a way of amplifying her knowledge and expertise and as a way of working through ideas in public. Danielle is a candidate in the Master of Design, Strategic Foresight and Innovation program at OCAD University.

Our Days at DXC

Day One

Democracy doesn’t come free. It exists only when people defend it. It’s a bit of a cliché, but Canadians understand it now more than ever. With an immediate threat this close: Donald Trump, who repeatedly raises the prospect of annexing Canada as the 51st state. Trump single-handedly ripped the world order apart, and our time seems to have regressed to the law of the jungle. The hopes and fears he stokes in our country became an undertone of every conversation at this year’s DemocracyXChange (DXC).

From April 16 to 18, the 7^th annual Democracy X Change aimed to bring together changemakers from coast to coast to inspire bold action towards Canada’s most pressing civic issues. This three-day conference is co-hosted by OCAD University, the Open Democracy Project and the Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University. Coined as Canada’s democracy project, the purpose of DXC is to examine and address urgent civic issues through cross-sector summits, convenings, workshops, and policy labs. This year’s keynotes included on (dis)Enshittification and , the founder of Shorefast, speaking on place-based economies.

At the opening night, Cory Doctorow, a tech critic who coined the term ‘enshittification,’ walked us through the decay of the internet, stage by stage — from how we’re lured onto its digital platforms to how we become trapped within its systems. With haunting visuals on his slide deck, his vividly grim – almost cynical – depiction of a uniquely millennial experience of the internet took us through Dante‘s purgatory in just 40 minutes.

Day Two

The next day began with an enthusiastic welcome from Toronto’s . She didn’t wear her colourful blazer that morning, but her energy was as contagious as always. Mayor Chow moved the audience with small things that matter. Her words shone even brighter in her down-to-earth persona. Chow proudly proclaimed the pilot of the free morning meal program for students. “No students should study hungry,” Chow preached with empathy in her tone. She added this will help families to save $800 each year on groceries. By the end of her speech, Chow invited the audience to share great ideas that could make our city better – ideas that are simple, ideas that don’t require big money to create things that make people happy.

DXC is driven by the belief that democracy isn’t something we observe—it is something we make. Something we create. What might we learn from DXC about how social cohesion is negotiated and constructed in Canada? Echoes of the author’s most recent conclusions (as reflected here) were echoed by Zita Cobb: democracy is about building societal coherence. Cobb’s keynote was about how place-based economies can restore dignity, opportunities, and civic trust within (and by) citizens.

Looking at what was happening at the conference, we could see a type of democracy in action. The conference offered multiple modes of engagement with keynotes, panels, breakout groups, workshops, and art exhibitions. Intergenerational voices were featured with special emphasis on youth inclusion. The diligence and care taken to track conference goers’ democratic sentiments over all seven years of DXC’s operations were evident in the Democracy Futures Project.

Day Three

On the last day, we gathered at OCAD University’s main campus on McCaul Street. Saturday’s sessions were all about “Building an Economy That Serves Democracy.” Starting off with a conversation between Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu and host of CBC Podcast ‘Front Burner,’ Jayme Poisson, on “What happened To Liberal Democracy?”

Acemoglu named examples from Europe to China to showcase how the “... liberal democracy isn’t just the best model. It doesn’t even have a rival.” Most traditionalist government systems in history have failed to deliver things the majority of people care about. He illustrated, from an economic standpoint, how a seemingly powerful country like China was in an ‘unsustainable’ state that will stifle innovation and lead to stagnation as China matures. Conversely, liberal democracy pledged shared prosperity and economic growth; but that seems to have been challenged in the age of AI and growing authoritarianism across the globe.

We write these contextual pieces to help readers better understand the tensions raised in the following blended learning reflections.

Our Thoughts on DXC

🦦: As one of the younger people in the room, the reality that Doctorow created sat heavy with me. I’m likely to outlive most of the other attendees, in a world that’s only getting harder to live in, both geopolitically and climatically. The thought left me depressed for the first evening. I gobbled down my drink, and headed home. I didn’t dare to stay for the Q&A.

The next morning, I returned to the summit’s venue, where Olivia Chow reminded me of the time when I first migrated to Toronto. I’d make sure I only take two slices of deli chicken for my breakfast sandwiches, so the pack would last for at least a few more meals. This free meal program is indeed a blessing to families who are fighting food insecurity and affordability.

As Chow continued with her speech, I thought about people who can now go to libraries seven days a week. I thought about the Torontonians who can now bike to work and school, and come home safely with better bike lanes. I thought about how these small changes will make people smile and make their lives better.

I wandered into my thoughts about the puddles from melting snow piles around the city – because I walk around a lot. Snow got plowed and piled along the curb. The leaves from fall were still rotting at the bottom of it all. When spring arrives, it turns into a gutter of rainwater, sand and debris.

When it’s finally nice and warm, people wake up from their long hibernation. I’m no exception. Every time when I’m on a late afternoon stroll on a rainy day, I could only wish the drivers were Canadian enough to slow down. They do most of the time, but “if I were mayor, I’d clean leaves on the streets, so rainwater could drain better in spring.” Before I had a chance to second-guess my ‘big idea,’ and thought how dumb it sounded, I walked myself to the Toronto Star’s phone booth, and let them take my idea for their ‘If I Were Mayor’ series.

😎🤙🏾: I attended DXC as a member of The Cultural Policy Hub and researcher of public policy and societal coherence (cohesion). I was pleased to see the collaborative Jailbreaking Canada work exhibited on the opening night! What a nice surprise. This was alongside exhibitions I saw by Lusia Cruz and Jan Munske, showing the International Bureau of Honey, and Gulay Alpay, showing co-created fabric as part of Forms of Collective Strength.

🦦: Juggling between the sessions and my 9-to-5 tasks on the side, I would eventually be ‘forced’ to put my laptop aside in an afternoon session hosted by CBC Television host of The Nature of Things, Anthony Morgan. He brought a fun game to the room to remind us how to disagree better. We moved around the room as we claimed to agree or disagree on something. We argued over things so absurd as “should we pee in the shower,” to things so serious as “will you become a minister serving the rich if Jeff Bezos paid you handsomely?”

What do morality, consistency, and political opinions really mean in the bombardment of new information?

Between all the back and forth, and laughter, this live experiment revealed more about how we process information and choose our sides. The interactions left me spending another few days contemplating what morality, consistency, and political opinions really mean in the bombardment of new information nowadays. You can find my observations in my Jen Z issues’ story here, but now let’s carry on to my favourite parts of the summit.

DXC in Action

😎🤙🏾: There was one workshop that especially touched me, this was the Poetry as Democracy hands-on workshop by Evelyn Elgie and Inanna Publications. I noticed that participants of this workshop were invited “to reflect on what they have heard and felt through the course of the conference so far, and as a group, we will gather words that surfaced in other talks and panels as the basis of this reflection.” I felt called-in to this reflexive, relational, and auto-ethnographic practice.

🦦: We need to admit that the peril the world is in together, right now, is actually a result of multi-faceted factors. From neo-liberal deregulation, to globalization and rise of technology. These all contribute to the inequality each class has to experience and are all amplified by societal choices that are based on norms.

I am thinking of a friend from California who is just about to retire from his decades-long career in finance, worrying about the future for his children in their twenties. During his recent visit to Toronto, he asked me about my thoughts on AI. I joked about not having enough data in my head to make a conclusion yet. To be honest, I didn’t lie completely; AI evolves so quickly, any kind of verdict on its development nowadays seems to be premature to me. “Humans seem to have survived so many technological revolutions before…” he continued. He thought we would be fine, but that statement came with a question mark in his tone. “... but I also feel like AI is coming at us,“ he added.

I didn’t know how to soothe the fear that was eating him up from within, when I know I have no choice but to face the grand finale. The existing world has not prepared for my generation. “There should be something to help people transition better, perhaps.” I uttered.

😎🤙🏾: I brought a mixed sense of hope and dread to the Poetry as Democracy Workshop. About 10 other writers were brave enough to attend. The facilitator, Evelyn Elgie, asked, “How might we surprise ourselves over the next hour together?”

🦦: Human connection is what is often missing nowadays.

😎🤙🏾: And here we are together again, reflecting on our shared experience that afternoon.

The Workshop

🦦: In the hallway by a meeting room for another panel, was an intimate group of people – poets I should say. I asked if that was the ‘Poetry as Democracy’ workshop? The host responded with a warm welcome and the rest of the participants sat there timidly with genuine smiles on them. The moment I realized I actually just walked into a poetry group, I was slightly frightened inside. I’ve always loved writing since I was young, but poetry has always been words that stay in my journal only. I didn’t know what to expect.

😎🤙🏾: We looked around, nodding, we had already surprised ourselves. I felt surprised at how easy it was to connect with these strangers. We began with call and response.

🦦: Each pair read their words out loud. One went by “If…,” the other went by “then…” Some lines were just verbs of actions we do in our mundane life, some lines were like lyrics that sing our imaginations. I was in awe of my companions’ talents.

When we write in isolation, we confine ourselves in a vacuum.
But when two people write together, their worlds collide and create a new universe.

I paired up with a person who was looking for another panel, but accidentally stepped into the poetry workshop (he snuck out quietly after we exchanged our if-and-then lines). Our lines were completely irrelevant, but when reading them side by side, somehow, they created a kind of harmony that’s still grotesque in shape. We said:

“If the world is ruled by cats,

                                             The world will become less democratic.”

“If Columbus never discovered América,

                                          Democracy will be strengthened.”

“If English is not a dominant language,

                                        Public policy will need AI to cope with the speed of exertion.”

🦦: The workshop carried on with a few more activities that managed to send me straight to the hell this world is burning me in. In poetry, I challenged the behemoth that rendered my voice and dug a hollow in my heart. My words carried no sounds, but sweats and tears.

😎🤙🏾: I felt surprised at how easy it was to be vulnerable with strangers. My biggness, my intensity, are not usually well received. I am constantly surprised at the depth of feeling I hold back each day.

During the free-writing activity, I went to the dark corners of my heart. Even just this short glance into the darkness returned a roar of emotion. I noticed my face get hot, hearing my words read by another, my eyes burned. When I looked up I saw smiling faces nodding back at me, encouraging my contribution. I felt recognized, I felt akin. A voice read:

	“A deep breathe. Tense and release. 
	I start in my feet, 
	
	Up my legs, into my chest,
	Out through my head.
	
	Third-eye blind. A deep, dark expanse.
	When I call, he speaks back. 
	
	Hello? Can you help me?
	You need to breathe, BREATHE, BREATHE. 
	
	And now in my hands,
	I find who I am. 

	I am you. And she is me too.
	I am holding you.

	You can rest now.”

🦦: “In the place that cannot be, I’d tell the air everything that’s written in my mind — so the caged bird can finally fly,” I wrote.

It felt like we were alone, with a lot of people who might feel the same way. Like in dystopia – but I feel alive this way. Listening closely to the voices of my companions, we can hear the noises in their heads, the ghosts that haunt them. Screaming between the lines.

In this setting some of us set them free, while some gave them a life sentence in their journals.

Perhaps this is the power of poetry. It is the power of choice.

Perhaps democracy really does need to be a little bit more like poetry.

This co-created reflection was conceptualized and developed by Danielle Nadine Pierre, who also contributed to the original draft and edited the final version. Jenna Manhau Fung composed the original draft and reviewed the final version.

Parts of the initial drafts were created using AI before manual editing.

To support this work, I would like to bring explicit knowledge to the teachers to inspire their programmatic designs. This article will focus on relevant market intelligence for the development of arts-based cultural infrastructure in the United States and Canada.

Geographic Focus

This work will focus on the geographies of those involved: myself in Ontario, Canada and other from Michigan, Illinois, and other states across the U.S. Historical relationships with and enduring governance structures of the English monarchy mean the United Kingdom is often raised as a corollary or comparator market. Given the relance of this work to the African diaspora, I would like to bring in other markets for comparison in the future.

Please let me know if you have any references, like this one from Grenada, West Indies where a new policy framework obligates state-owned enterprises to adopt arts and culture organizations.

United States Market Size

In 2023, there were 2.8 million artists and 1.2 million other cultural workers, representing almost 2% of the U.S. labour force (NASERC, 2025a; NASERC, 2025b; NASERC, 2023). However, the supply of artists and culture workers is much more. About 7% of degrees awarded in the U.S. are in visual and performing arts, and other arts-related fields and artists are less likely to work full-time compared to workers in general (NASERC, 2025a). In any given year, over 50% of U.S. adults will create or perform a type of art, even as the overall rate of attendance of live performances and in-person art events is decreasing.

Canada Market Size

In 2023, culture jobs had grown to 669,600 accounting for 3.2% of all jobs in Canada—jobs grew in all provinces and territories except the Northwest Territories. The audio-visual and interactive media sector offered the most jobs, followed by visual and applied arts. Arts and culture have more impactful presences in rural Canada with most arts and culture organizations located in rural communities (Canada Chamber of Commerce, 2025). In 2016, about 75% of Canadians had participated in cultural activities in the prior year.

Industry Outlook

A third of all U.S. artists were self-employed in 2023 (about two times more than the general workforce) (NASERC, 2025a). Freelance workers have been found to make up the backbone of the arts, culture, and heritage workforce in other jurisdictions, like the United Kingdom, where 59% of the arts workforce is comprised of freelancers (O’Brien, et al., 2025). In Canada, Kelly Hill, writing in Canada, uses Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey results to show that holding multiple job is much more common in the arts, culture, and heritage than in other industry sectors (Hill, 2026). Multiple job holding in arts, culture, and heritage jobs has apparently always remained above the Canadian average, even increasing from 3% in 1987 to more than 4% in 2025.

Portfolio Careers

Gig-work has evolved and now portfolio careers are becoming the norm in a variety of sectors. Forbes magazine describes diverse portfolios of work that combine projects and interests as a way for 36% of U.S. adults to earn money beyond their primary income (Bastian, 2024). “This shift is particularly pronounced among younger generations, with nearly half of those aged 18-43 reporting income from multiple sources,” (Bastian, 2024). Portfolios are expected to become the norm as this approach offers more financial security, economic resilience, and inclusivity for many.

The Canadian team at Purposeful Careers highlight that “Creative types have been working this way for centuries. Artists, musicians and writers have led the way but streaming income was never the work style our parents promoted,” (Kastning, 2026). I agree, although I blame my parents less than I blame the Industrial complexes that have taken hold of commerce thanks to Capitalism. Perhaps Thee Artist’s Way has been misrepresented. Perhaps, it is in fact, the more risky path –risky because it is a path towards self-empowerment.

Cultural Infrastructure

It is no secret that arts, culture and heritage participation are good for our health and well-being. In promoting the new book Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health, Daisy Fancourt writes about how creative and the arts are interwoven with health and healing. Singing, dancing, reading, crafts, and cultural pursuits reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress for all ages. These activities help fulfill core psychological needs for autonomy and sense of accomplishment and can even strengthen connectivity between regions of the brain (Fancourt, 2026).

It’s this social development that can also stimulate economic development. Key findings from the Business/ Arts’ Arts Vibrancy Index show that vibrant arts communities and economies are driven by creative intensity. That is, communities that scored well on the index all had high participation rates, strong presences in local business ecosystems, and widespread economic growth across all industries. This is why many, including organizations like UNESCO, call for the centralization of culture in sustainable development agendas.

Cultural institutions organize meaning and shape global positions through museums, biennials, archives, digital heritage systems, and the creative industries. Zainub Verjee, Senior Fellow at Massey College at UoT and McLaughlin College Fellow at York U, writing for Open Canada calls this the Meaning-Making Economy. Artistic production, heritage districts, and cultural institutions can be core pillars of development (Verjee, 2025). Cultural sovereignty means controlling the stories and narratives that define persons and groups using cultural infrastructure.

Co-Creation

And so, we will set-out on our journey together to co-create a cultural infrastructure for Black artists (Thee Artist referred to in James’ series of workbooks; introduction here). I will bring techniques from futures studies to encourage our shared dreaming and tools from foresight, innovation, and business management to develop strategies and operational plans for real world actions. Together, we will use our artistic gifts and creative practices to drive positive social change.

Sound like something you want to be a part of? Consider applying for A Black Artist’s Residency on Mackinac Island, hosted by A Black Artist’s Path in collaboration with the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Click this link to go to the inquiry form.

To the rest of my dear readers, stay tuned!

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I was recently asked to describe a plausible future scenario (specifically, not a business-as-usual forecast) based on an issued I am interested in and then describe how I arrived at my future vision. I was asked to create a new scenario, one that I had not previously considered, on the basis that the situat…

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Sometimes social cohesion is about defining who is in community and who is not. Sometimes social cohesion is about wealth in equality, and sometimes it is not. However, it is always about the relationships that co-construct groups, often at the societal level.

I’ve finally reached data saturation in my literature review and horizon scanning. In this reflection, I share my updated understanding of the concept of social cohesion.

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What I Know So Far

In the lead up to my Major Research Project that will validate these trends, I have interrogated how social cohesion is defined. By late 2025 I better understood the common elements across perspectives on social cohesion. These were interpersonal trust, social support, and relationships among individuals; participation and openness among communities; and the trust and legitimacy of institutions. I used these common elements to structure renewed horizons scanning for Common Threads in media discussions of social cohesion: in September 2025, October 2025, November 2025, and December 2025.

By the top of this year, I was developing a critical understanding of social cohesion as a value-laden concept and ideology for sameness and conformity. I’ve observed social cohesion to be enacted through group and societal participation and individually performed identities. Social cohesion is:

1. A property of societal systems, encompassing the whole system.

2. About the maintenance of social order.

3. A principle for describing the unity of a societal system.

Maintaining social order requires system parts to conform and cohere to a common set of social values and societal narratives. The concept of social cohesion refers to the ways that dominant and subordinate social groups co-construct identities and then mutually cohere to shared commitments, societal projects, and expectations. Trust might be a manifestation, measure, or quality of social cohesion within societies, but it is an essential precursor and driver.

Provocations

My scan for definitions of social cohesion continued after my January 2026 synthesis that considered the costs of ideological sameness and conformity. I wanted to be able to claim global reach in my literature review and ensure that a variety of worldviews are reflected in my findings. My prior research and writing, of course focused on the Canadian context, included definitions that are also used by global NGOs, European policymakers, academics in the United Kingdom and across Europe, and civil society on the African continent broadly. Now I am bringing more references from academic, civil society, design, and government perspectives in Germany, South Africa, Belgium, and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Dierckx, Vandenbroeck, and Devlieghere (2023) would support my continued investigation. They place political interpretations of social cohesion can on a continuum from a minimal to maximal interpretation (Dierckx, Vandenbroeck, and Devlieghere, 2023, p. 267). “Taking a critical stance concerning the interpretations of social cohesion is necessary by asking ourselves what the rationales behind the construction of social cohesion are, where the strengthening of social cohesion should lead and how we operationalise this,” (p. 267).

More Definitions of Social Cohesion

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