Published: November 18, 2021
We would like to invite you to attend the online launch of our new major report, ‘Beyond Us and Them – Societal Cohesion in Britain Through Eighteen Months of COVID-19’, on Friday 26 November, 10.00-11.15am.
Join us for an online seminar to hear the report’s findings and ask: How has Britain’s social fabric held together in the course of the pandemic? What have we learnt about social cohesion in the UK over this time, and how do we build on what we have learnt?
About the project
‘Beyond Us and Them’ has been an eighteen-month study into the impact of the pandemic on social cohesion across different countries and regions in Britain, undertaken by Belong in partnership with the University of Kent’s Centre for the Study of Group Processes, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
This is one of the most comprehensive studies of the pandemic’s impact on social relations in the UK, involving a total of 39,000 survey responses, 61 focus groups and 256 one-to-one interviews. Taken together, the findings paint a detailed picture of how attitudes, trust and relationships between individuals, communities and institutions have been changing during a period of enormous strain.
About the launch
The key findings of the ‘Beyond Us and Them’ project will be presented by the report’s lead author Professor Dominic Abrams. This will include answers to some of the key questions that this research has explored:
- How did trust – in national government, in local government and in each other – hold up in a time of crisis?
- How has our sense of national and local identity been affected? Are we more or less united?
- What have been people’s perceptions and experience of discrimination?
- How have places that have prioritised social cohesion borne up in comparison to other places?
- We will also be joined by a panel of experts from local government, national government and civil society organisations to discuss the report’s findings and hear your questions and comments
We want to use this as an opportunity, not just to present our findings, but to kickstart a discussion about how we build on what we have all learnt about social cohesion in the UK over the last eighteen months, and how we can draw on the evidence and experience we have accumulated to make the case for investing in and prioritising work that helps to build and support more cohesive, inclusive and resilient communities.
We would be delighted if you would be able to join us.