Keynote Speaker
Eric Klinenberg
Eric Klinenberg is Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and Director
of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University. He is the author
of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality,
Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life (Crown, 2018)
Spaces of Equality: Facing a Pandemic
How can social infrastructure help in the fight against significant challenges facing humanity? How can social solidarity help in context of facing a pandemic? In his plenary, Eric Klinenberg offers a timely and empathetic blueprint for change, showing how social solidarity and infrastructure can help solve some of humanity’s most pressing challenges: isolation, poverty, inequality and the decline of civic life.
Over the past 50 years, shared spaces have created diverse organizations that have shaped the Lehigh Valley. As we face the pandemic, and social distancing, societies must draw on each other to survive. In addition to social distancing, the interdependence between individuals and across groups may fray but are vital to our survival and cannot be broken.