British author, Hilary Cottam
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15 October 2025

English social scientist on relational welfare

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English social scientist on relational welfare
In the future, it will be important to find new ways of working with welfare. We must put the individual citizen at the center of focus and build strong relationships across sectors.

That was the main message from one of the most renowned researchers and authors of our time, British Hilary Cottam, when she was the keynote speaker at an ESSC conference on June 24 in Aarhus this summer. Hilary Cottam spoke greatly about building strong relationships across sectors to create better and more sustainable solutions in the social field. She therefore spoke directly to the visions behind ImperfectCity, which is based on the idea of ​​finding new solutions to the urban and social challenges that European cities are experiencing today. Innovative solutions that are developed across departments and disciplines.

Center Manager Mikael Carlsen from Aarhus Municipality spoke about how the municipality works with relational and cross-sectoral approaches for vulnerable families.

Councillor Anette Poulsen added: “It takes courage to break free from habitual thinking and work in new ways, but it is crucial if we want to be successful in creating even better welfare for citizens.”