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Future of Community Festival/Conference Central Saint Martins, College of Art and Design 4th March 2006. http://www.futurecities.org.uk/events.htm. Nowadays, politicians and pundits alike accept the widespread 'sense of civic malaise'. It is widely accepted that societal ties have loosened and that consequently there is less cohesion in society. Others have suggested that there is a fracturing of trust and cooperation in people's everyday interactions. Community, it seems, is either under threat, or has collapsed already. With the appointment of David Miliband as the first Minister for Communities, it is clear that the government takes the decline of community very seriously. But what does 'community' mean today and how does it differ from the past? Is the problem true or overstated? The conference seeks to explore the causes of community fragmentation - and the causes of the heightened level of concern about this fragmentation - and aims to critique some of the proposed solutions. As Miliband himself asked, 'Does community matter.and can the state do anything to foster it? Speakers include: Geoff Mulgan, director, The Young Foundation and Tony Blair's former head of policy; Frank Furedi, professor of sociology, University of Kent and author "Politics of Fear: Beyond Left and Right"; Richard Sennett, professor of sociology, London School of Economics and author "Respect: The Formation of Character in an Age of Inequality"; Jeremy Stangroom, co-editor, The Philosophers' Magazine; Michael Owens, head of partnership development, London Development Agency; Saskia Sassen, Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago; Neil Cummings, reader in theory and practice, Chelsea College of Art & Design; Ben Page, director, MORI Social Research Centre; Tristram Hunt, historian; Gloria Laycock, director, Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science; and many others.