Building Connectedness Within and Between Communities

The Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness is dedicated to building social connectedness within and between communities to overcome social isolation. We strive to foster connectedness through research, programming, partnerships and advocacy, bringing together the contributions of diverse scholars, students, advocates, and people with lived experiences.

We invite you to join us in this movement of building a society where everyone is valued, seen, and heard, and where everyone is supported in realizing their inherent right to belong.

Learn more about us

Hopes, Homes, and Havens: Stories of Seeking Asylum and Refuge

Hopes, Homes, and Havens – an interactive map of newcomers’ journeys – centres the voices and experiences of refugee claimants and people seeking asylum.

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Activist and Educator Kim Samuel Calls for End to Social Isolation; Puts Forward Global ‘Right to Belong’ in New Book

In her new book, On Belonging: Finding Connection in an Age of Isolation, Kim Samuel, Founder and Chief Belonging Officer at the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, takes aim at the growing crisis

The New Psychology of Belonging

SCSC Founder and Chief Belonging Officer Kim Samuel explores how belonging is a right. She looks to an essential teaching that she received from Nelson Mandela featured her book, On Belonging.

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The Social Connectedness Fellowship: A Case for Researching Belonging

SCSC’s Olivia Smith-Rodrigues shares her insights into the Social Connectedness Fellowship program and its innovative approach.

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Turning Classrooms into Communities: Building Better Education Systems through Belonging

For the International Day of Education, SCSC’s Rebecca MacLeod shares 4 key takeaways on how to build education systems with belonging at the centre.

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Vulnerable Doesn’t Mean Less Than: Giving Vulnerable Populations the Same Human Standard

Social Connectedness Fellow Esther Kim explores how people referred to as ‘vulnerable’ are left out when it comes to social connectedness, and what can be done to build belonging.

Read Esther’s blog

The Power of a Conversation in the Disability Community

How can we have better conversations within and outside of the disability community? Social Connectedness Fellow Diana Mairose explores this question.

Read Diana’s blog