The WISERD Annual Conference has become one of the most important events in the social sciences calendar for people concerned with social, economic and political issues in Wales today. This year was no exception where over fifty papers were presented and we welcomed three fascinating keynote talks from leading figures in academia and politics.
Thank you to everyone who attended the WISERD conference in Bangor this year.
We were delighted to welcome academics and non-academics from a diverse range of disciplines and areas of interest to share their research. The WISERD Annual Conference has become one of the most important events in the social sciences calendar for people concerned with social, economic and political issues in Wales today. This year was no exception where over fifty papers were presented and we welcomed three fascinating keynote talks from leading figures in academia and politics.
Themes covered at the conference included:
- Labour markets in Wales and the UK
- Environment and Sustainability in Wales
- Health and Care
- Identity and Place
- Theory and practice of devolution
- Poverty and ethnicity
- Education and Children in Wales
- Migration and Mobility
- Crime and criminology
- Citizenship and language
To view the Presentations from the Conference, please visit www.wiserd.ac.uk/wle
Keynote Speakers
The Rt. Hon. Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM
Title: ‘Sut mae deddfu dros gynaliadwyedd/How to legislate for sustainability’
(This speech will be delivered in Welsh)
Dafydd Elis-Thomas is currently AM for Dwyfor Meirionnydd and was Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales since its first opening in 1999 until 2011. He is President of Bangor University where he was formerly a student and lecturer.
Lord Elis-Thomas was an MP (Plaid Cymru) from 1974 to 1992 and became a member of the House of Lords in 1992. His political interests are focused on the development of devolution in Wales, and the status of Wales in Europe. Recently he was appointed as Chair of the Assembly’s Environment and Sustainability Committee and Plaid Cymru’s spokesperson for Environment and Energy.
Aside from his work in politics, Dafydd Elis-Thomas has also served on the Welsh Language Board, the British Film Institute and the Arts Council of Wales, as well as working in the private sector as a director of an environmental surveying company.
Professor John Curtice
Title: ‘Is there still a basis for a stable Union? Trends in Public Opinion in the wake of Scottish and Welsh Devolution’
Professor of Politics at University of Strathclyde, conducts research into social and political attitudes, electoral behaviour, electoral systems and survey research methods in Scotland, Britain and comparatively. He is a frequent broadcaster and contributor to newspapers and has been a regular member of the BBC’s general and local election night programme production teams.
Otton Solis, University of Costa Rica
Title: ‘Subsidising multi-national corporations: is that a development policy?’
Otton Solis is a Costa Rican politician and three times presidential candidate, economist and Eminent Scholar. He served as Cabinet Minister of Planning and Economy and founded the Citizens’ Action Party, a third-party movement that emphasises social equity and environmental issues. The Citizens’ Action Party is currently the main opposition party in Costa Rica.