News and Blog

Foundational renewal: Transforming reliance systems in the wake of COVID-19

WISERD’s third foundational economy conference, held online earlier this month, brought together researchers and practitioners from across the UK and beyond, to discuss how the foundational economy can be rebuilt, enhanced and sustained in response to new and old challenges magnified by the pandemic. Over three days, an expert panel of speakers and discussants from…

Do young people trust COVID-19 vaccines?

On September 13th, the UK’s four chief medical officers concluded that children aged 12 and over can be offered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination. There has been much debate about whether all children and younger teenagers should be offered vaccinations, with discussion about the safety of vaccines, consent from children and the need…

Professor John Morgan presents keynote at Italian conference

On Saturday 4th September 2021, Professor John Morgan presented a keynote lecture and workshop on Idealism and Realism in Educational and Cultural Exchange: International intellectual cooperation or ‘soft power?’, to the conference: Living together with ambiguities – Different cultures and common values?, organised by the Fondazione Intercultura Onus, Florence, Italy (2–4 September). An outcome of…

Wales is having a rethink about its place in the UK – could it lead the way for everyone else?

Anwen Elias, Aberystwyth University and Matt Wall, Swansea University Can the United Kingdom survive Brexit? This remains one of the great unanswered questions of our time. Politically, two major narratives have dominated. The first is that the UK is on a break-up trajectory. Brexit has revived the Scottish independence movement and destabilised Northern Irish politics. Clashes between UK and…

Active citizenship through community supported agriculture networks

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, including our food system. In the UK, the dual impact of the pandemic and Brexit have led to considerable losses in food and drink trade, closures of hospitality venues and growing food insecurity among the population. In front of this backdrop, the demand for more crisis-resilient…

Interview with Professor Kevin Morgan on the impact of Brexit in the Western Mail and South Wales Echo today

Professor Kevin Morgan, an expert in governance and development from Cardiff University’s School of Geography and Planning, is interviewed as part of a series on the impact of Brexit on different sectors in South Wales. The interview appeared in the Western Mail and the South Wales Echo on 03.09.21. Western Mail     South Wales…

Roma civil society organisations in Europe: Navigating uncertainty in times of Brexit and COVID-19

Although European leaders have committed to creating more inclusive societies through the recently adopted 2020-2030 EU Roma Strategic Framework (October 2020), civil society organisations (CSOs) challenging Roma exclusion are facing a series of new uncertainties: the withdrawal of the UK from the EU (Brexit) and the COVID-19 pandemic. Across Europe, the exclusion of Roma is…

New civil society research confirms children’s human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

New research by WISERD Co-director Professor Paul Chaney examines civil society perspectives on children’s rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The study confirms widespread violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1967 Israel has occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 1980, Israel officially annexed East Jerusalem…