News and Blog

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…

Is there a geography of volunteering in Wales?

In Wales as elsewhere, the role of volunteers has been brought to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic as people offered their services to help address the needs of vulnerable groups within their communities. Concerns surrounding the sustainability of such volunteering efforts have drawn attention to the types of infrastructure that could help facilitate and…

The pit closures of the 1980s – part of Mrs Thatcher’s green eco-strategy?

The 1984-85 miners’ strike has once again hit the headlines, despite ending 36 years ago. This time what has grabbed the media’s attention is a claim by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Margaret Thatcher’s closure of the pits after the strike was part of a green, eco-strategy of the Conservative government. On a visit to…