News and Blog

Celebrating Civil Society Research: A New Chapter

This week we launched our five-year plan for civil society research at a stakeholder event at the Senedd. Our new research will explore social and economic inequality, migration and multiculturalism, the foundational economy, the changing dynamics of work, and animal rights and A.I. Celebrating Civil Society Research – A New Chapter was attended by over 70…

WISERD’s civil society research the subject of a major new book series

The Series entitled ‘Civil Society and Social Change’ is published by Policy Press and edited by Professors Ian Rees Jones,  Mike Woods  and Paul Chaney.  This timely landmark will extend the field of knowledge, offering new criticality and providing an original set of perspectives on the challenges facing civil society in the twenty-first century. It…

New research reveals rights violations of disabled people in the Commonwealth of Independent States

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, analyses civil society organisations’ (CSOs’)  perspectives on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Over the past decade, the majority of CIS countries have finally ratified the CRPD, offering new rights for the region’s…

Professor John Morgan’s book published in Portuguese

Professor John Morgan’s 2019 book Philosophy, Dialogue, and Education: Nine modern European philosophers (with A. A. Guilherme), Routledge, London and New York, has been translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil by the UNESCO Chair of Youth, Education, and Society, the Catholic University of Brazilia, DF, 2020.

Gender Pay Gap Transparency Legislation in the UK: How have employers responded?

The Equality Act Regulations 2017 required all firms with over 250 employees in the UK to publish their gender pay gap (GPG) annually. This paved the way for employers to focus on causes of and solutions to gender-related wage discrimination. Mandatory GPG reporting was designed to be the first step in helping firms identify their…

WISERD hosts joint conference with Voluntary Sector Studies Research Network

During November, WISERD hosted a joint conference with the Voluntary Sector Studies Research Network, entitled ‘Civil society in the four UK nations: past, present and future challenges’. The day included a diverse range of papers from academics and third sector organisations. The first session presented research findings on civil society and the state across time…

Michael Gove and the Miners’ Gala: Not so wide of the mark

“Just think about it, next year, both the Durham Miners’ Gala and the Notting Hill Carnival will take place in seats represented by Conservative MPs” Michael Gove, December 2019. The Durham Miners’ Gala, established in 1871, is the largest annual gathering of trade unionists in the UK. Despite the last coal mine in County Durham…

Professor John Morgan attends symposium on contemporary Russia

Professor John Morgan was invited to a symposium on ’Twenty Years of Putin: How has Russia changed’ held at the Russian and East European Centre at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, on 7th December 2019. The invitation symposium brought together Russian and other international experts on contemporary Russia from academia, diplomacy, and international business….

Is there a future for Welsh-Breton town twinning?

Town twinning grew after the Second World War, forging new friendships between old enemies as civil society crossed borders. Today, though, post-war memory has faded, while Brexit and Eurosceptic politics sow new divisions. Here in Wales, will town twinning stay relevant – or be relegated to the past? “I can’t see a future for twinning…