Lowri Cunnington-Wyn

Lowri graduated from Bangor University in 2007 with a first class honours degree in Sociology and Social Policy through the medium of Welsh. She subsequently received a postgraduate scholarship from the Welsh Language Board to complete her PhD in 2008. Her doctoral thesis explored the fact that young people who are not born in Wales leave the Welsh Heartlands at a rate four times higher than those who were born here, having an effect on the make-up of rural communities. An article based on this PhD earned her the Gwerddon Prize in 2019, presented by the Learned Society of Wales. Before her role as a Criminology Lecturer at Aberystwyth University, Lowri worked primarily within the social research sector taking up post-graduation roles at Wavehill Consultancy, Bangor University and the Welsh Language Commission. She has a wealth of experience evaluating European funded projects, designing impact assessments, specific research projects and conducting community consultations. Coupled with her academic background, Lowri is passionate about community work and has been involved in many projects within her locality.

Lowri has a range of research interests including the study of youth outmigration and its impact on Welsh speaking communities.  More recently, she’s been researching the slate mining community of Bro Ffestiniog and its social enterprises, assessing the impact of Covid on its economic and community structures.  This has also included an assessment of young people in this part of Wales and their impetus for staying in their locality. As a result, of this work, Lowri has recently been selected to be a part of the Welsh Communities Commission for Welsh Government, Commission which was established with the aim of developing future policies to sustain the Welsh language in those communities traditionally considered its heartlands.

As a Criminologist, Lowri is interested in environmental and green issues, especially environmental and ecological justice.  She recently published a paper on environmental harm and its impact on Fairbourne in Wales. She is hoping to develop similar projects based on these issues in the future.