FEATURE FESTIVAL AT FIFTEEN
Festival at fifteen O
NCE AGAIN, THE ESRC Festival of Social Science demonstrated the breadth and diversity of social science and the issues it is examining across the UK.
The 2017 Festival, held during the first week of
November, marked the Festival’s 15th anniversary. It broke records with 309 events held involving 1,348 social science researchers and attended by a total estimated audience of 36,500. The 2017 Festival helped audiences discover how social science shapes public policy and contributes to making the economy more competitive, as well as offering a better understanding of 21st-century society. While Brexit and politics figured prominently,
the events were as diverse as ever and covered subjects such as food, chickens, cubs, cocoa, drones, sign language, robots, online dating and much more, with varied formats including debates, conferences, workshops, seminars, exhibitions and film screenings. The events were aimed at a wide range of audiences including schoolchildren, parents, policymakers, artists, and general public. In Scotland, researchers from the University of Glasgow injected a dose of social science into a busy Saturday at Glasgow’s IKEA with research- themed activities for young people in an IKEA café takeover, featuring table-based games, quizzes and interactive exhibits; and researchers dotted around the store – sustainable food researchers in the kitchens and sociologists of dirt in the bathrooms. Over in Northern Ireland, Belfast social scientists ran a Brexit clinic to examine how negotiations are progressing and what the implications are, with particular reference to the future of the border between the Northern Ireland and the Republic.
In Sheffield an interactive event with members of the general public – in particular those from ethnic minority communities – joined people from third sector organisations, social and healthcare professionals to discuss the notion of honour and its implications, to break the silence surrounding honour and honour-related violence. Manchester hosted a special film screening of
Anna Lo’s memoir, The place I call home (2016). Lo, the first China-born parliamentarian in Europe, journeyed from Hong Kong to Belfast in 1974
“ 26 SOCIETY NOW WINTER 2018 While Brexit and politics
figured prominently, the events were as diverse as ever
and served two terms in the Northern Ireland Assembly, before retiring from her political career in 2016. The film screening encouraged the audience to reflect on the challenges that migrants face finding home abroad and combining multiple identities, as well as ethnic minorities’ engagement with politics.
”
In Lincoln an interactive day of free activities for families, children and young people launched a children’s rights initiative for Lincoln – to be recognised as a UNICEF Child-Friendly City. Staff and student researchers from the University of Lincoln helped attendees find out more about children’s rights granted under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and what is already known about children’s rights in Lincoln. Cardiff staged Significantus – a touring piano and spoken word project created by composer-
The 2017 Festival of Social Science, through a thought-provoking range of subjects and formats, demonstrated how social science is making a difference to people’s lives
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
