The events took place first in Cardiff and Swansea at the end of October and then Pontio, Bangor last month. The lively family-friendly event saw members of the public, colleagues, students and representatives from community organisations learn about the amazing work that is being done. There was a particular focus on showcasing the importance of interdisciplinary working, demonstrating how integral social sciences are to most disciplines and provided a fantastic networking opportunity for academics and organisations to collaborate on future projects.
Bangor’s Festival lead Dr Corinna Patterson explained, 'The Festival of Social Sciences is a brilliant way of celebrating and demonstrating the importance of the Social Sciences disciplines and how they are integral to understanding and finding solutions to societal issues, both locally and globally.'
With 17 stalls looking at a range of issues from; modern day slavery, young carers, artificial intelligence, climate change, the environment and health, education and social inequalities, to name but a few, attendees were able to explore the various interactive stalls to learn about the topics and research. The event also had art installations by Sarah Holyfield on the themes of medicine and society and social inequalities, helping to generate further thought and conversation. The lively event culminated with a panel discussion chaired by Andy McStay, Professor in Technology & Society, giving the opportunity for people to hear in more depth, examples of interdisciplinary social science research currently taking place on the theme of wellness and society.
The panel members were:
- Dr Hefin Gwilym - Universal basic Income and Wellbeing. (School of History Law and Social Sciences, Bangor University)
- Dr Myfanwy Davies - Carers Identities and Needs, Discourses Around Benefits. (School of History Law and Social Sciences, Bangor University).
- Dr Patricia Masterson Algar - Young dementia carers (involving young people with the lived experience in research and in the design and support tools). (Medical and Health Sciences, Bangor University)
- Dr Nathan Bray - Discussing Health and Wellbeing and the Work of the Academy. (Academy for Health Equity, Prevention and Wellbeing, Bangor University).
- Mr Simon Johns - Children's Wellbeing and Collaborative Working. (School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University)
Reflecting on the success of the day, Corinna added, 'We had never run an event like this before, it was coincidentally similar in format to the University Community Day, and like that, was a really lively day. We have had some amazing feedback from attendees and academics. It was a huge event to organise, especially between three Universities, so it was fantastic to see it exceed our expectations and showcase the importance of social science research.'
The Festival of Social Science is an annual celebration of research and knowledge about humans and society and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022. It’s an opportunity for anyone to explore topics relating to social science – from health and wellbeing to crime, equality, education and identity – through events run by researchers from UK universities.