Queen's Policy Engagement

The Future of Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland
2018-07-23 09:45 - 16:00 (Europe/London) | Moot Court Room, School of Law, Tower Building, Belfast, Antrim , BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Queen’s University Belfast in Association with Nature Matters NI
Moot Court Room, School of Law, QUB, 23rd July 2018
This workshop will discuss environmental governance in Northern Ireland in the context of the challenges and opportunities posed by Brexit. The aim of the workshop will be to gather views on the proposed environmental governance arrangements as set out by UK Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Perspectives are sought from all interested stakeholders, including eNGOs, academics, policy and decision makers.
Each topic’s discussion will start with a short presentation to set the scene (5-10 min), then opening up to round table discussion among all participants. Key points will be teased out and summarized at the end of each session – including areas of agreement, differences of opinion and where matters are left unresolved.
Discussions will be under Chatham House Rules in order to facilitate open discussions, whereby no comments will be attributable to any individual.
Discussions will inform the development of a sectoral position on environmental governance options for NI and the specific Defra consultation on environmental governance and principles (closing date: 2nd August), as well as the broader QUB Environment and Brexit research agenda. A workshop report will be created and made available online.
To register, please click here.

Public Seminar: The Future of UK Borders after Brexit
2018-08-31 13:30 - 15:00 | Moot Court Room, School of Law, Tower Building, Belfast, Antrim , BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
The Centre for International Borders Research at Queen’s University Belfast is delighted to host Shanker Singham (Institute of Economic Affairs) and Tony Smith (Fortinus Global) for a public seminar on The Future of UK Borders after Brexit on Friday 31 August 2018 at 1.30pm.
To register, please click here.
The event will begin with opening comments from Dr Katy Hayward (Queen’s University Belfast) followed by a presentation from our two guests. There will be substantial time for a Question and Answer session.
A sandwich lunch will be provided at 1.00pm.
Time: 1pm lunch for 1.30pm start. The event will conclude by 3pm.
Date: Friday 31st August 2018
Venue: Moot Law Court, 2nd floor, Main Tower, Queen’s University Belfast
The speakers:
Shanker Singham is the Director of the International Trade and Competition Unit (ITCU) of the Institute of Economic Affairs. The ITCU is focused on providing advice to the UK government, industry and media on the Brexit negotiations, among other trade policy issues. As one of the world’s leading trade and competition lawyers, he has worked on the privatisation of the UK electricity market, the transition of the Soviet, Central and Eastern European economies and the apertura in Latin America. He has worked on the accession of Poland and Hungary to the EU, the WTO accessions of a number of countries, including China and Russia. https://iea.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Shanker-Singham-about.pdf
Tony Smith CBE is the former Director General of UK Border Force. Tony has the unique distinction of having served as Head of Borders in two different countries – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (2000 – 2003) and the UK Immigration Service (2005 – 2007). He played a significant role in the operational response to the terrorist attacks in North America on 9/11 and in the UK on 7/7. Since retiring from government service, Tony has provided strategic and operational advice to senior officials and Ministers on modern border management techniques and immigration reform programmes and strategies in Australia, Malaysia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. https://www.fortinusglobal.com/our-team/
Katy Hayward is Reader in Sociology and a Fellow of the Senator George Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security & Justice at Queen’s University. She has 20 years’ research experience on the impact of the EU on the Irish border and peace process, including as a partner on the current Canadian SSHRC-funded ‘Borders in Globalization’ programme. She is the author of over 130 publications, including the most recent report Brexit at the Border: voices from local communities in the Central Border Region of Ireland/Northern Ireland (2018).
Queen’s is pleased to acknowledge funding support from the ESRC UK in a Changing Europe initiative.

QPol September Brexit Clinic
2018-09-20 12:30 - 14:00 | Moot Court Room, School of Law, Tower Building, Belfast, Antrim , BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
The next QPol Brexit Clinic will take place on Thursday 20 September at 12.30pm in the Moot Court Room, Main Site Tower, Queen’s University.
To register, please click here.

October Brexit Clinic
2018-10-17 12:30 - 14:00 | Antrim
Queen’s Policy Engagement (QPol ) invites you to the latest in its series of ‘Brexit Clinics’ bringing together academic experts and stakeholders to discuss the issues facing the UK, to consider the particular challenges the process poses for Northern Ireland and to provide informed insights into the process.
Whatever your particular interest is in Brexit and the EU, come along to the October Brexit Clinic on Wednesday 17 October at 12.30pm. The Clinic will consist of introductory comments on the process by senior Queen’s academics Professor David Phinnemore, Dr Viviane Gravey and Dr Mary Hobbs and will be followed by a Q+A session and discussion addressing issues raised by participants.
Places are limited so please register early. Coffee and sandwiches from 12 noon.

Exploring a "Blue" Brexit
2018-10-23 13:00 - 14:00 | The McClay Library, 10 College Park Avenue, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1LP, United Kingdom
What are the possible impacts of Brexit on the marine environment?
The McClay Library are hosting a lunchtime talk which looks to explore some of the known unknowns in a post Brexit world as well as highlighting the importance of international agreements and environmental targets.
Ellen MacMahon coordinates the Northern Ireland Marine Task Force (NIMTF), a coalition of 10 non-government environmental organisations with the support of approximately 100,000 local people. NIMTF are working towards healthy, productive and resilient seas for Northern Ireland.
The talk will take place in The Auditorium.
Tea and Coffee will be provided. To register, please click here.

Corporate social responsibility: A force for good
2018-11-06 10:00 - 12:30 | Riddel Hall, 185 Stranmillis Road , Belfast, Co Antrim , BT9 5EE, United Kingdom
Consumers consider more than just the quality of goods and services when choosing a brand. Many people also want to know that the company they are buying from is ethical, and take into account the social, human, economic and environmental impact of their business. In fact, some will even turn their back on their favourite companies if they believe they’re not taking a stand on societal and environmental issues.
This workshop looks at the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR), which is a way for companies to take responsibility for the social and environmental impacts of their business operations. The workshop will in particular explore the relationship between a business’s social responsibility and an individual’s personal responsibility. For example, if we want businesses to be a force for good, then we need to have a clearer understanding of the impact and influence of business leaders in shaping their organisation’s role in society.
At the session a panel of senior managers and business leaders will talk briefly about both corporate and personal responsibility. After this there will be a small group exercise relating to the panel discussion. The session will conclude with a question and answer session.
This event is for young people, schools and colleges and is invitation only.

November Brexit Clinic - Borders, Backstops and Brexit
2018-11-06 12:30 | LAN 01/052, Lanyon Building, QUB, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NF, United Kingdom
Not bored yet with Brexit? Then come along and join in the discussion around the issues facing the UK and the particular challenges that Brexit poses for Northern Ireland.
With academics from the Queen’s on Brexit initiative and part of the 2018 ESRC Festival of Social Science.
To register, please click here.

History counts: Using numbers to understand the past
2018-11-07 10:00 - 15:00 | Riddel Hall, 185 Stranmillis Road , Belfast, Co Antrim , BT9 5EE, United Kingdom
Ever wondered how data can shine a light on the past? Data is a very important part of studying history. For example, the UK census has been collected every 10 years since 1801, and reading it can tell us a huge amount about what life was like a hundred years ago. It can tell us how many people lived in different places, what jobs they did, how long they lived for and how cramped their houses were.
This workshop aims to introduce A-level history students to economics-based approaches to studying history, and show them how quantitative historical data can be used to shine a light on historical debates.
The event will consist of a one-day workshop divided into three sessions. The first session will introduce students to the field of economic history, and explain how it can improve our understanding of the past. The second session will talk about the power of numbers, and how data can be used to investigate historical phenomena and long-term trends. After lunch, the third session will focus on the economic history research conducted at Queen’s University Centre for Economic History (QUCEH). Academics will talk to students about their own research, and encourage them to comment and ask questions.
This event is for young people, schools and colleges and is invitation only.

Best practice in Arts Management and Cultural Policymaking
2018-11-07 17:00 - 19:00 | Brian Friel Theatre, 20 University Road, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Calling all arts and cultural professionals!
Join us as we showcase new research that questions the notion of ‘best practice’ in the arts and cultural sector.
With Dr Victoria Durrer. To register please click here,

Climate change: how do we respond?
2018-11-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Are you passionate about combatting climate change?
This public event offers a space for shared learning and dialogue around climate change and societal responses to the key challenges facing our society and planet.
With Dr Amanda Slevin. To register please click here.

Thinking in time: the developmental psychology of future-thinking
2018-11-09 14:30 - 15:30 | Antrim
Following a discussion about how future-related decision-making changes as children get older, we invite you to take part in a live experiment where you can try out a variety of the computer-based tasks used in our research.
With Professor Teresa McCormack from Queen’s University Belfast. To register please click here.

Lecture by Conor McGinn MP, Labour Party
2018-11-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Antrim
As part of Queen’s University Belfast’s Policy Engagement Lecture Series, Mr Conor McGinn MP will be visiting Queen’s on Thursday 22 November to deliver a lecture entitled “Rights, Responsibilities and Respect: Building the Common Good.”

Simon Coveney: 'Maintaining the habit of Co-operation'
2019-01-09 18:30 - 20:00 | Antrim
Queen’s University Policy Engagement Lecture Series provides a platform for meaningful discussion, engaged debate, and open dialogue on a range of today’s most pressing issues. It honours the commitments made in the University’s Social Charter to engage civic conversations, knowledge exchange and intercultural dialogue.

Public Event: ‘Brexit’ – Trade Union Perspectives
2019-01-30 18:00 - 19:30 | Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Trade Union panel and open floor discussion on the UK withdrawal from the EU. To register, click here.
(Tea/coffee served from 5.30pm – car parking available in the car park at the back of the QUB main building)
As part of the university’s ongoing contribution to the debates around UK withdrawal from the EU, there will be an event open to the public exploring the views within the trade union movement on how best to defend and advance the interests of their members in the present state of relations between the UK and the EU.
The event will be chaired by Merav Amir, President of the University & College Union at Queen’s.
Katy Hayward (leading Queen’s expert on ‘Brexit’) will start off the discussion by giving a brief ‘user friendly’ technical summary of where negotiations and future prospects are at the time of the event.
That will be followed by opening comments from a panel of leading trade union speakers representing a range of positions within the trade union movement on ‘Brexit’, including the Irish and GB dimensions alongside the focus on Northern Ireland:

Owen Reidy – Assistant General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Davy Thompson – Regional Coordinating Officer, Unite
Alex Gordon – Past President, RMT
Paddy Mackel – President, Belfast & District Trades Union Council

Speakers will give their views (10 minutes each) on how to protect and advance trade union interests in the coming year .
The discussion will then be opened up to the floor.

The Purpose of Universities Today - Public Lecture
2019-02-14 17:30 - 19:00 | Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Speaker:
Professor Shane O’Neill
Shane O’Neill is a Visiting Research Professor at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast. He is a political philosopher and critical social theorist who worked at Queen’s from 1994 to 2016. He served for an extended term on the University Executive, as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and he was instrumental in establishing the Institute. Since 2016 he has been Professor of Political Theory at Keele University in England, where he also serves as Pro Vice-Chancellor for Planning and Advancement and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
About the Lecture
Public debates about the role of universities have tended to be polarised in recent years. On the one hand neo-liberal views present universities as institutions with a singular focus, which is to compete with each other by demonstrating how effective they are at equipping students or research partners to succeed in market society. On the other hand, traditional accounts of the intrinsic value of university education and research that have challenged such neo-liberal thinking can often appear to be either nostalgic or elitist. We need to reconstruct the purpose of the university today by moving beyond this unhelpful debate. The argument presented here suggests that the most fruitful way to do this is to present universities as instruments of social freedom.
Tea and coffee will be served in the Canada Room from 5.00pm.
The lecture will take place in the Council Chamber at 5.30pm.

Enhancing the democratic debate in the era of fake news with Stephen Nolan
2019-02-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Antrim
Queen’s University Belfast is delighted to welcome Stephen Nolan, radio and television presenter, to deliver a public lecture at the University on 26 February at 6.00pm in the Emeleus Lecture Theatre.
To register, please click here.

"The Border: The Legacy of a Century of Anglo-Irish Politics" - A Public Talk by Professor Diarmaid Ferriter (UCD)
2019-03-11 17:45 - 19:00 | Bell Lecture Theatre, Lanyon Building, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Join us for the latest in our series of public talks, this time being given by Professor Diarmaid Ferriter from University College Dublin.
Diarmaid Ferriter is Professor of Modern Irish History at UCD. His books include The Transformation of Ireland 1900-2000 (2004), Judging Dev: A Reassessment of the life and legacy of Eamon de Valera (2007), Occasions of Sin: Sex and Society in Modern Ireland (2009) Ambiguous Republic: Ireland in the 1970s (2012) A Nation and not a Rabble: The Irish Revolution 1913-23 (2015) and On The Edge: Ireland’s Offshore Islands, A Modern History (2018).
His latest book is The Border: The Legacy of a Century of Anglo-Irish Politics (2019). He is a regular broadcaster on RTE television and radio and a weekly columnist with the Irish Times.
Registration is not required and seats will be issued on a first come, first served basis.

Imagine: The UK's Future Relationship with the EU
2019-03-27 13:00 - 17:00 | Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
As the date for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union draws ever closer, EU leaders have agreed the political declaration that sets out the broad aspirations for the kind of relationship the UK and the EU envisage having after Brexit. But what will this so-called ambitious, broad, deep and flexible partnership actually look like? And how will it and more immediately UK withdrawal from the EU impact on the many areas of collaboration that have been built up over 45 years of UK membership of the EU?
Join us at Queen’s University Belfast on Wednesday 27 March from 1pm as academics from across the University share their thoughts on the ever-shifting dynamics of Brexit and its impact on key areas. Whether your interest is in human rights or public health, borders or business, this is a great opportunity to hear from, and engage with senior researchers and academics from Queen’s as they discuss what has been called the greatest constitutional challenge the UK has faced in generations and explore “what next?” with Brexit.
This special event will take place from 1pm-5pm on Wednesday 27 March in the Canada Room and Council Chamber at Queen’s University Belfast and is part of the Imagine Belfast Festival of Ideas and Politics 2019.
Further information on the Festival can be found at imaginebelfast.com

Reflections on Policing with the Community: people, partnerships and public confidence with George Hamilton QPM
2019-05-07 18:00 - 19:30 | Antrim
Queen’s University is delighted to welcome George Hamilton QPM, Chief Constable Police Service of Northern Ireland, to deliver a public lecture at the University. The event will be hosted by Professor Kieran McEvoy, Queen’s University Belfast.
About the speaker
George Hamilton was appointed Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 30 June 2014.
Chief Constable Hamilton’s policing experience started in 1985 when he joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Since then he has gained a wide range of experience in a variety of operational roles.
In 2009 he was appointed as an Assistant Chief Constable in Strathclyde Police in Scotland, with responsibility for serious and organised crime, public protection and counter terrorism investigations.
Prior to his appointment in Strathclyde he had been Chief Superintendent and District Commander in ‘B’ District (South and East Belfast).
He also served as a Detective Chief Inspector and Detective Superintendent in the PSNI where he was involved in a number of high profile and complex investigations. During a three secondment in England he worked on a range of training and organisational development projects.
Chief Constable Hamilton holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Politics and Economics and a Masters in Business Administration. He is a member of the Institute of Directors and the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Leadership Association.
In 2015 he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in the Her Majesty’s Birthday Honours list.
In January 2019 he announced his intention to retire from policing in June 2019.

History in the Making: The Ulster Museum and the ‘Troubles and Beyond’ with BBC’s Marie-Louise Muir
2019-05-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Crescent Arts Centre, 2-4 University Road, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NH, United Kingdom
The Centre for Public History, Queen’s University Belfast, invites you to join us for
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: A MASTERCLASS IN DIALOGUE
On Good Friday 2018, the Ulster Museum opened its doors, and its collections, to a new commemorative exhibition ‘The Troubles and Beyond’. Displayed across hundreds of objects and images, the gallery documents social, political, and cultural changes in Northern Ireland from the civil rights era to today’s post-conflict society.
But what influenced the curators’ interpretations of the Troubles? And what historical and curatorial challenges did they encounter as they brought the realities of that past from collection to final exhibition?
Join BBC NI’s Marie-Louise Muir as she asks these and other revealing questions in an exclusive interview with the creators of the Ulster Museum’s ‘The Troubles and Beyond’ exhibition, William Blair and Karen Logan.
Refreshments served on arrival.
The Centre for Public History at Queen’s. Putting history to work @qubpublichist

The McCosh Lecture Annual Religious Studies Lecture at Queen’s with Baroness Onora O;Neill
2019-05-10 14:00 - 16:30 | Great Hall, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Baroness Onora O’Neill will deliver this year’s McCosh Lecture at Queen’s University Belfast on Friday 10 May from 2pm. This is a free event and requires no registration.
WHAT OUGHT WE DO?
Ethical inquiry in Western traditions traditionally asked what we should do, and offered accounts of various types of required action or duty. However, since the early twentieth century concern with duty has often been seen as problematic and rejected. Subsequent normative inquiry has typically addressed narrower questions. A great deal of writing in political and legal philosophy focuses on rights and entitlements, while construing the rest of ethics as a ‘merely’ personal matter. A great deal of writing in ethics either focuses on subjective conceptions of virtue and preference, or addresses aspects of ‘applied’ ethics that assume
institutional preconditions. Baroness O’Neill shall argue that this narrowing of horizons is unnecessary and can be reversed.

PROGRAMME
2.00 pm Welcome by Professor David Livingstone (Chair, Religious Studies Forum)
2.05 pm Introduction by Professor Richard English,(Pro-Vice Chancellor for Internationalisation and Engagement)
2.10 pm Lecture – What Ought We Do?
3.00 pm Discussion and Open Forum
3.45 pm Refreshments

June 2019 Brexit Clinic
2019-06-19 12:30 - 14:00 | PFC 02/026, Peter Froggatt Centre, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
The next Brexit Clinic from Queen’s Policy Engagement will take place on:

Wednesday 19 June 2019 at 12.30pm in the Peter Froggatt Centre, Room 02.026 (Second Floor), Main Campus, Queen’s University Belfast.

Since our last Clinic, Theresa May’s Brexit deal was once again rejected by Parliament, she has been given an extension until 31 October and her subsequent negotiations with Labour on a way forward for her deal have collapsed. European Parliament elections are also due to take place on 23 May and Nigel Farage’s Brexit party is racing up the poles. So what does all this mean for what happens next?
Join our panel from Queen’s as they talk through the latest developments in the Brexit process which, given what has been happening to date, will no doubt be changing by the day!
With Professor David Phinnemore and Professor Dagmar Schiek and Dr Mary Dobbs.
We look forward to welcoming you then.

Patten 20 Years On: Young People, Policing and Stop and Search
2019-09-04 10:00 - 15:30 | The Great Hall, University Road, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
This is a joint event between the Crime and Social Justice Group at Queen’s, Include Youth and the Children’s Law Centre.
Taking place on Wednesday 4 September, 10.00am – 3.30pm in the Great Hall, this one-day conference will explore the current agenda and evidence around the policing of children and young people in Northern Ireland, with a particular focus on police stop and search powers.
For full details and to register, please follow this link.
Speakers include:

Prof. Ann Skelton, member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child;
Katrina French, Chief Executive of StopWatch UK
Prof. Ben Bradford, Director of the Jill Dando Institute for Global City Policing
Koulla Yiasouma, Commissioner for Children and Young People in Northern Ireland

More speakers to be announced. The conference will be chaired by Alyson Kilpatrick, BL.

Growing a healthy society- The role of food
2019-09-18 17:00 - 19:30 | The Great Hall, University Road, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Queen’s University Belfast and Oxford Farming Conference are co-hosting a discourse on food, nutrition and impact on human health.
The Institute for Global Food Security, in partnership with the Oxford Farming Conference, invite you to attend the inaugural Grand Challenge Debate. This lecture is being organised in advance of the 2020 Oxford Farming Conference (7-9 January) which has selected “Growing a Healthy Society” as it’s key theme. The 2020 theme is all about strengthening the relationship between the population, the land and the people who produce the nation’s food. OFC 2020 will challenge delegates to look not just at how they can strengthen the health of their businesses and their soil but also how they can develop their own physical, mental and professional resilience.
This joint event will focus on “Food, diet and health”, seeking to highlight the impact of a sub-optimal diet on non-communicable disease mortality and morbidity and opportunity to connect agriculture, food, diet to improve health outcomes.
The keynote lecture will be delivered by Professor Nita Gandhi Forouhi, a physician and academic, specialising in nutrition and epidemiology. She is Professor of Population Health and Nutrition at the University of Cambridge, the programme leader of the nutritional epidemiology programme of its MRC Epidemiology Unit, and an honorary consultant public health physician with Public Health England.
The event will commence at 17:00 with a welcome reception. The event will be hosted at Queen’s University Belfast in the magnificent Great Hall.
Interest is expected to be high so early registration is recommended.

When aid is not enough: integrating conflict prevention in humanitarian resilience programmes
2019-10-21 12:00 - 13:30 | Old Staff Common Room, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Join us for the Belfast launch of the Christian Aid/Mitchell Institute report, “Integrating Conflict Prevention in Humanitarian Resilience Programmes,” based on preliminary fieldwork conducted in Burundi, DRC, South Sudan, and Myanmar. This research was designed to assess the integration of conflict sensitivity and prevention in humanitarian resilience programmes with the aim of building resilience in conflict settings.
Findings indicate that conflict analysis can help to enhance the conflict sensitivity of resilience programmes by contributing to understanding of how the conflict context and the resilience
programmes interact. This understanding helps aid organisations, local partners, and communities work together to maximise the positive potential of programmes in conflict settings while minimising potential negative outcomes, especially those that further contribute to conflict.
Further information

The featured image has been used courtesy of a Creative Commons license.

‘Have you got what it takes to start a revolution or are you a sheep!!’ QUB Sustainability Lecture with Sir Tim Smit
2019-10-23 16:00 - 18:00 | Peter Froggatt Centre Room OG/007, Queen's University, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Tim Smit is Executive Vice-Chair and Co-founder of the multi award-winning Eden Project in Cornwall. Since its opening in 2001, over 20 million people have come to see a once sterile pit, turned into a cradle of life containing world-class horticulture and startling architecture symbolic of human endeavour. Tim is also Executive Co-Chair for Eden Project International which aims to have an Eden Project on every habited continent by 2025.
This event is free and open to the public
To register please click here.
For more details please email John Barry: j.barry@qub.ac.uk

Northern Ireland's place in Europe post-Brexit
2019-11-05 12:30 - 14:00 | Ulster Museum: Belfast Room, Botanic Gardens, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT9 5AB, United Kingdom
At this event, academics from across Queen’s University Belfast will share their thoughts on the ever-shifting dynamics of Brexit and its impact on key areas.
Whether your interest is in human rights, free movement, the environment, agriculture or business; this is a great opportunity to hear from and engage with senior researchers and academics from Queen’s.
Panellists will discuss what has been called the greatest constitutional challenge the UK has faced in generations, and explore “what next?” for Brexit.

The Arts: Forms of engagement, questions of value
2019-11-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Brian Friel Theatre, 20 University Road, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
At this event, arts and culture researchers, policymakers and practitioners will showcase new research exploring the ways in which people engage with the arts. We’ll also explore approaches to identifying and valuing that engagement.
The keynote speaker will be Dr Ben Walmsley, Associate Professor of Audience Engagement at the University of Leeds. Dr Walmsley lectures on audience engagement, arts management, arts marketing, cultural policy and cultural value. Prior to his academic career, Dr Walmsley managed a small touring theatre company before working as Producer at the National Theatre of Scotland.
Other speakers will include Molly Goyer Gorman, and former and current postgraduate students from Queen’s University Belfast.
There will also be a Q&A panel facilitated by Dan Hull, Senior Researcher for the NI Assembly.
The event will be followed by a light reception allowing guests, students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers to mingle with one another.

The art of health and well-being
2019-11-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Sunflower Public House, 65 Union Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT1 2JG, United Kingdom
Historically, the arts have been seen as the remit of the talented few, with most of us putting down our paintbrushes, tidying away our dancing shoes and closing our poetry books after we have left school.
This event aims to challenge that notion, showing that not only can everyone engage with the arts, but that art and creativity can be inherently beneficial to our health and wellbeing.
We will showcase the artistic work of both healthcare professionals and people living with chronic illness; who will describe the benefit that the arts have had on their health and wellbeing.
The event will include live music performances, photography and poetry. Additionally, we will showcase artistic work created by patients during haemodialysis sessions, produced as part of a research project led by Queen’s University Belfast.

Creating our sustainable future
2019-11-07 19:00 - 21:30 | Canada Room and Council Chamber, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
Climate breakdown is one of the biggest issues facing our socio-ecological world. The complexity of the climate issues facing our planet can often leave us wondering what we can do, and where to even begin. ‘Creating our Sustainable Future’ is an interactive workshop which offers participants the opportunity to consider these pressing socio-ecological issues in a hands-on, stimulating environment.
Opening with a short quiz, participants will work together to share their knowledge of the environment and society (eco-prizes are available for winners). Through discussion, group work, and engaging with ‘Anna’s Journey’ (a new short play about unsustainability co-written and performed by QUB staff and students), participants will discuss climate breakdown and other related environmental degradation and socio-economic inequalities; examining causes, consequences and alternatives to help us move towards a sustainable future.
Facilitated by staff and students from across the University, participants will work in small groups to create a piece of art (visual, poetry, storytelling, etc.) to communicate their vision for a greener, healthier and sustainable future; using the UN Sustainable Development Goals and pressing environmental and social issues as inspiration. The workshop will conclude with a discussion and refreshments.
