Showcasing Welsh arts and humanities research in Brussels
In this latest LSW blog article, Professor Claire Gorrara FLSW, reflects on the outcomes of a recent event in Brussels that championed arts and humanities research from Wales.
I was delighted, as Co-Chair of the Wales Arts and Humanities Alliance (WAHA), to attend an event in Brussels in early March, devoted to arts and humanities research in Wales. Eight outstanding arts and humanities projects from Wales* showcased their research around the theme of sustainable cultural heritage. Organised through Wales Higher Education Brussels and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the projects, one from each Welsh university, gave researchers based in Wales the opportunity to meet European contacts with an interest in cultural heritage. Project leaders shared research and exchanged information, positioning Wales as an informed and engaged partner for funding opportunities.
In addition, the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan AM, and Professor Paul Boyle FLSW, Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University and Chair of Universities Wales, spoke about the value and significance of European funding and partnership for Wales, enabling researchers and research expertise from Wales to reach global audiences. Irene Norstedt (Directorate-General Research and Innovation at the European Commission) spoke about the new Horizon Europe partnership in ‘Resilient Cultural Heritage’, due to start in 2026 and run until 2032. This showcase event provided Welsh universities with a valuable platform to build partnerships for forthcoming funding calls around this theme.
The showcase was followed the next day by a workshop on European funding streams, such as COST; European regional research networks; and the Horizon Europe Cluster 2 theme (‘realising the full potential of cultural heritage, arts and cultural and creative sectors’). Presentations from colleagues at the University of Antwerp and Aberystwyth University set the tone and ambition for European collaboration in sustainable cultural heritage, which is a research strength for Wales.
WAHA, with funding from the LSW’s ‘Event Support’, convened the event and supported the project selection for the showcase event. As WAHA Co-Chair, it was a pleasure to champion the scale, expertise and dynamism of the Arts and Humanities research base in Wales.
* The eight projects were:
- Mapping a Medieval Town: Conquest, Migration and the built environment in Medieval Aberystwyth, Dr Louise Taylor, Aberystwyth University
- Linguistic heritage and cultural identity in climate engagement contexts, Professor Thora Tenbrink, Bangor University
- Water under Stress, Professor Keir Waddington, Cardiff University
- Talking Climate, Empowering Belonging: exploring new ways to engage ‘Priority Place’ communities in sustainable environmental activities, Dr Carmen Casaliggi, Cardiff Metropolitan University
- The Bronze Men of Cameroon, Professor Florence Ayisi, University of South Wales
- Heritage, Communities and Co-creation in places in de-industrialised South Wales, Dr Alex Langlands, Swansea University
- Coastal – TALES. Telling Adaptations; Living Environmental Stories for Coastal Resilience, Professor Louise Steel, UWTSD
- Ecological Citizens, Professor Alec Shepley, Wrexham University