The National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement

The Beacon for Wales     (English | Cymraeg)

The Beacon for Wales was officially launched on 1st September 2008 by the Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan, First Minister for Wales, at an event held at the National Museum Cardiff.

The venue was provided by Beacon for Wales partner Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales) and the evening included presentations from representatives of all five core partner organisations: Cardiff University, the University of Glamorgan, Amgueddfa Cymru (National Museum Wales), BBC Wales and Techniquest.

The audience consisted of a range of public engagement professionals and practitioners, policy makers, voluntary groups, along with representatives from the Beacon for Wales partner organisations and funding bodies.
In the spirit of engaging with the invited audience, part of the evening involved a live vote on issues surrounding the National DNA database.

Since taking up post in May 2008, the Beacon for Wales team have been busy with the ongoing process of establishing links with individuals and organisations involved in public engagement. They have also been raising awareness of the Beacon for Wales in the HE partner institutions and listening to individuals' experience of the barriers to public engagement. A website is under development but a holding page has been set up: www.engagingwales.org.uk.

Four project themes have been identified, each with a focus on a particular audience:

  • Our Place in the Future - 14-19 year olds
  • Health and Wellbeing - Communities First areas
  • Climate and Sustainability - Rural Communities
  • The Welsh Identity in the 21st Century  -Cultural Minority Groups

The first of the four themes will soon begin, with the Beacon for Wales supporting innovative projects where community participants themselves play an active role in defining project objectives and the course of research.

The Beacon for Wales staff would be delighted to hear from anyone who would like to get involved in any of the Beacon for Wales' activities.

e-mail: beacon@cardiff.ac.uk
tel: 029 2087 6414

Case Study: Science Alliance Cymru

Science Alliance Cymru

Science Alliance Cymru (SAC) - membership of which is free and open to anyone who has an active interest in science engagement - goes from strength to strength, attracting over 100 people in its first year. Quarterly meetings are held at a different location across Wales each time and the SAC relies on its members to volunteer to host future meetings. The Beacon for Wales is in the process of developing an equivalent arts and humanities alliance.

Open networks like these will bring individuals together from diverse professional backgrounds, sharing ideas across traditional boundaries.

Funded by the UK Higher Education Funding Councils, Research Councils UK and the Wellcome Trust. About the funders

NCCPE is coordinated by the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England

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