This year the festival coincides with the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow. The importance of environmental issues is recognised by the ESRC and the festival has committed to showcasing a substantial variety of events focussing on climate change and environmental social science studies. The University of Warwick will be running 14 events this year – a mix of online, hybrid and in-person on topics from climate change, consent, Covid, identity to childbirth and fake drugs. The full programme with how to get involved can be found on Warwick Institute of Engagement ESRC 2021
Events include:
Food for Thought: the Climate Cost of Our Eating Habits
Tuesday 2nd November | 7–8pm | online
From the comfort of your kitchen, join our experts Romain Chenet and Alastair Smith from Global Sustainable Development, for a discussion and engaging show-and-tell. What are the effects of climate change on food production and what you can do to help? Learn about the hidden and not-so hidden climate costs of the food in your fridge and pantries.
COP26 - Climate Innovation Challenge
Tuesday 2nd - Thursday 4th November; and Tuesday 9th November | 5-7.30pm | Online | Open to HE and FE students age 16+
This event is open to anyone interested in climate change. An opportunity to learn about and develop sustainable solutions with support and guidance from an expert team. Plus, the opportunity to win £500 and apply to the innovation competition ingenuity with support.
COP26 - Climate Creative
Thursday 11th November | 7-9.30pm | University of Warwick campus
Hosted by the University of Warwick, our Climate Creative event is a chance to learn about and/or share your opinion on climate change. Guest or a participant, listen to researchers, creatives, musicians, poets, artists, and anyone else who believes they can contribute - participants can even win one of two £25 vouchers for either the most creative or most thought-provoking act!
Searching for Muslim Figures in Literature
Wednesday 17th November | 7-8pm | Online
Introducing conversations into race and religion in literature. Can famous figures from literature be identified as Muslim even if they aren’t stated to be? Focusing on the famous pieces Wuthering Heights and Othello, Shahnaz Akhter and guests take the discussion around the ethnicity of Heathcliff and Othello into schools and to a public online roundtable.
The Polluted Kitchen
Thursday 18th November | 3.30 - 5.30pm | Foleshill Community Centre CV6 5HS | in person and online
In low-income countries, the use of solid fuels for cooking is still widespread. Whether it's using wood, coal, dung or biomass, these fuels result in severe levels of indoor air pollution from the smoke produced. Dr Giorgia Barboni (University of Warwick Business School) and guests will be discussing and demonstrating the effects and challenges faced by low-income people across the world from kitchen polluting cooking practices.
Free event - Join in person or online
I:DNA - Who am I?
Saturday 20th November | Leamington Spa Museum and Art Gallery | All day. Drop-in (Museum and Gallery opening hours) | Suitable for families
Designed with children aged 7-12 in mind (although open to all ages), this event invites participants to explore these questions through interactive games and craft activities, bringing questions of identity and genetics to life. Meet and hear from people working in the field of genetics and decorate a coloured fabric bag (in one of the four colours representing the nucelobases of DNA) with images of things that, you feel, make you who you are! The finished bags will be displayed on a wall with an image of a double helix at Leamington Spa Museum and Art Gallery until December 2021, alongside other artwork exploring the crossovers between genes and identity.
The Age of Consent
Tuesday 23rd November | 7-8pm | Online
There is still a strong difference of opinion on what constitutes consent throughout the population. Join Laura Lammasniemi, a legal historian of consent in criminal court, and Amrita Ahluwalia and Gabrille Blackburn from Narrative Matters for a discussion and Q&A about sexual consent from a legal, historical, and social perspective.
Covid recovery: What can we learn from post-World War II economic history?
Wednesday 24th November. | 12:30 - 1:30 pm | Online
What lessons can we learn from the past about economic recovery policy? Does post-World War II economic recovery policy hold the key to developing a more effective policy for Covid-19 economic recovery? Join economic historian Professor Nicholas Crafts and guests online, as we remove the rose-tinted glasses and discuss the positives and negatives of post-war policy and recovery.
Sharing childbirth experiences: choices, challenges and conversation
Tuesday 25th November | 12:30 - 1:30 pm | Online
Georgia Clancy explores the experiences, choices and challenges of pregnancy faced by women and NHS staff today. Starting with a performance and followed by a discussion via a panel of experts, this event will highlight the work that individuals and organisations are doing to create change and improve maternity experiences.
Uncovering the world of 'fake' drugs
Tuesday 30th November | 1-2pm | Online
Are fake drugs fake news? While many people assume that the problem of fake drugs is a pharmacological problem, in a great proportion of cases, the absence or presence of pharmaceutical ingredients often goes unexplored. It is actually the paperwork of the drugs that gets looked into when the 'fakeness' of a drug is investigated. What does this surprising finding mean for the public, and do we need to worry about the quality of drugs? Against the backdrop of the current global pandemic, these questions are more important to ask than ever.
Discover more about the full programme and how to get involved Warwick Institute of Engagement ESRC 2021
To discover more about Warwick at COP26 - Everything you need to know about COP26
Other events:
Creating Change-Makers
Year 5+ | Invite only
Calling all school children Year 4 and above. An invitation to hear more about climate change and create a piece of work that signifies what sustainability means to you. A poem, story, art piece, or anything else, you'll have support with your innovative solutions and work and an opportunity to win a cash prize!