Local creative and cultural industries strategies can play a key role in devolution policy, and understanding the differences and nuances of local industrial strategies helps inform policymakers looking at cultural and creative industries-led ‘levelling up’. Ultimately, policy should be shaped by local strategy and regional identity as much as national goals. This blog raises policy […]
Rewriting the creative sector’s digital transformation
The creative sector is incredibly diverse and there are growing disparities between those who are already familiar with the digital world of work and those who are struggling to adapt. In this blog, Dr Anita Greenhill addresses the challenges that the sector will face in the coming years and provides examples of best practice from […]
From celebration to public policy: International Mother Language Day as a civic identity badge
On 21 February 2021, Manchester will again be celebrating UNESCO International Mother Language Day (IMLD). This year’s activities will be held online to accommodate to the pandemic conditions. For the second time, they are being coordinated by the City of Literature initiative based in Manchester’s local authority. In this blog, Professor Yaron Matras, Dr Daniele […]
The Arts after Brexit
Many have argued that the transport, pharmaceuticals, clothing and fishing industries will be hit hardest by Brexit. But what does it mean for the arts sector? In this blog, Dr Charlotte Faucher, British Academy Post-doctoral Fellow in History, discusses a research project on how Brexit has and will affect the arts and cultural sector, and […]
Improving the census question on ‘language’ could help repair community relations and Britain’s international image post-Brexit
Yaron Matras, Professor of Linguistics, discusses the importance of changing the census question “What is your main language?” and the impact this change could have. The census question on language lacks a clear definition of what it means by ‘main language’ and forces multilingual households to select just one language. The Brexit debate includes conversations […]
Why embracing language diversity is a key to community cohesion
As part of our new publication ‘OnCohesion’ read Professor Yaron Matras’ blog which focuses on language diversity and why he believes it is key to social cohesion Language is an emblem of who we are. It is the carrier of our heritage and one of the ways of identifying what we mean by ‘communities’. Community […]
Beyond ‘Older Age’: A Photo and Story Collection to Illuminate the Individual
Amy Barron, a postgraduate researcher in Human Geography examines why it’s important to understand older people’s individual experiences when creating age-friendly policies. Across the Greater Manchester region, older people have different histories and different lives; policies focused on improving the lives of older-citizens must keep sight of these differences and individualities. Through my research I […]