Institute of Welsh Affairs: What a difference a day makes

There are political moments which stop you in your tracks and I had one recently. On 20th May, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was taking questions in the House of Commons.

The new Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, challenged the Prime Minister to exempt health and social care workers from the NHS surcharge (the additional money immigrants to the UK pay for health cover) in light of the extraordinary contribution those same immigrants have made to keeping UK citizens well looked after during this tragic outbreak…

Read the article on IWA's website here

The Big Issue: Jane Davidson: Coronavirus is our chance to build back better’

I’ve been a fan of The Big Issue from the outset 30 years ago. What started for me as a personal act of giving to support people who were homeless quickly turned into loving its mix of social commentary, the arts, interesting jobs and overall quirkiness.

When magazines are bought casually on a street you don’t know who is buying, but you do know the quantity of sales and in the week prior to lockdown, The Big Issue sold around 80,000 copies across the UK and supported the livelihoods of 1,500 vendors, by any definition among the most vulnerable in our society. Then came March 23 – day zero – when the UK went into lockdown and life as we knew it ended. The speed with which The Big Issue, a small but incredibly effectively organisation, has turned its model around is breathtaking.

Read the blog on The Big Issue's website here

Tortoise: Has the virus shown us what it will take to tackle global warming?

In a matter of weeks the immediate threat of mass casualties has forced governments to assert powers and spend funds never contemplated in the battle against climate change. Coronavirus has also shown us we can work and study remotely and have almost everything we need delivered to our door. It’s had the moonshot treatment. Doesn’t climate change deserve it too?

Chair: Giles Whittell, Editor and Partner, Tortoise

Special guests include:

Jane Davidson, Pro Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Wales; Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing, Wales (2007-11); author, #futuregen Lessons from a Small Country

Juliet Davenport, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Good Energy – a renewable energy company with a mission to power a greener, cleaner future together with its customers. An innovator, Juliet has been developing technologies and innovations for over 20 years to fight climate change and transform the energy sector for the better. In 2013, she was awarded an OBE for services to renewables. She currently sits on the board of the Renewable Energy Association, Innovate UK and is Vice President of the Energy Institute

Spencer Dale, group chief economist, BP. He is responsible for advising the board and executive team on economic drivers and trends in global energy

Visit Tortoise’s website here

Cardiff Business School: What Wales Is Doing Today, The World Will Do Tomorrow

"What Wales is doing today, the world will do tomorrow"

These are the words of UN Assistant Secretary General Nikhil Seth, and in her new book, “#futuregen – Lessons from a Small Country”, former Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, Jane Davidson explains how she proposed what became the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

During the Briefing, she will explain why this groundbreaking legislation was forged here in Wales, and will explore how this shift from traditional economic growth to a more sustainable future is creating new opportunities for communities and governments all over the world.

Hay Festival 2020: #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country

JANE DAVIDSON, JONATHAN BOSTON, BECKY RICKETTS AND CAROLINE LUCAS

#FUTUREGEN: LESSONS FROM A SMALL COUNTRY, WALES AND THE WORLD

Hay Digital 2020,  Sunday 31 May 2020

In #futuregen, Jane Davidson explains how, as Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales, she helped create the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015—the first piece of legislation on Earth to place regenerative and sustainable practice at the heart of government. Unparalleled in its scope and vision, the Act connects environmental and social health and looks to solve complex issues such as poverty, education and unemployment.

It’s a living, breathing prototype for local and global leaders as proof of what is possible in the fight for a sustainable future. Davidson is joined by Caroline Lucas MP, Becky Ricketts, President of the Students’ Union UWTSD and incoming President of the National Union for Students in Wales, and Jonathan Boston, Professor in the Wellington School of Business and Government, who advises the New Zealand government on their policy for future generations. 

Chaired by Andy Fryers.

Watch on Hay Player here.

The Bookseller: Jane Davidson - 'I think some of the best and most exciting ideas come out of small countries'

I live in the most incredibly beautiful, warm, bilingual— therefore culturally different—and special place. And I want people to know more about it.” So says Jane Davidson, formerly minister for environment, sustainability and housing in the Welsh government, and now the author of #futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country. It’s a book that does indeed focus attention on her adopted home nation of Wales, and it also provides considerable food for thought for those interested in how we might tackle the momentous issues that face us, both locally and globally.

Read the article on The Bookseller’s website here

Hay Festival Digital 2020: Event 1 - #futuregen: Wales and the World

Click the link below for Jane’s contributions to the opening of Hay Festival Digital 2020 on Hay Player: https://www.hayfestival.com/p-16747-jane-davidson-mark-drakeford-sophie-howe-and-eluned-morgan.aspx?skinid=16