ISS21, in conjunction with the School of Applied Social Studies, hosted a one day event at the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in Dublin entitled ‘Re-imagining SAFE(R)SPACE: disability, hostility and the meaning of community safety’. The event witnessed the launch of the two year, Irish Research Council-funded study, Disability and the Creation of Safe(r) Space, which has been exploring how issues of hostility and un/safety impact on the everyday lives and geographies of people with disabilities in Ireland, including the places and spaces that they use. The study has found that issues of un/safety often restrict people with disabilities’ access to different spaces, and that many people experience different forms of hostility in their everyday lives.

On 18 April, the ISS21 Research for Civil Society and Social Action (REACT) cluster hosted a research slam, at which six cluster members gave short presentations on their current, completed or new research (details below), followed by a lively Q&A session. 

The ISS21 REACT cluster aims to bring together researchers from different disciplines with an interest in civil society research, to undertake interdisciplinary research and activity in the broad area of civil society, and to encourage engagement and dissemination of knowledge between researchers and civil society. Further information on the cluster can be found at:  Research for Civil Society and Social Action (REACT)

Those wishing to join the REACT cluster should contact the ISS21 Research Coordinator, Margaret Scanlon (m.scanlon@ucc.ie).

In this seminar Dr Catharina Von Koskull looked at how participatory approaches and creative methodologies such as ethnodrama and ethnography can assist in representing participant experiences and voice to positively impact policy makers, socio-education of social care and eldercare professionals and the general public.

On 5 September 2018, the ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster hosted a seminar with visiting speaker, Dr. Liam Berriman, Lecturer in Childhood and Youth Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. Dr Berriman has worked on a number of projects around digital culture, archives and computational ethnography, and is co-author of Researching Everyday Childhoods: time, technology and documentation in a digital age (2018).

On 23rd November 2017, ISS21 hosted a book launch event at Bishopstown Library for the publication of: Self-Neglect in Older Adults: A Global, Evidence-Based Resource for Nurses and Other Healthcare Providers, edited by Dr. Mary Rose Day, Professor Geraldine McCarthy and Professor Joyce Fitzpatrick.

The ISS21 Civil Society Cluster presents a Conference on

The Changing Landscape of Local and Community Development in Ireland: Policy and Practice

Wednesday, 21st October 2015

O’Rahilly Building, Room ORB_G27, University College Cork

Responding to Isolation and Loneliness: Housing and Community Perspectives

Thursday November 26th 2015

Respond! Conference Centre, John's College, Waterford

Transforming Commitment into Action - towards gender equality for academic and research excellence

This is the theme of the GENOVATE Annual Convention to be held in UCC in March 2015. GENOVATE partners will come together to discuss the challenges and opportunities of transforming commitment to gender equality into practice in our universities.

A symposium and learning market will be held on March 11th (2.00-5.00pm). All are welcome.

Speakers include Advisor to the European Commission on gender and research Professor Ines Sanchez de Madariaga, Mr. Muiris O'Connor (Higher Education Authority, Ireland) and Professor Uduak Archibong (GENOVATE International Director).

The GENOVATE UCC team was represented by Aifric O Grada and Caitriona Ni Laoire recently at the GENOVATE Annual Convention held in Trnava University in Slovakia.

Looking Ahead: Brexit, Borders and Belongings

Friday 10th March 2017, 9.00am-1.00pm

University College Cork

A new working group interested in social scientific perspectives on issues of mental health and disability has been developed within ISS21.

Congratulations to the Emigre team for winning the runner-up prize at the recent Pfizer-UCC Innovation through Teamwork awards.

The ISS21 Children and Young People cluster in association with the Children's Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland (CRNINI) recently hosted a workshop on ethics, consent and participation in research with children and young people. The event explored some of the complex ethical issues involved in conducting research with children and young people, from the perspectives of researchers, children, families and service-providers. Over 50 people from across the country attended this half-day workshop in UCC on June 14th.

The ISS21 Children and Young People Research Cluster looks forward to welcoming visiting researchers from the Childhood and Youth Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University and from Child Studies at Linkoping University to UCC in late November 2013. Disa Bergnehr (Linkoping University) and Darren Sharpe and Carlo Perrotta (Anglia Ruskin) will meet with cluster members to explore potential future collaborations and will present their research at the seminars detailed below. This visit forms part of a knowledge exchange initiative funded by the UCC Strategic Research Fund.

All are welcome to come along to the seminars - see 'Read More'.

The Emigre research team visited Aras an Uachtarain recently to present a copy of their recent report to President Michael D Higgins.

In recent years, Ireland has experienced a marked increase in emigration. The University College Cork project ‘Current Irish Emigration and Return’ (referred to as ‘Emigre’) aimed to discover why people are emigrating from Ireland today and discover what impact recent emigration is having on the Irish abroad and on the families and communities they have left behind them.  The project was carried out at the Department of Geography and in the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21) at University College Cork and is funded by the Irish Research Council. Some of the project results will be launched at an international conference on Emigration at a Time of Austerity to be held in UCC on 27th September.