Civic Mission

Our focus is to:

• Work closely with civic organisations, using our expertise and resources to deliver social, cultural, and economic transformation
• Develop links with schools to help raise standards of education in Wales
• Encourage active citizenship by working with members of the community to develop leadership and collaboration
• Promote innovation by bringing research closer to the people, supporting businesses and job creation.

Shaping the cultural landscape of Wales

The Centre for the Study of Media and Culture in Small Nations, which is based in our Faculty of Business and Creative Industries, shares stories about the creativity of communities across Wales, and highlights how the creative industries in South Wales are the new ‘coal and steel’.

The Centre does this by:

• shaping how Wales is represented at home and abroad
• supporting national bodies with creative strategies, artistic choices, and future programming
• offering ways of engaging through art, performance, and research, which influence Wales’ culture and creativity. 

Understanding Wales’ global trade history

Professor Chris Evans works with community activists in a National Heritage Lottery Fund scheme to highlight Wales’s involvement in the Atlantic slave system.

His project has focused on the relationship the people of Wales have with those subjected to the horrors of slavery, Wales’s global trade history, and how textiles produced here were worn by enslaved workers in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The work:

• explores the creation, trade, and uses of ‘Welsh Plains’ or ‘Negro Cloth’
• extends public understanding of the historical links between Wales and Atlantic slavery
• brings together contemporary craft workers and BAME communities
• raises awareness of the trade to promote social cohesion by including inter-racial narratives in the story of Wales.  

Supporting community health and wellbeing

Alcohol Related Brain Damage (ARBD) can have devastating effects, impacting the mental and physical health of those who misuse alcohol.

There was, however, no standard way of diagnosing ARBD, or measuring its impact.

USW’s Addictions Research Group, led by Professor Gareth Roderique-Davies and Professor Bev John, worked with Public Health Wales and third sector organisations to standardise ARBD diagnosis.

Their work, undertaken due to the lack of funding for ARBD rehabilitation services, is a powerful example of how academic research can actively support the health and well-being of the community.

The impact of the project is twofold:

• it enables clinicians to make informed, evidence-based decisions when selecting tests for ARBD
• it highlights the prevalence of the condition, which in turn encourages services to prioritise ARBD and support organisations which help those living with the condition.    
  
  

Promoting social cohesion in our communities

USW is one of only two Higher Education institutions in Wales to be awarded University of Sanctuary status. This recognises the University’s commitment to creating a culture of welcome for people seeking sanctuary within, and beyond, its campuses. 

Dr Mike Chick, as USW’s Refugee Champion, carries out vital work to enhance the provision of English-language courses to those seeking asylum in Wales. 

This work:

• helps to increase understanding of the needs of refugees
• highlights the barriers they face in accessing education and employment.

Dr Chick identifies the support in place and identifies the learners’ needs by looking at their educational background, language levels, professional qualifications, and employment aspirations. Through this, he aims to establish ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) programmes that cater for each person’s needs, and then to increase English-language provision for refugees across Wales.