*A future for Post Industrial Communities?*
*An interdisciplinary and practitioner conference *
23-24 March - University of Leeds
Speakers include: Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central, John Denham,
University of Winchester and former Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government, Dr Alisha Davies, Public Health Wales, Dr Gillian
Evans, University of Manchester, Martin Smith, Head of organizing,
Labour Party, Ravi Subramanian, Regional Secretary Unison, Professor
Clare Bambra, Institute of Health and Society Newcastle University, Dr
Simon Duffy, Centre for Welfare Reform, Rachel Laurence, New Economics
Forum...and many more.
See full details here -
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S3Y3mDaA2SJnjsHbIJUegLuV8OSU97DJO0eu79ZjqRY/edit?usp=sharing
If you are interested in attending (no charge) - please sign up here as
soon as possible as places will be limited
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S3Y3mDaA2SJnjsHbIJUegLuV8OSU97DJO0eu79ZjqRY/edit?usp=sharing
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S3Y3mDaA2SJnjsHbIJUegLuV8OSU97DJO0eu79ZjqRY/edit?usp=sharing>
The conference is titled*A future for Post Industrial Communities?*
and for many people in these communities this is not an abstract or an
academic question. De-industrialisation began before the Thatcher
governments of the 1980s and it has continued to accelerate. The process
is felt hardest in previous industrial towns, where industries such as
docks, mines, steelworks or car plants that once provided employment,
but also a strong working class identity.
There will be discussion about the extent to which narratives of
division are growing in post-industrial towns. Working class communities
did not necessarily like the industries of their towns --the work was
often hard, dirty (and unhealthy) and involved unsocial shifts --but
they liked the possibilities that an industrial wage provided. Most
importantly, they liked the prospect that the next generation would get
an education and have more opportunities than the current one, and, of
course, the prospect of retiring with a good pension.
Today, in post industrial towns there is a loss of identity, community
networks, and, in many cases, hope. The jobs that have replaced
displaced industries are low skilled, low wage, and often involve zero
hours contracts, minimum wage and bogus 'self-employment' that
excludes workers from employment rights. It is not surprising that
people are despondent, and angry, some of that anger is finding its
expression in deep divisions between communities. Far right groups are
repeatedly visiting these towns seeking to create or exploit tensions
between communities. Yet, it is a tribute to the affected communities,
that these provocations have seldom found an audience within the towns
themselves. But the problems remain - divided communities, little, or
no, strategic regeneration, communities whose educational attainment
(for reasons wholly unrelated to their potential) is stubbornly below
the national average, poor house conditions, pockets of high levels of
morbidity and lower levels of life expectancy.
We recognise that simply challenging narratives of division, in the
absence of a 'narrative of hope', is not effective. However, the
issues in these communities, some of which have been evolving for nearly
half a century, are too complex for simple platitudes.
Meanwhile the feeling that these communities have lost trust in 'the
Westminster village' (particularly in the context of the Trump
election: a consequence of similar trends in the American rustbelt) has
attracted the attention of politicians and social scientists. It is in
this context of both very practical concerns (what are we going to do)
and more academic questions (what is actually happening, and why, in
these communities) that will be discussed at this conference.
Academics and practitioners will be presenting in a way which is
unfamiliar to many (using a technique which makes sure they focus in on
the important, key points). We will also spend a significant amount of
time in workshops as we don't think anyone has a 'monopoly of
answers' to the multitude of challenges faced by these communities,
and we want to make a lasting impact.
As such we believe that over the two days, practitioners and academics
can work together, pooling their practical experience and their
theoretical contributions, to create new knowledge --new knowledge
that shapes a 'theory of change' that itself gives rise to a plan of
action. There won't be an edited book at the end of this conference,
but we hope there will be a series of interventions that support these
communities to overcome division, demand policies that facilitate
long-term sustainable regeneration, and effect meaningful change in
their communities.
One final point, there will no-doubt be wildly differing opinions about
the way forward so we can either use these differences to explore a more
nuanced understanding of the complexity of the challenge, or we can
hunker down and simply defend our current positions (while learning
nothing from those who approach the problem from a different
perspective). Over the two days, let's try to disagree creatively, so
that we all go away with an enriched knowledge of the challenges these
communities face and provide a plan of action to achieve some real
impact by working together.
If you are interested in attending (no charge) - please sign up here as
soon as possible as places will be limited
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1S3Y3mDaA2SJnjsHbIJUegLuV8OSU97DJO0eu79ZjqRY/edit?usp=sharing
--
Professor Jane Holgate
Professor of Work and Employment Relations
Work and Employment Relations Division
Leeds University Business School
31 Lyddon Terrace (room 2.05)
University of Leeds LS2 9JT
email:[log in to unmask]
Mobile: 07960 798399
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