Climate Change Series
The first in a series of three consultations on climate change focused on the causes, effects and consequences of climate change and on the impact of population growth.
The second in the series focused on energy conservation and renewables and the nuclear option.
The final consultation in the series looked at mitigating fossil fuel dependent industries and the business opportunities relevant to dealing with climate change.
Developing Global Citizens: Is the UK education system up to the challenge?
Socrates may have thought the unexamined life is not worth leading, but what about the over-examined life that all our young people have to endure? It is important that we reduce the assessment burden on pupils and students of all ages. However, it is even more important that we ask ourselves why we assess and who we are assessing for. If it is only to provide progression pathways through the educational system and on to the world of work, assessment provides only a narrow, instrumental function and can hardly lead to the development of global citizens.
Reaching for Gold
St George's House was proud to be venue for the Grand Final of the 2012 Reaching for Gold project, now in its third year. The competition challenges young people in the South East region to develop an idea for a product, service or other initiative that will benefit specific communities.
Stable Relationships for a Stable Society?
Discussion about relationships is increasingly prominent in public discourse, whether through the long tradition of newspaper agony aunts or more superficially through the relentless media focus on celebrity relationships. However, it is also notable that political interest in the area of relationships has grown during the tenure of the current and previous governments. The summer riots of 2011 have once again focussed a spotlight on family responsibility and function.
The Future of Work
In our 24/7 society, technology continues to transform the way we work. Yet such is the pace of change that we rarely have an opportunity to take stock of where this is leading us as a workforce and as a society. Can we predict new ways of working, driven by technology, that will emerge over the next twenty years and what will their impact be on future generations? Can we prepare for such changes or merely react to them? How is the nature of work changing? Click title for more information.
Reflections on Contemporary Israel, Palestine and the Wider Region
From the Arab Spring to on-going tensions in Israel and Palestine, from the resurgence of unrest and violence in Egypt to elections there and in Morocco, what is really happening beneath the surface and where might all this be heading? What about Iran and nuclear proliferation in the region? And so the questions multiply.
Sustainable Fishing
Britain is surrounded by sea so it is not surprising that fish has a place of honour in our diet, nor that the hardships of fishing at sea are woven into our social history. Our eating of fish has a distinguished past. But does it have a future?
Inequality: Moral Obligations and Economics
This consultation looked at the implications of the scale of inequality both, in the shorter term, for a society facing the difficulties of reducing the deficit, and in the longer term as we think about how we move towards a more sustainable society. Participants discussed questions such as: How can we meet the challenge of equality? Is greater equality possible and, if so, how can it be achieved? What are the mechanisms required to make a society more equal? Is there a conflict between greater equality and economic growth? How do greater equality and environmental sustainability fit together? More>>
Britain in the World: Wealth
In recent years Britain has become renowned as a centre for financial services. London is regarded, or perhaps regards itself, as a global services hub and seeks to maintain this position despite the recent crisis in banking and consequent global recession.
Is there such a thing as characteristically 'British' wealth, or a British attitude towards wealth, its creation, management and, perhaps, disposal? Should there be? Is there a pressure point between economic nationalism and globalization? How important, or indeed relevant, is our self-image? Do we simply host rather than compete?
What is Successful Ageing?
As a counterpoint to our work on Childhood, this consultation looked at the other end of the life cycle and how society can best respond to the needs of an ageing population. The implications for society of a shifting demographic are considerable. In 1971, just over 13 per cent of the population was over 65 with fewer than 1 per cent over 85. By 2050, the proportion aged 65 or over will have increased to around 25 per cent, and the 85s and over will have increased to around 7 per cent.
