Other News
Online report launch: Racism, mental health and pre-crime policing: the ethics of Vulnerability Support Hubs

Medact's upcoming report Racism, mental health and pre-crime policing: the ethics of Vulnerability Support Hubs is based on documents obtained through a series of long-running Freedom of Information requests. It exposes how a counterterrorism police-led project blurs the boundaries between security and care in disturbing and dangerous ways. We will hear from the three report co-authors and other experts in the field:
- Dr Hilary Aked – Medact鈥檚 Research and Policy Manager
- Dr Tarek Younis – Cultural and critical clinical psychologist and Lecturer in Psychology at Middlesex University
- Dr Charlotte Heath Kelly – Reader in Politics and International Studies, University of 糖心TV
- Vicki Nash 鈹 Head of Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs at Mind
Please register for the event at Medact's website:
Online conference: "Bridging the EU and Russia" Policy Conference of the EU Jean Monnet Network, 鈥淏etween the EU and Russia鈥
Join "Bridging the EU and Russia" Policy Conference of the EU Jean Monnet Network 鈥淏etween the EU and Russia鈥 on 4, 11, and 18 May, 2021 Online
This policy conference of the EU Jean Monnet Network "Between the EU and Russia" (BEAR) seeks to be a venue for knowledge exchange between academics and policy makers in EU institutions. The BEAR network connects 26 scholars from 11 universities from the EU, UK, US, Canada and Russia to explore the mobilization, influence, protection, and claim-making of regional minority groups on EU鈥檚 eastern borders, and to investigate how societal actors engage with these overlapping influences of the EU and Russia.
This policy conference brings together scholars from the network and EU officials from the European Commission and the European Parliament to discuss the following themes on 4, 11, and 18 May, 2021. Participation is free, registration is necessary.
On 4 May, 2021: introduction of the network, a panel on Eastern Partnership, policy commentary by Vassilis Maragos, Head of Unit, European Commission, DG NEAR, and academic keynote speech by Prof. Timothy Colton from Harvard University.
On 11 May, 2021: panels on Conflict Management in the European Neighbourhood; and EU, Russia and Regional Dynamics, with policy commentaries from Lawrence Meredith, Director, DG NEAR, Neighbourhood East, European Commission; and Enrique Mora, Deputy Secretary-General for Policy Affairs, European Union External Action Service.
On 18 May, 2021: panels on Migration and Citizenship Politics; and EU, Russia and Minority Politics, and a keynote speech from a policy perspective by Mathieu Briens, Deputy Head of Cabinet of the High Representative of the European Commission. Policy commentaries: from Tom Snels, Deputy Head of Cabinet of the Commissioner for Home Affairs, European Commission, and Marina Kaljurand, Member of the European Parliament, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
Open registrations through Eventbrite and more information about the events and the programme are available here:
Keith Hyams Wins the 2020 Andrew Light Award for Public Philosophy
The (ISEE) is pleased to announce publicly the winner and finalists for the 2020 Andrew Light Award for Public Philosophy. ISEE established the award to promote work in public philosophy and honor contributions to the field by Dr. Andrew Light, who was recognized for his distinctive work in public environmental philosophy at ISEE鈥檚 2017 annual summer meeting.
With this award, ISEE strives to recognize public philosophers working in environmental ethics and philosophy, broadly construed, and who bring unique insights or methods that broaden the reach, interaction, and engagement of philosophy with the wider public. This may be exemplified in published work or engagement in environmental issues of public importance.
This year鈥檚 honorees have made important contributions and provide distinctive examples of the work in public environmental philosophy that is happening today. The winner and finalists will be honored at an International Society for Environmental Ethics group session at the Eastern Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association on Thursday, January 14, 2021.
This year鈥檚 Light Award winner is Dr. Keith Hyams, Reader in Political Theory and Interdisciplinary Ethics in the Department of Politics and International Studies at University of 糖心TV (United Kingdom). Dr. Hyams, who earned his DPhil at University of Oxford in 2006, has published academic research in areas that include climate ethics, climate justice, urban resilience, and the governance of global catastrophic risk. However, what distinguishes him as a public environmental philosopher is his work across disciplines, sustained collaboration with non-governmental organizations, and public engagement on issues that include urban adaptation in low income countries, environmental and human rights for Indigenous peoples, and health and environmental injustice in informal settlements in six African cities (Johannesburg, Lusaka, Kampala, Nairobi, Lagos, and Freetown). Dr. Hyams鈥檚 collaborators describe his approach as 鈥渁lways one of developing a constructive partnership,鈥 and note that he brings to this work methodologies that help various publics and policymakers to integrate and constructively discuss ethical issues at stake in environmental decisions. Dr. Hyams鈥檚 work on climate adaptation is especially notable. In this area, he has served as an ethics advisor to the Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change network, co-authored a report on 鈥楻emedying Injustice in Indigenous Climate Adaptation Planning: Climate Ethics, Inequality, and Indigenous Knowledge鈥 (available at: warwick.basilico-staging.it/ethics/research/), served as an advisor to the city of Cape Town climate adaptation department, and worked with international NGOs such as Oxfam and Practical Action on the ethics of climate adaptation. Additionally, Dr. Hyams has mentored six postdoctoral researchers and multiple doctoral students, helping them to develop their own skills in publicly engaged environmental philosophy. This year鈥檚 Andrew Light Award recognizes the collaborative, publicly engaged, and ethically grounded work of Dr. Keith Hyams as distinctive contributions to public environmental philosophy.
This year鈥檚 finalists are Dr. Kian Mintz-Woo of University College Cork (Ireland) and Dr. Jeremy Moss of University of New South Wales (Australia).
Dr. Mintz-Woo, a lecturer at University College Cork, is an early career scholar who has already demonstrated a sustained commitment to publicly engaged philosophy. As a graduate student at University of Graz, Kian Mintz-Woo helped to develop a public art exhibition, Exhibition CliMatters, which was shown in multiple venues in Austria and drew over 1700 visitors, and he founded, organized, and contributed to the Climate Footnotes blog (). As a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University, Dr. Mintz-Woo collaborated with Professor Peter Singer on an article, 鈥溾 published in Project Syndicate on May 7, 2020. Dr. Mintz-Woo鈥檚 academic writing focuses on climate ethics, particularly carbon pricing, discounting, and the social cost of carbon.
Dr. Jeremy Moss is a Professor of Political Philosophy at University of New South Wales (Australia) whose work focuses on climate justice, the ethics of renewable energy, and ethical issues associated with climate transitions. He is Director of the Practical Justice Initiative and leads the Climate Justice Research program at UNSW as part of this initiative. Professor Moss鈥檚 work has been featured in The Guardian, and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), National Aboriginal Radio, Al Jezeera, and LeMonde, and he has developed a Climate Justice website (climatejustice.co) 鈥渢o provide accessible discussions of the justice-related issues that underpin an effective response to climate change.鈥 In addition, he has published op-eds on climate ethics in The Conversation, including 鈥溾).
艩谩d铆 Shana谩h delivers presentation to the Government鈥檚 Commission for Countering Extremism
艩谩d铆 Shana谩h has given a presentation followed by a Q&A to the government鈥檚 Commission for Countering Extremism. He presented the results of his doctoral research entitled 鈥淯nder Pressure: Muslims鈥 Engagement in Counter-Extremism鈥 and engaged in a discussion about the lack of robust empirical evidence regarding the perception of counter-extremism and counter-terrorism policies by UK Muslim communities and the lack of research into the attitudes, motivations and work of Muslims who are active in addressing Islamist extremism.
The Commission鈥檚 tweet about the event is available here:
First Annual WICID锘 Report Published
The first annual report for the 糖心TV Interdisciplinary Research Centre for International Development (WICID) has been published.
The main take away points from the report are:
- Research grants - internally and externally funded grants, leading to publications
- WICID Methods Lab - our flagship Toolkit series to be published by
- Webinars - Global Insights and South Asia and Covid-19 series
- - relaunch and increasing readership
- Everyday in Lockdown international project of photographic accounts of Covid-19