University of Galway’s Ryan Institute a key partner in developing responses to climate change, biodiversity loss and water crises University of Galway has joined a partnership of academics, industry and governments across Ireland and the UK to advance research to address climate, food sustainability, biodiversity and water crises. The developments are part of a new Co-Centres research programme announced by the Irish, British and Northern Ireland governments with a €70 million investment over six years.  University of Galway is an academic partner in the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity and Water, and also in the Co-Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems. President of University of Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, said: “Research and innovation to enable sustainability transitions are central to our University’s mission, where through our teaching and research activities, using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework, we are enabling the next generation of students, researchers and innovators in tackling society’s sustainable development challenges. We welcome the opportunity to work in partnership through the new Co-Centres programme with academic colleagues, across the island of Ireland and in Britain, for the pubic good and to generate knowledge that enables a more sustainable future for all.“ Climate+ Co-Centre (Climate + Biodiversity & Water) Involving 14 institutions and 64 researchers in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain, it will begin its work in January 2024, and will carry out research to enable the transformative change urgently needed to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and water crises, as well as developing solutions on just transitions in land use. The Co-Centre will work closely with industry partners and other on sustainable agrifood transitions; communities and livelihoods; assessing risks and opportunities; and investing in carbon and nature, in forestry, peatlands, grasslands and coastal habitats. The Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity and Water will be led by Trinity College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Reading, with University of Galway’s Ryan Institute as a key partner.  Professor Charles Spillane, Director of the Ryan Institute and lead of the Climate+ Sustainable AgriFood Transitions, said: “The CLIMATE+ Co-Centre is urgently needed to focus our combined research and innovation efforts on transition and transformation pathways that can address the converging and interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity and water. The COP28 climate summit begins this week amidst ever rising emissions where humanity is on a trajectory for an alarming 3oC planetary warming by end of the century. In addition, we are in the midst of a massive biodiversity extinction crisis and a global water crisis, where difficult decisions will need to be made urgently by policymakers and society at large, to navigate major trade-offs, while maximising co-benefits, between sustainability options and actions on climate, biodiversity and water.” Co-Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems Involving 14 institutions, again in Ireland, Britain and Northern Ireland, it will also begin its work in January 1 2024. Its aim is to develop innovative and transformative solutions to transition the food system for positive and sustainable change in the transition to climate-neutrality by 2050.  The Co-Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems will be led by UCD, Queen’s University and University of Sheffield, with University of Galway as a key partner. The Co-Centres programme was announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD and Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan and Permanent Secretary at Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Katrina Godfrey. It is funded over six years with an investment of €70m, which includes up to €40 million from Science Foundation Ireland (supported by the Department of Further, Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science and the Irish Government’s Shared Island Fund); up to £17 million from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland; and up to £12 million through UK Research and Innovation, and is co-funded by industry. Ends

Decades of papers from public life released to coincide with former politician being awarded honorary Doctor of Laws The archive of former civil rights activist, founding member of the SDLP, politician and economist Hugh Logue is being made available at University of Galway The historical resource – made up of more than 20 boxes of manuscripts, documents, photographs and political ephemera – was released to coincide with the award of an Honorary Doctor of Laws to Mr Logue at a special conferring ceremony in the University. The archive documents his life and career, from his entry into Northern Irish politics in the early 1970s, through to a distinguished career in the European Commission, and more latterly as a Chief Special Advisor and speech writer at the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister at Stormont, where he worked closely with Séamus Mallon during the establishment of the Executive in the years following the Good Friday Agreement, from 1998-2003.  Speaking at the University conferring, Hugh Logue said: “A request from University of Galway to donate one's Archives to it is a huge honour. Its reputation as an archive of distinction is worldwide and the scale of access by students and scholars remarkable. Its attention to material from over the last 50 troubled years in Northern Ireland is unparalleled. It is a privilege to have my papers placed there.” The archive includes a letter he wrote to Séamus Mallon on the day of the Omagh bomb, August 15, 1998, outlining the immediate risk to peace. He wrote: "Word is just coming in of the utter horror of Omagh... our task remains to give voice to that overwhelming vote [The Good Friday Agreement], the bombers' task is to render it speechless" Also included are multiple manuscript and annotated drafts of Logue's testimony to the Saville Tribunal and his actions and memories of civil rights marches and events in Northern Ireland, leading up to and including Bloody Sunday.  The Logue archive presents an important new collection that will enable new studies and understandings of the political, social and economic development of Northern Ireland, as well as important links with Europe.  Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, President of University of Galway, said: “University of Galway has a great tradition of preserving important archive material for both research and the public and Hugh Logue’s papers going back to the 1970s are a huge addition to that legacy. We are even more pleased to be able to honour Hugh Logue and recognise the huge contribution he made to the quest for civil rights, peace on our island and a more prosperous future for all communities. University of Galway places great store on working for the public good – Hugh Logue’s career and life epitomises that.” Professor Niall Ó Dochartaigh, School of Political Science and Sociology, said: “Hugh Logue's papers shed light on key episodes in recent Irish history, including the role of the European Commission in the peace process, the rise of the civil rights movement and the SDLP, and efforts to negotiate an end to the 1981 Republican hunger strike. The legacy of violent conflict in Ireland continues to provide a focus for intense political debate and archives of this kind are invaluable in ensuring that those debates are informed by first-hand contemporary sources.” Other documents in the Logue archive contain early political and election material from his successful election to Westminster in 1973; SDLP policy papers in the 1980s and 90s; papers from his work with the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace which offer new insights into its work to resolve the 1981 hunger strikes.  The archive also includes key papers from his early work with the European Commission in the 1990s, including the Delors taskforce and the E.U. Peace and Reconciliation Fund, both PEACE packages and European Science and Technology for regional development.  Dr Barry Houlihan, University of Galway Library Archivist, said: “The archive of Hugh Logue is a remarkable collection of papers that will offer new understanding to the political, social and economic history of Northern Ireland through the last half century, as well as to Hugh’s crucial contributions in that time. The archive adds considerable new knowledge to an already extensive body of archive collections within the University documenting Northern Ireland’s recent past”. Monica Crump, Interim University Librarian, said: "At the University of Galway Library, we're thrilled to welcome Hugh Logue’s archive into our care. This collection is more than a testament to one individual's legacy, it also unlocks a deeper comprehension of our recent past, guiding future generations toward a richer understanding of Northern Ireland's intricate journey, from political milestones to his significant influence on European policy. Our staff, students and visiting researchers are hugely fortunate to have this resource available to them and we are hugely grateful to Hugh for entrusting us with the custodianship of his rich archive.” Ends

University of Galway and Galway Simon Community have come together with filmmakers to produce a new film capturing the experience of homelessness from the experience of those who have lived it. Lost & Found is a co-created, virtual reality film produced out of the University’s Centre for Creative Technologies, in collaboration with clients from Galway Simon. The production saw people who have lived experience of homelessness working with leading virtual reality filmmakers and University of Galway researchers as part of the Immersive Empathy project. The team adopted a 360-degree style of filming, which captures a fully immersive world that can be viewed within a virtual reality headset. The production utilised oral history interviews and collaborative workshops to develop the content of the film so that it conveyed the realities of being homeless.  The film was launched at a special screening at University of Galway as part of the Arts in Action programme with the audience wearing VR headsets allowing them to feel as though they are in the world of someone experiencing homelessness. Mayor of the City of Galway, Councillor Eddie Hoare, said: “Too often the voices of the people affected by the homelessness crisis are missing from our national debates. Huge credit goes to the people who opened up about their experiences of being homeless in order to allow us to more deeply appreciate its impact on their lives and wellbeing. The researchers at University of Galway and the filmmakers have demonstrated the value of giving people the tools and technology to open up new windows of experience and empathy.”  Karen Golden, chief executive of Galway Simon, said: “We’re very proud to have been part of this ground breaking initiative, and deeply grateful to the University of Galway for involving clients of Galway Simon Community in the project. Participants found the experience very empowering, and the feedback has been incredibly positive.” Dr Conn Holohan, Lost & Found project lead and Director of the Centre for Creative Technologies at University of Galway, said: “The goal of the immersive empathy project is to empower people who have experienced homelessness to tell their own stories through immersive technologies. It is only when communities are empowered to speak for themselves, to tell their own stories and challenge existing perspectives and beliefs, that empathy can provide a genuine platform for lasting social change.” Lost & Found was produced as part of the Immersive Empathy Project, an initiative of researchers within the disciplines of film, drama, psychology, business and digital humanities at University of Galway. The project explores the potential of virtual reality as a tool for social change. Much has been written during the recent explosion of interest in virtual reality and immersive technologies about the power of VR to increase empathy levels towards others. The potential for immersive technologies to act as catalysts for social change was identified by VR filmmaker Chris Milk in a 2015 TED Talk, in which he coined the term “empathy machine” to describe what he saw as the defining possibility of this technology. University of Galway launched the Centre for Creative Technologies in September 2023 with the aim of fostering and support research and teaching activities that explore and develop links between creative practice and technology and creativity as a principle and practice that extends beyond the arts. Ends