The ESRC’s flagship celebration of economics and social science took place throughout the month of November, with events themed around social science, the environment and climate change in particular, to reflect the COP26 climate change conference which took place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow.
The Festival hosted more than 400 free public events across its 35 higher education partner institutions in the UK, with events taking place through a mixture of online, in-person and hybrid formats. Salford’s events included live-stream panel debates, interactive participatory activities, film screenings and Q&A sessions, and were targeted at children/young people and the general public.
Salford stats from this year’s Festival
- 10 online events held across 30 days
- 6 events had an environmental focus to tie in with COP-26
- More than 700 people attended our events, with the majority being UK-based
- 96% of attendees who completed a post-event survey either agreed or strongly agreed that the event was worth attending
- 38% of attendees who completed a post-event survey confirmed that their feelings and/or opinion had changed as a result of attending the event
- 54% of attendees who completed a post-event survey confirmed that they plan to make a change or do something that they wouldn’t otherwise have done as a result of attending the event
- 93% of attendees who completed a post-event survey agreed that they would like to learn more about the topics discussed
Feedback from participants included the following:
“I will take more of an interest in this topic area”
“I plan to do further research into this incredibly interesting and nuanced topic”
“Really enjoyed the panel debate and the interactivity with viewers through the chat function”
“I wish to attend more events that is related to the topic at hand, especially if it involves researches conducted in third-world countries”
“Very well facilitated and pitched at the appropriate level towards a very mixed attendee demographic”
“This was a really useful, enjoyable event, thank you!”
Since its launch in 2003, thousands of ESRC festival events have been organised and have attracted more than a million people to date. For details of all the events that took place in this year’s programme, please visit the Festival site at: https://festivalofsocialscience.com/
We look forward to welcoming many of you again next year!