A series of lectures focusing on some of the global challenges being addressed at Aberystwyth University will feature at this year’s Hay Festival.
Global democracy, climate change and malaria eradication are among the topics which will be examined during the 10-day festival held from 23 May to 2 June.
The lecture series marks the beginning of a new partnership between Aberystwyth University and the festival.
Three students from the university will also undertake work placements at the prestigious cultural and literary festival, which has been held annually in the town of Hay-on-Wye in Powys since 1987.
The three lectures delivered in partnership with Aberystwyth University are:
• Thursday, 23 May, 5.30pm – Starlight Stage. Dr Mariecia Fraser and Elizabeth Jardine Goodwin, ‘Experimental landscapes: Past, present and future innovation in upland farming’.
Dr Fraser from Aberystwyth’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences talks about the challenges of climate change and the pioneering work of the university’s Pwllpeiran Upland Research Centre.
• Wednesday, 29 May, 2.30pm – Hay Festival Foundation Stage. John Thomas, ‘The West, the East and the Rule of Law’.
As part of the celebrations to mark the centenary of the Department of International Politics, the university’s chancellor Lord Thomas of Cwmgïedd will deliver a keynote lecture on global democracy.
• Thursday, 30 May, 10am – Hay Festival Foundation Stage. Prof Chris Thomas and Prof Faith Osier, ‘Malaria Eradication in Africa: Fact or Fiction?’
Huge efforts have been made to combat malaria for over a century, yet each year hundreds of thousands of people still die from the disease, particularly in sub Saharan Africa.
The last decade has seen major reductions in this toll: are we at last on the road to eradication?
See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition tomorrow