Former Archbishop of Canterbury is key speaker at University Dialogue Centre launch event

Professor Rowan Williams and Professor Mererid Hopwood.

Professor Rowan Williams and Professor Mererid Hopwood.

21 November 2022

The role of dialogue in creating better futures will be explored in an open conversation between former Archbishop of Canterbury Professor Rowan Williams and award-winning poet and academic Professor Mererid Hopwood.

‘Dialogue and the nature of knowing and seeing’ is being held as part of Aberystwyth University’s Festival of Research 2022 and is the first in a programme of activities organised by the institution’s newly established Dialogue Centre.

Professor Hopwood from the University’s Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies, said: “The Welsh title of this event ‘Deialog a natur gwybod, adnabod a gweld’suggests how speakers of different languages view the world in different ways. In the Welsh version, we find three verbs: 'gwybod', 'adnabod' and 'gweld', in English, only two: 'knowing' and 'seeing'.

“Our conversation will explore some of these different perspectives and allow us to see how dialogue through and across languages can deepen our ability to perceive and understand the relationships between us and the world about us.

The session will be held in the Lolfa Fach of Pantycelyn Hall of Residence on Penglais Hill, Aberystwyth, between 5.30pm and 6.45pm today Monday 21 November 2022.

Admission is free and all are welcome but members of the audience will need to book a place in advance. This will be a bilingual session with simultaneous translation available. Further details are available on the Festival of Research website: aber.ac.uk/researchfest.

The Dialogue Centre

The Dialogue Centre is designed to coordinate, support and promote the way in which Aberystwyth University exchanges knowledge and expertise with external partners and communities.

Speaking ahead of the launch event, Professor Colin McInnes, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research, Knowledge Exchange and Innovation at Aberystwyth University, said: “Knowledge exchange and research are closely linked, and the Dialogue Centre will be our means of exchanging knowledge; connecting different communities with high quality research; opening conversations which promote new, shared understandings; increasing the impact of our research, and providing greater opportunities for innovation.

“Knowledge exchange activities are a key element in how research is undertaken across all departments at Aberystwyth and demonstrate our commitment to bettering the world in which we live. The better we are at dialogue, the better we will be at knowledge exchange and the broader, deeper impact we will have in the world in which we live.”

Dr Jennifer Wolowic,currently with Simon Fraser University Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue and SFU Public Square in Vancouver, has been appointed Principal Lead of Aberystwyth University’s Dialogue Centre and will take up her new role in January 2023.