The Welfare State is perhaps the biggest social policy success of the post-war generation. 

The ARK Ageing Programme invited Dr. Eve Worth (University of Exeter), author of The Welfare State Generation: Women, Agency and Class in Britain since 1945 to present evidence of the impact of the welfare state on the progress of women as individual agents and important workers in public sector jobs. Her work sheds light on many of the challenges facing today’s generation of students – debt, precarity and the absence of strong ties to reliable institutions of the state.

In this event, we discussed whether the welfare state is worth saving, and what role each generation can play in maintaining social cohesion in a time of insecurity and hyper-individualisation.

In this talk, Professor Catherine Needham (University of Birmingham, School of Social Policy) presented findings from a new book Social Care in the UK’s Four Nations - Between Two Paradigms to explore differences between jurisdictions, and what impact the differences are having. 

Drawing on extensive interviews with national and local policy makers across the UK, the research raises vital questions about the role of ‘standardisation’ and ‘differentiation’ as approaches to solving the social care crisis.

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland.

In this presentation, Joseph van Matre (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) used YLT data to explore volunteering and civic engagement amount young people.

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland.

The speakers included the Commissioner for Children and Young People, as well as expert researchers who we have worked with over the last 20 years. They considered what young people's lives in Northern Ireland are like 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement and reflected on the positive contributions young people make to life in Northern Ireland. 

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland.

Katy Hayward and Ben Rosher (Queen's University) explored YLT data on good relations and politics, alongside data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) survey.  

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland. 

Colm Walsh (Queen's University) discussed young men, violence and paramilitarism. 

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland.

Una O'Connor Bones (Ulster University) discussed policy and YLT data in relation to education, citizenship and diversity. 

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland. 

Siobhan McAlister (Queen's University Belfast) and Gail Neill (Ulster University) highlighted the research exploring the experiences of young women in relation to violence and respect.  

This event on 29 November 2023 celebrated 20 years of the Young Life and Times (YLT) survey of 16 year olds.  YLT has covered a wide range of questions concerning young people's lives and it has become one of the main tools to inform policy making on and for young people in Northern Ireland. 

Cate McNamee (Queen's University Belfast) used data from the 2022 Young Life and Times survey to explore young people's romantic relationships.

An event was held on 5 September at Queen's University to mark the launch of results from the 2023 Young Life and Times (YLT) Survey) and Kids' Life and Times (KLT) Survey. 

Topics covered in the surveys include children’s and young people’s experiences of the cost-of-living crisis; mental health; sport and physical activity; good relations and gender-based violence.

For more information, visit the YLT website and KLT website