In this month’s ‘meet the team’ series we feature Dr Elizabeth Martin. Dr Martin is an ARK Associate and Lecturer in Social Policy at QUB. Read more about her and her research here. 

Bluesky
ARK is now on rapidly-growing social media platform Bluesky: @ark-ni.bsky.social. If you’re on the platform be sure to follow, like and share our posts. You can also stay connected with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and X.

ARK at 25
ARK turns 25 in 2025. Our event schedule (above) highlights just some of the packed programme of anniversary events and publications over the course of the year that will mark a quarter century of Northern Ireland’s social policy hub. Similarly, the journey graphic (below), created by ARK Associate Dr Erin Early, celebrates some of the major milestones in the development and growth of ARK over the last 25 years. More event and publication details will be available on our website and via our newsletter.

ARK Ageing
As part of ARK at 25 we are hosting an international symposium on ageing on screen. Working with our colleagues in the Cultural Gerontology Special Interest group of the Irish Gerontological Society we are thrilled to welcome Professor Justine McGovern, City University New York, who is the current Chair of the Humanities, Arts and Cultural Gerontology Advisory Panel of the Gerontological Society of America. The symposium will feature papers exploring gender and ageing in film and TV as well as an overview of the importance of arts and humanities approaches to understanding ageing by Professor McGovern. This event is organised by ARK’s Dr Gemma Carney and Sian Barber of the Queen’s on Ageing research network. Please register here. You can also read more about Dr Carney’s work in the latest Queen's on Ageing newsletter.

ARK Policy
ARK’s Dr Jonny Hanson participated in  the Ulster Wildlife 30x30 workshop at Stormont on 6th February. 30x30 is a political commitment to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030, under the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity. Sixty+ stakeholders discussed their shared vision for a nature-rich Northern Ireland, the challenges in getting there, and the ways to achieve it. Dr Hanson presented on bringing society along on this journey, understanding environmental conflicts and reconciliations, and the overlap with a just transition (the subject of this recent ARK Policy Brief).