On 25 April 2022, members of QCAP travelled to the University of Glasgow to meet with our partners in Children’s Neighbourhoods Scotland, with whom we are collaborating on the Children, Learning and Inclusive Places (CLIP) Project.

The day commenced with a seminar from Urban Big Data Centre (UBDC), which provided insight into how academic research can use Big Data.  This was followed by a session from UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE), which encouraged discussion of ideas surrounding knowledge exchange and integration.

Our visit also included meetings with pupils from two local schools.  At St. Eunan’s Primary School, we talked to children about climate change and how they are campaigning about this issue, and we were much inspired by their enthusiasm and motivation to protect the environment (“We Can Change the World!”; “There is no Planet B!”), and to learn how we can help them in their efforts.

At St. Peter the Apostle High School in Clydebank, we heard from members of their Pupil Parliament, who had participated in the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and who are creating innovative solutions to the climate emergency.

We would like to extend our thanks to our hosts at University of Glasgow, Children’s Neighbourhoods Scotland, St. Eunan’s Primary School and St. Peter the Apostle High School for a brilliant day of networking and learning about data, knowledge transfer and the role of children in the fight against climate change – and we look forward to welcoming them to Belfast in the near future.