Susie Ventris Field (Chief Exec of WCIA) and Claire O’Shea (as Chair of WOAG) represent the international sector on the Third Sector Partnership Council – an opportunity for the third sector in Wales to feed into Welsh Government policy. Here, we share a few updates on recent activity and some upcoming opportunities for you to give input. If you’d like issues to be raised at TSPC meetings, or you’d like to get more closely involved in influencing policy on international issues in Wales, please email susieventrisfield@wcia.org.uk.
Updates
- We submitted a question to the Children and Young People’s Committee about climate education
- We responded to the Culture, Communications, Welsh Language, Sport, and International Relations Committee about the cost of living crisis and it’s impact on the sector. It was a very quick turnaround for responses but we would be happy to share with the committee or with wider surveys from the sector anything we have missed. Read our response.
- Over the summer, we finalised a report for the office of the Well-being of Future Generations Commissioner for Wales compiling recommendations from across organisations and individuals in the international sector in Wales for how better to achieve a Globally Responsible Wales. We presented these in a summary vision of a globally responsible public body. Next steps are to translate the resource and share it widely. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their expertise. Read the full report.
- Alongside Size of Wales, the Future Generations Commissioner and Fair Trade Wales, we continued to ask for changes to the Social Partnership and Procurement Bill to ensure it fulfils Wales’ commitment to be a globally responsible nation. This included conversations with civil servants, submissions to the committee scrutinising the Bill and a meeting with Jenny Rathbourne as Chair of the Committee. Read our submission.
- We opened conversations about how best Wales could engage in the World Cup in a globally responsible way – this is ongoing work
- We held an Internationalist Get Together in the Temple of Peace exploring some key questions about global citizenship and sustainability, and giving a chance for the sector to come together. The event was a success and we’ll aim to hold similar events in the near future.
- We continued to join discussions on implementation of the Future Generations Act in public bodies, futures thinking and the indicators for the well-being goals
- Following on from previous months, we supported UK-wide Civil Society efforts to:
- Prevent the replacement of the Human Rights Act with a watered down Bill of Rights
- Stop deportations of refugees to Rwanda and instead to provide a welcome for those seeking sanctuary
- Take urgent action to mitigate the climate crisis
Have your voice heard
- We have TSPC meetings coming up with various Ministers – please flag any issues you’d like us to raise from the International Sector
- Climate Cymru’s Warm This Winter campaign will have some key asks being shaped now
- How can Wales engage with the World Cup in a globally responsible way? Let us know your thoughts
Email susieventrisfield@wcia.org.uk if you’d like to share or discuss ideas.