In this wide-ranging discussion IWA Co-Director Joe Rossiter discusses skills, education and training, net zero and Wales’ economy. 

Joe is joined in conversation by:

Dave Hagendyk - Chief Executive of ColegauCymru

Lisa Thomas - Chief Executive and Principal of The College Merthyr Tydfil and Chair of ColegauCymru

Mark Picton - RWE

Belal Al Haka - Competitor at this year's WorldSkills UK Finals and former Vehicle Body repair apprentice

Support the IWA’s work today by visiting:

https://www.iwa.wales/about-us/support-us/

In this episode, we bring you the live recording of the keynote speech given at the IWA's 2025 Annual General Meeting held on the 25th of September.

This wide-ranging and high level speech was given by Mick Antoniw MS, long-standing Senedd Member for Pontypridd and former Counsel General for Wales.

His speech is entitled: Democracy at a precipice: the challenges facing our democracy and devolution. In it, Mick discusses his experience in Welsh Government and his arguments on the need for comprehensive reform to Wales’ constitutional settlement.

This podcast is a recording of the launch of the IWA's latest report: A Flourishing Wellbeing Economy for Wales, produced in partnership with Oxfam Cymru. 

This launch event recording sees report author and the IWA Co-Director Joe Rossiter present key findings and in discussion with Oxfam Cymru's Sarah Rees and Hade Turkmen.

The report presents a compelling case for Wales to reorient its economy around wellbeing, care, and sustainability. It presents a clear and practical roadmap for a wellbeing economy in Wales, arguing that economic policy should be focussed on improving people’s wellbeing.

Visit https://www.iwa.wales/ for more information.

Twitter:  https://x.com/IWA_Wales  

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/instituteofwelshaffairs 

Become a member: https://www.iwa.wales/about-us/support-us/

In the ninth episode of our series Wales: A Work in Progress, the IWA's Co-Director Joe Rossiter speaks to David Melding and Glyndwr Cennydd Jones about their new booklet: The Federal-Confederal Letters.

You can read the booklet at:

https://simplebooklet.com/thefederalconfederalletters1#page=1

In the eighth episode of our series Wales: A Work in Progress, the IWA's Co-Director Joe Rossiter speaks to Senior Lecturers in Economics at Bangor University, Dr Edward Jones and Dr Rhys ap Gwilym. We discuss what is devolved to Wales when it comes to tax (as well as what isn't) and consider the options available for future changes to taxation.

In this episode, Victoria Kioi, editor in residence at the welsh agenda, talks to actor Gabin Kongolo about the creative sector in Wales, learning Welsh later in life, his Congolese heritage, and navigating the creative industry.

Gabin Kongolo is a poet and actor. His work includes film-poem Ndako and he was recently featured in Bariau (2024).

In the seventh episode of our series Wales: A Work in Progress, the IWA's Policy and External Affairs Manager Joe Rossiter talks to Steph Coulter from the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.

Wales: A Work in Progress is the companion piece of our project on the constitutional future of Wales supported by the Legal Education Foundation. In this series, we explore options for Wales' future in conversation with experts and people interested in shaping the way forward for our country.

In keeping with the IWA's independence, we don't take position - rather, we want to give voice to different options and examine the evidence to understand what the best path might be for Wales, and why.

This is a recording of Building from the Bottom: Delivering wellbeing and resilience through community ownership held by the Institute of Welsh Affairs in partnership with Bangor University.

Despite our best efforts, we apologise that part of the recording is unintelligible due to equipment issues on the day.

A transcript of the episode is available here.

You can now listen to the launch of our latest report, Sharing Power, Spreading Wealth.

Read the full report here: https://www.iwa.wales/our-work/work/sharing-power-spreading-wealth/

Welcome to the welsh agenda podcast. In this episode, our resident editor Matthaus Bridge reflects on his journey as a bilingual English and Welsh speaking journalist as he enters the professional world after learning the language in school.

A few words from Matthaus: 'Like many people my age, I learnt Welsh in school, and am now the first and, to date, only, fluent Welsh speaker in my family. In my life, I navigate different professional and personal identities, and it sometimes feels like it can be hard to reconcile both. In this podcast, I spoke to researchers, government officials and artists.'

In this podcast, Matthaus speaks to Dr Sion Jones, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, stand up comedian Leila Navabi, Professor Martin Johnes, and Welsh language commissioner Efa Gruffudd Jones.